Jason Arday, who resigned last week from Cambridge University, released his memoir “Great and Unfortunate Things” on Tuesday. The book currently holds a 4.18 average rating across 103 Goodreads reviews, with 48% of reviewers awarding it five stars and another 37% giving it four stars.
The Goodreads community has largely deemed the story of a nonverbal autistic boy who could not read until age 18 and then became Cambridge University’s youngest black professor as “sacred.”
Reviews are filled with terms of wonder: one reviewer called the book “the improbable-but-true story” and awarded five stars “for the basic premise alone,” adding, “You make this stuff up (sic).” Another described Arday’s progression from becoming fully literate to earning a college degree within five years as “nothing short of amazing.” Others labeled his accomplishments “truly unbelievable,” his memoir “incredibly moving” and “incredibly inspirational.”
Despite the overwhelming praise, Arday resigned from Cambridge on August 5 after the university opened an investigation into his academic credentials and honorary appointments. The book has also faced allegations of extensive textual overlap in his doctoral thesis, as well as scrutiny over his athletic feats, fundraising claims, and resume.
Yet the Goodreads reviews were already rapturous before these controversies emerged. Among the first 20 or so visible reviews, nearly all awarded four or five stars. Almost no one questioned whether the “unbelievable” narrative might be fictional.
The story, which aligns with contemporary literary tropes of an underrepresented hero overcoming systemic barriers, has been praised for themes including a Black autistic man navigating racism and ableism; a resilient immigrant mother; and the triumph of grit.
Reviewers who discovered the scandal after finishing the book offered only cautious praise. One reviewer noted that after learning about Arday’s resignation and plagiarism reports “only hours” later, they still found the memoir “well written” and “fascinating.”
The phenomenon highlights a pre-existing ecosystem: publishers like 37INK (a Simon & Schuster imprint focused on Black authors) provide advance copies to NetGalley reviewers. This network allows for early enthusiasm.
The system works without deception. It relies on the audience recognizing the narrative they seek and reviewers supplying the adjectives of inspiration. By publication day, a book whose author is under scrutiny can be wrapped in a halo of “incredible” and “inspirational” praise.
Amazon, which does not allow reviews until after release, shows less enthusiasm for the book. Even 37INK has chosen not to feature it prominently on its homepage.
By the time anyone asks whether the inspirational story is true, the five stars are already in.
