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3.18 AVERAGE
3.18 AVERAGE
technically i did not finish because i gave up on it womp
*3.5 stars*
The comments on here frightened me because a lot of people seemed to really dislike this book while on the other hand, it has been on a TON of "best" book lists. I was open to it and actually enjoyed most of it. There were a couple of times I found reading things from Nate's self absorbed and moderately ridiculous point of view to be a bit frustrating but overall it was a good book.
I don't know that I so much enjoyed the story as I did the writing and character development. I really liked the cast of characters and think the writing was solid. I'd be interested in seeing different work from this author to gage her storytelling abilities. All of that being said, I can see why so many people either loved or hated this book.
The comments on here frightened me because a lot of people seemed to really dislike this book while on the other hand, it has been on a TON of "best" book lists. I was open to it and actually enjoyed most of it. There were a couple of times I found reading things from Nate's self absorbed and moderately ridiculous point of view to be a bit frustrating but overall it was a good book.
I don't know that I so much enjoyed the story as I did the writing and character development. I really liked the cast of characters and think the writing was solid. I'd be interested in seeing different work from this author to gage her storytelling abilities. All of that being said, I can see why so many people either loved or hated this book.
Definitely not the sort of book for someone who needs to like the characters in the books they read. But good as satire. And oddly compelling - I can't really figure out why, exactly.
Nathaniel P is the worst.
My feminist side cringed all the time,
I didnt hate, would not read again and would recommend with reservations.
My feminist side cringed all the time,
I didnt hate, would not read again and would recommend with reservations.
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved this at the start, felt it got a little bogged down as it went on. Very funny nevertheless!
Really interesting characters. It's always interesting when an author really gets in the head of an opposite sex character and Nate's ennui felt very honest.
Everybody knows a Nathaniel P. He goes by "Nate" and is ostensibly a Harvard-educated writer but mostly fills his time being full of himself. He delights in living paycheck to paycheck because he thinks it's rugged and makes him unique; he judges his friends constantly on their levels of intellectualism, and he seems to never try to improve himself. The book focuses on his relationships with women, and his inability to separate himself from his sexism despite how intellectual he claims to be.
This book opens with Nate at the dinner party of one of his many exes, Elisa. They had a messy breakup after dating for 5 months and end up sleeping together after the party (more messiness) and stay friends ("friends" even messier!). Nate meets Hannah there and begins a relationship with her after some internal debate. He quickly finds himself liking Hannah, although he critiques her looks. He finds her intellectual, she writes well, and she can stand up to his friends. He enjoys when she is unexpected. His friends (some of whom are also his exes, surprise!) are in turns pleased and surprised by this relationship, as he tends to go for looks, or as one friend put it, "high-maintenance" girls. After four months or so his relationship with Hannah turns sour as he finds himself offset by her "neediness." He pulls away -- he checks out another woman in front of her, disengages in conversation. He's horrified at the thought that she may have feelings for him -- in turn, she tires of his standoffishness and breaks up with him. It is HARD to read about his behavior from his point of view. He is narcissistic and refuses to acknowledge others' feelings. He never tries to put effort into a relationship -- not that the thought ever occurs to him that he should. This feels like an extremely accurate depiction of how many men think. He compares himself to other men to justify his behavior.
At the end of his relationship with Hannah, he flirts with another girl, Greer. This makes him think about when he cheated on a past ex -- he didn't do it again ONLY because he didn't like the vision of himself it brought (sleazy, middle-aged, balding, creepy). He didn't spare a thought for his ex's feelings. This particular ex has remained friends with him and still doesn't know, to this day, that he cheated on her -- and he doesn't care. Very little guilt.
After Nate and Hannah break up, he begins a relationship with Greer, who he delights in verbally abusing openly because, as he says, it felt freeing to know that if you call a woman a bad word she can't do anything but yell at you back. Greer is more vapid, pretty, and serves his needs. He deludes himself into thinking she is the sort of intellectual he dreams of, although before he had nothing but critiques for her. They date for 6 months, she gets introduced to his family; when Nate meets Hannah at a party at the end of the book, he feels a sting of remorse for what could have been... which quickly passes when he thinks of Greer.
This book was witty, even more so because it was written by a woman... she so convincingly writes a terrible, terrible male character. However, I'm still giving it two stars because it was SO difficult to read, and made me angry. I get that that's the point of the book but I can't get past it. Plus, there's some glaring typos that irked me.
This book opens with Nate at the dinner party of one of his many exes, Elisa. They had a messy breakup after dating for 5 months and end up sleeping together after the party (more messiness) and stay friends ("friends" even messier!). Nate meets Hannah there and begins a relationship with her after some internal debate. He quickly finds himself liking Hannah, although he critiques her looks. He finds her intellectual, she writes well, and she can stand up to his friends. He enjoys when she is unexpected. His friends (some of whom are also his exes, surprise!) are in turns pleased and surprised by this relationship, as he tends to go for looks, or as one friend put it, "high-maintenance" girls. After four months or so his relationship with Hannah turns sour as he finds himself offset by her "neediness." He pulls away -- he checks out another woman in front of her, disengages in conversation. He's horrified at the thought that she may have feelings for him -- in turn, she tires of his standoffishness and breaks up with him. It is HARD to read about his behavior from his point of view. He is narcissistic and refuses to acknowledge others' feelings. He never tries to put effort into a relationship -- not that the thought ever occurs to him that he should. This feels like an extremely accurate depiction of how many men think. He compares himself to other men to justify his behavior.
At the end of his relationship with Hannah, he flirts with another girl, Greer. This makes him think about when he cheated on a past ex -- he didn't do it again ONLY because he didn't like the vision of himself it brought (sleazy, middle-aged, balding, creepy). He didn't spare a thought for his ex's feelings. This particular ex has remained friends with him and still doesn't know, to this day, that he cheated on her -- and he doesn't care. Very little guilt.
After Nate and Hannah break up, he begins a relationship with Greer, who he delights in verbally abusing openly because, as he says, it felt freeing to know that if you call a woman a bad word she can't do anything but yell at you back. Greer is more vapid, pretty, and serves his needs. He deludes himself into thinking she is the sort of intellectual he dreams of, although before he had nothing but critiques for her. They date for 6 months, she gets introduced to his family; when Nate meets Hannah at a party at the end of the book, he feels a sting of remorse for what could have been... which quickly passes when he thinks of Greer.
This book was witty, even more so because it was written by a woman... she so convincingly writes a terrible, terrible male character. However, I'm still giving it two stars because it was SO difficult to read, and made me angry. I get that that's the point of the book but I can't get past it. Plus, there's some glaring typos that irked me.
interesting, although hard to take it as insight into how men think about women when it was written by a woman. a bit depressing, if only to see that's how this woman thinks men think about women.
As a young single woman dating in New York, this book made me pretty angry, if only because it often felt so accurate. I have dated Nathaniel P. many, many times. I have, however infrequently, at times, also been Nathaniel, which wasn't a thrilling realization. Waldman has clearly dated in New York City, because it's unique to itself, and to get that close to the experience I would have to believe she's undergone this insanity herself. I'm not sure that this book would be as interesting to anyone outside of NYC who isn't dating, but if you want a book to fuel the dating angst, this is it. (I'd steer clear if you're getting discouraged about dating in the big city, though. This will definitely not make you feel any better.)