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3.18 AVERAGE
3.18 AVERAGE
I've never enjoyed a book so much while having such a similarly high level of loathing for the protagonist.
I really liked this, despite despising the main character (although I think that was the point). He reminded me so much of someone i dated once! My only issue is that I can't figure out where the author was going with it all. At the end, I found myself thinking, "that's it?"
A very realistic book about love. It didn’t really seem like anything happened, but things did, just as they do in life.
Lots of reviews and critiques about this book and the characters as shallow and self-absorbed. There is some truth, they are an intellectual subset of Ivy League and Literary types, who sit around and discuss important things. I found the characters not ones I related to (as in, I don't personally know these people), but I thought that they were honest and well developed which is what I look for in a story. You are drawn to the stereotypes of them, but if you look past that fact that you might personally dislike them, they're honest and well done.
As for Nathaniel himself. He's a guy. He dates people. He's not always good to them, but if you look back at your relationships, you're not always a good person. Waldman, I feel, develops him honestly as a guy who is bad at relationships because he hasn't found a relationship that he's good at. The story itself revolves around his relationship with Hannah, the girl that (on paper) he should be with. Ultimately he sabotages it and ends up with a someone else.
Above all else, it is a well written and engaging character driven story.
As for Nathaniel himself. He's a guy. He dates people. He's not always good to them, but if you look back at your relationships, you're not always a good person. Waldman, I feel, develops him honestly as a guy who is bad at relationships because he hasn't found a relationship that he's good at. The story itself revolves around his relationship with Hannah, the girl that (on paper) he should be with. Ultimately he sabotages it and ends up with a someone else.
Above all else, it is a well written and engaging character driven story.
I don't know how to approach reviewing this book.
- this is a good book - insightful, true-to-life, observant
- this is a depressing book for the above reasons
- if I ever end up living the sort of life led by Nathaniel P & Co, someone please come to take me out of my misery
- is it sad that the ending seems inevitable and right?
- all the intellectual types who populate this book seem miserable
- all the fancy trappings of that specific kind of lifestyle seem far from worth it
- this is a good book - insightful, true-to-life, observant
- this is a depressing book for the above reasons
- if I ever end up living the sort of life led by Nathaniel P & Co, someone please come to take me out of my misery
- is it sad that the ending seems inevitable and right?
- all the intellectual types who populate this book seem miserable
- all the fancy trappings of that specific kind of lifestyle seem far from worth it
Okay, I decided to bail on this book. At page 30 when you're wondering how many pages you have left it's a bad sign. Granted I didn't give it muh of a chance. All of the characters are peak hipster nonsense. The main character Nate grated me in a way I haven't known since Holden Caulfield. The whole book felt pretentious and I couldn't decide if it was satire or the author genuinely feels superior to the reader. Good luck fellow readers!
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Nate is a writer living in Brooklyn who just got a book deal. He hangs out with and sometimes dates other writers in Brooklyn. Waldman is good at capturing the nuances of Nate's different relationships; all the characters are believable. Nate and his friends know they are privileged and intellectually elite; they write essays on, for example, "Commodification of Conscience" and they have smart discussions. The writing is smart and if you can relate to these people, you will enjoy this. It lacks a climatic finish--the end feels like a short story ending; and some might say that Nate is not too exciting, but his story is very real, and well-observed.
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-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