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3.18 AVERAGE
3.18 AVERAGE
The real reason this novel gets four stars is Hannah - a pretty, smart, nice, and unwaveringly authentic female character who loves and learns and lives. The narrator, Nate, pales in comparison to the very thoughtful and well-developed Hannah, and maybe that's the point, since the whole text has that tongue-in-cheek aura of a woman writing from the perspective of a male character. Waldman's writing is great, sometimes poetic, but I can't help but wish that we could have skipped all the pretentious and intellectual-elitist thoughts and ramblings of Nate (who decided to deem him "literary"? he's more accurately "journalistic") to get to the heart of Hannah, who essentially carries the plot and creates an insightful, fascinating story of what it's like to look for love in contemporary New York.
I'm stuck between a 2 and 3 star rating. The author kept me going to see if something would happen. But it turned into over 200 pages of telling me Nate is basically a prick. Someone I would not like, let alone ever be able to date for more than a week, and who would probably not like me at all either.
Oh man, I had such a rollercoaster while reading this book. There were moments where I really enjoyed it, when I felt to be guided through a truly deep observance of the characters' lives. However for the most part I did not feel that Waldman was going slowly or patiently enough to really create Nate in a complete way for me. It gets weighed down by its effort to catalog only his romantic life, and specific chapter of his romantic life at that.
All said, I really enjoyed the ending. That was certainly one of the narration's high points.
All said, I really enjoyed the ending. That was certainly one of the narration's high points.
Why did I finish reading a book in which the protagonist is a misogynist? I have no idea. Maybe I hoped that he would change by the end of the book, but nope, no luck.
I'm stuck between a 2 and 3 star rating. The author kept me going to see if something would happen. But it turned into over 200 pages of telling me Nate is basically a prick. Someone I would not like, let alone ever be able to date for more than a week, and who would probably not like me at all either.
Like high brow Tucker Max. Makes fun of pretension while being pretentious.
I found this book to be rather enjoyable, but a hard book to review.
Objectively, I thought that this book had several issues that could detract from its enjoyment. The characters and world that it depicts is a rather insular one (the Brooklyn literary scene among 25-35 year old heterosexual singles,) and the writing was good but nothing that stands out.
The final thing that was hard for me to judge was the depiction of the protagonist. I found it extremely interesting that a female author wrote a book that is essentially a singular male's view on his relationships. That, at least for me, was a big part of what I found interesting about this novel. However, especially early on in the story, some parts rang slightly untrue from my (not far removed,) experiences as a young single male.
Despite those quibbles, by the end of the book I was pretty drawn into this character study and I really liked what the author did with his trajectory. I would suggest this novel to anyone who thinks that they would enjoy a story about such a specific topic.
Objectively, I thought that this book had several issues that could detract from its enjoyment. The characters and world that it depicts is a rather insular one (the Brooklyn literary scene among 25-35 year old heterosexual singles,) and the writing was good but nothing that stands out.
The final thing that was hard for me to judge was the depiction of the protagonist. I found it extremely interesting that a female author wrote a book that is essentially a singular male's view on his relationships. That, at least for me, was a big part of what I found interesting about this novel. However, especially early on in the story, some parts rang slightly untrue from my (not far removed,) experiences as a young single male.
Despite those quibbles, by the end of the book I was pretty drawn into this character study and I really liked what the author did with his trajectory. I would suggest this novel to anyone who thinks that they would enjoy a story about such a specific topic.
so funny. so clear-eyed. RIP archetype of the brooklyn-based male literary genius. (2013)
holds up! forgot how much israel discourse this book contained—possibly bc i knew nothing about israel on first read. (2022)
holds up! forgot how much israel discourse this book contained—possibly bc i knew nothing about israel on first read. (2022)
Another book about a self centered intellectual jerk who loves hearing the sound of his own voice only this time written by a woman. How edgy.
so nathaniel p. sucks, but that's the point. truly flawed human being with bad track record towards women. that being said, i really enjoyed the writing and had to consult a dictionary a few times which definitely makes this one stand out. read mainly because it's set in my neighborhood.