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3.18 AVERAGE
3.18 AVERAGE
This book was terrible. If I was describing it to friends I would say "Zero out of 10, do not recommend." Although I am normally a binge reader, I often had to take 20 minute breaks between chapters because Nathaniel P was such a despicable character. He's extremely misogynistic and justifies by thinking 'I'm a feminist. If I have these misogynist thoughts, it's not because I'm misogynist, it's because that's how women really are' as if he's some sort of enlightened God that women should just want to please. The book runs through all his failed relationships past present and future throughout the longer thread of his only relationship with a girl who satisfies his intellectual needs, but in the end he convinces himself she is neurotic and clingy like everyone else, although she is definitively not. In the end, you have to conclude that he likes having a high maintenance hot chick who is wild in bed, smart but not smart enough to challenge him, and demanding in a way that keeps him coming back. As the reader, I have to ask - is this what the thoughts of men are really like? If so, I will be single forever. If there was any thing to be learned, it was from Hannah and Aurit - never settle, and never let a guy make you think you're acting crazy.
P.S. I was really disappointed.
P.S. I was really disappointed.
I despised the protagonist of this book so much which makes me think this book is either fantastically written or perfectly dreadful.
There is something so engrossing about the antics of this protagonist. I can't stand yet him, yet see glimmers of so many characters I love in real life, and just when I empathize with him, I fear I am as unconscious of my own failings as he is his. Waldman masterfully captures the spirit and hypocrisies of my generation's male heroes.
I liked this book more than anticipated. My only issue was the entire time i was hyper aware that this seemed like a woman's interpretation of what a man thinks when he loses interest in a woman. It was an interesting mental look behind the scenes of a break up, but it wasn't necessarily accurate. I have never analyzed a relationship as deeply and...annoyingly as Nate P. She also goes into a lot of detail about the clothes women wear, a feature of women's writing I always found irritating. Her characters all have depth and seem real-they could be your friends and their interactions with one another seem genuine. They are filled with the nuances and weight of history that friendships always have. Everything relates to past situations, not just the present one. I enjoyed especially the relationship between Nate and Aurit, his primary female friend.
All in all, the characters gave the book a genuine nature, but also made me never ever want to move to Brooklyn because they were all pretentious as shit.
All in all, the characters gave the book a genuine nature, but also made me never ever want to move to Brooklyn because they were all pretentious as shit.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
It’s a relatively short book but not a quick read. Basically Nate is garbage, but the story is well written and uncomfortably relatable.
This book is just about the worst. I could deal with every character being awful if the writing was enjoyable, acerbic or witty, but it's not any of those things (and the characters are still just terrible, as well as unbelievable). I wanted to stick with the novel because my book club is reading it this month, but it makes me want to bang my head on the steering wheel. Best for me to move on to something that doesn't inspire such violent tendencies.
A horror story, a cautionary tale, a fable about the low standards we have for privileged men, a satire, a tragedy, and incidentally, a biography of every other boy I went to college with.
I wanted to like this, I really did. It's like Girls, uncomfortable, too self important and predictable.
The main character wasn't very likeable so it was hard to invest in his failed romantic relationships.