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3.18 AVERAGE
3.18 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
per usual, i can't decide how to rate this. i loved reading about new york writers and their social lives. and it was refreshing to read about relationships from the male point of view. but also frustrating since the main character was pretty infuriating at times. and i do wonder about a woman writing from a man's point of view. i found it very believable but what do i know?
I find it astonishing that this book was written by a woman. It felt like misogynistic prattle for 200 pages. Good writer, colorful, just a boggling book.
I will start with the good stuff. Waldman has an engaging writing style. Her prose is both breezy and smart (not the easiest combo.) She knows literary hipster Brooklyn really well and provides a great setting. She also developed one interesting and dimensional character. Sadly that character is not Nate.
I think Waldman set out to write a book in the tradition of authors like Philip Roth and John Updike but with more depth of character. What would it look like if we could see inside of Nathan Zuckerman's or Harry Angstrom's head? Unfortunately I think that was a fool's errand. What is inside of Zuckerman or Angstrom or Nathaniel P. is pretty much what is on the outside of Zukerman or Angstrom or Nathaniel P. I am not saying men are not deep, or that men are all alike. What I am saying is that a certain kind of man, a narcissist who thinks about what image he is projecting rather than being a good man doesn't have the kinds of inner battles that Nate fights in this book. Nate is both jaded and callow. That seems like a paradox, but when you experience a lot and never grow as a person that is what happens. Waldman tries to make Nate complex, but he's a simple man. He cares about his writing, and he cares about how he is perceived, he cares about getting laid, he cares about feeling important without actually doing anything of import. Nate wrestling with himself, as he does for most of this book, is simply untrue to the character. Hannah was kind of great though. I liked Hannah. I want to read her story. I think Waldman would write it very well.
I think Waldman set out to write a book in the tradition of authors like Philip Roth and John Updike but with more depth of character. What would it look like if we could see inside of Nathan Zuckerman's or Harry Angstrom's head? Unfortunately I think that was a fool's errand. What is inside of Zuckerman or Angstrom or Nathaniel P. is pretty much what is on the outside of Zukerman or Angstrom or Nathaniel P. I am not saying men are not deep, or that men are all alike. What I am saying is that a certain kind of man, a narcissist who thinks about what image he is projecting rather than being a good man doesn't have the kinds of inner battles that Nate fights in this book. Nate is both jaded and callow. That seems like a paradox, but when you experience a lot and never grow as a person that is what happens. Waldman tries to make Nate complex, but he's a simple man. He cares about his writing, and he cares about how he is perceived, he cares about getting laid, he cares about feeling important without actually doing anything of import. Nate wrestling with himself, as he does for most of this book, is simply untrue to the character. Hannah was kind of great though. I liked Hannah. I want to read her story. I think Waldman would write it very well.
I don't know whether this book provides an accurate account of life as a freelance writer in Brooklyn. I also don't know if Adelle Waldman managed to describe accurately what men feel and think in a relationship. (How can one ever know what men think in relationships..?)
All I know is this is _a_ book about relationships. I like how multi-layered the characters are. Waldman describes their feelings and thoughts _a lot_, but it never gets boring. So whether it's realistic or not (I saw in some other reviews that it might not be — I disagree though), who cares. If you like a well-written casual story about the love life of a chap in Brooklyn who happens to write books for a living, this is as good as they come.
All I know is this is _a_ book about relationships. I like how multi-layered the characters are. Waldman describes their feelings and thoughts _a lot_, but it never gets boring. So whether it's realistic or not (I saw in some other reviews that it might not be — I disagree though), who cares. If you like a well-written casual story about the love life of a chap in Brooklyn who happens to write books for a living, this is as good as they come.
Despised every character in the book, but a good read nonetheless. Very similar writing to Euginides' The Marriage Plot and/or Franzen.
I thought that the book was pretty well written, so not difficult to read. But I also wasn't ever really excited to read it - I didn't think it had much new to add.
The book topic is light but the characters are interesting and the depiction of modern society stereotypes, fun and well observed.
After having read this book, I can't help but wonder what means were used by the author to get such good insight on the thoughts and behavior of the adolescent male.