Reviews

All the Sad Young Literary Men by Keith Gessen

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moonshake's review

1.0

i hate every person in this book and i hate the author for capitalizing on the insecurities of his target audience (white ppl who are having a real tough time not being fucking losers)

nanikeeva's review

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1.0

awful, would give zero stars if i could - expected better from Gessen based on "a terrible country."

The only problem with a character study is when the characters you are attempting to study are whiny, irritating, and boring.

The prose is well constructed, but the story itself is ultimately too boring to be worth reading.

abroadwell's review

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2.0

About the lives of three 20ish grad students on the East Coast. --mostly NYC. (if you have a low opinion of Syracuse, you might find the description of life there amusing.). I could identify with the trouble in finishing a dissertation; this is a universal of grad student life. But I couldn't identify with these students, who are all heterosexual former athletes pining after women and spending their free time lifting weights. I've never known any grad students at all like this.

And they don't really do anything either, they just spent time agonizing over what they ought to do. Should I be with this hot girl or that hot girl? Should I spent time withe Prof X or Prof. Y?

Feh...

emma_sky's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

chloelikedolivia's review

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5.0

It will come as a surprise to exactly no one that I loved this book. Sad and pretty and deeply satirical, it's the story of overeducated boys who can't figure out what to do about girls or their lives. It was kind of written just for me.