jennydoesnotgetit's review against another edition
4.0
A delightful precursor (or postcursor) to The Idiot. Batuman’s finely tuned wry voice carried me from one intriguing, hilarious situation to the next. A perfect indulgence for a fan of The Idiot seeking more.
hansel's review against another edition
4.0
So cool! I love her writing, this had the potential to be reallllly boring but it was just great
gajeam's review against another edition
5.0
“Why can’t *I* publish a book like this!”, screamed Gabe, clutching a 70,000-word manuscript about the time he read half of Gogol’s “The Overcoat” in Au Bon Pain.
aleenasbooks's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
finalgirlfall's review against another edition
3.0
i remember finding this book strange, and also having to reckon with my attachment to batuman's first novel upon realizing that it was semi-autobiographical.
julieyue's review against another edition
3.0
Hilarious, if a bit uneven, but the highs are extremely high. How impressive to so successfully blend scholarship with memoir
makraemer's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed reading this, it was amusing, but not great. It has some fun with the graduate level pursuit of some of the liberal arts - people passionate about something that 99.9% of the world does not care about.