artemisg's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is, unfortunately, about me (derogatory).
“I hooked up with Matt,” she said, indicating some red marks on her chest and shoulders. Was that hives? Who was Matt? Would I ever understand reality again?
Much like The Idiot, this is a character-driven, vibes-based book where we follow Selin through another year of her tertiary education. This year, she is recovering and reeling from the previous year, trying to put together the reasons she was so affected by Ivan, Hungary, and her aesthetic life. She gets worse, she gets better, and the cycle continues. She someone becomes less likeable and more likeable, less sympathetic and more sympathetic, which I think is the most true thing about teenage girls in the world. She’s complex and confusing and infuriating and so so interesting. I really appreciate and commend Batuman for writing such an interesting and complex character and being able to write in her voice in a way that is entirely consistent with the inconsistencies of teenagedom.
But now she was looking at me with affection. “I missed this Selin,” she said. It hadn’t occurred to me that she had missed me, too.
Again, this book is surprisingly hilarious; Selin remains a comedian. The cast of supporting characters was stellar, and I enjoyed the introduction of new present-day characters and new characters from Selin’s past - sometimes you do forget someone from your past for the length of a year (and a novel) and then are reminded of the in a particular situation. It felt true to life, not like Batuman needed to create a more vast and complex past for Selin. I love Svetlana and her brightness and bluntness. I loved the insight and emphasis on Selin’s mum, who is a wonderful character. Almost everyone was a great character, and even the ones I hated had their place. Sometimes, Selin was the one I hated, but I always got over it. She’s incredibly naive but thinks she’s worldly, which is the 19-year-old experience.
But I was more fortunate. I was going to remember, or discover, where everything had come from. I was going to do the subtle, monstrous thing where you figured out what you were doing, and why.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the themes of nationality and ethnicity and the examination of commodity fetishism. Selin somehow exhibits proletariat class consciousness while being a classist bourgeoisie. This book was beautiful and incredible but did not capture quite the same magic as The Idiot, which is an incredibly high bar, so I didn’t expect it to.
“I hooked up with Matt,” she said, indicating some red marks on her chest and shoulders. Was that hives? Who was Matt? Would I ever understand reality again?
Much like The Idiot, this is a character-driven, vibes-based book where we follow Selin through another year of her tertiary education. This year, she is recovering and reeling from the previous year, trying to put together the reasons she was so affected by Ivan, Hungary, and her aesthetic life. She gets worse, she gets better, and the cycle continues. She someone becomes less likeable and more likeable, less sympathetic and more sympathetic, which I think is the most true thing about teenage girls in the world. She’s complex and confusing and infuriating and so so interesting. I really appreciate and commend Batuman for writing such an interesting and complex character and being able to write in her voice in a way that is entirely consistent with the inconsistencies of teenagedom.
But now she was looking at me with affection. “I missed this Selin,” she said. It hadn’t occurred to me that she had missed me, too.
Again, this book is surprisingly hilarious; Selin remains a comedian. The cast of supporting characters was stellar, and I enjoyed the introduction of new present-day characters and new characters from Selin’s past - sometimes you do forget someone from your past for the length of a year (and a novel) and then are reminded of the in a particular situation. It felt true to life, not like Batuman needed to create a more vast and complex past for Selin. I love Svetlana and her brightness and bluntness. I loved the insight and emphasis on Selin’s mum, who is a wonderful character. Almost everyone was a great character, and even the ones I hated had their place. Sometimes, Selin was the one I hated, but I always got over it. She’s incredibly naive but thinks she’s worldly, which is the 19-year-old experience.
But I was more fortunate. I was going to remember, or discover, where everything had come from. I was going to do the subtle, monstrous thing where you figured out what you were doing, and why.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the themes of nationality and ethnicity and the examination of commodity fetishism. Selin somehow exhibits proletariat class consciousness while being a classist bourgeoisie. This book was beautiful and incredible but did not capture quite the same magic as The Idiot, which is an incredibly high bar, so I didn’t expect it to.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual harassment and Sexual content
mediatrikcxs's review against another edition
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It's interesting to read a second Elif Batuman book several years after reading The Idiot, when I have a much more strongly developed sense of self and can find myself disagreeing with a lot of the things the main character says or thinks. Most of Batuman's works are at least partially autobiographical, and I get the sense that she herself no longer feels or thinks the way she did about certain topics. The notes at the end of the book slap, don't skip those.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Stalking
Spoiler
the entire second half of the book basically covers the main character's sexual exploits with various men.astoriareader's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
MY THOUGHTS
- I blindly went into this book, as I kept seeing praise & good reviews for it. Apparently, it’s a sequel.
- This book DRAGS at such a slow pace. It also is not structured well, and it has extremely long chapters.
- Pedantic, pretentious. No idea why so many college lectures & quotes from other books are in this??
- Felt absolutely no connection to the main character.
- Tries to be a coming-of-age story if a Harvard student in her sophomore year.
- I have no idea how I finished this book.
- This is the most boring fictional book that I’ve read.
TL;DR: ⭐️this took me 9 days to finish 😂i usually fly through books. the most boring fictional book that i’ve ever read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content
Minor: Cancer
boogiebeez's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
her majesty elif batuman back at it again with A BANGER.
I am actually Selin (it is rare that I relate to book characters this much). I often felt like the observations and witticism she made are similar to how i regard the world but way more efficiently articulated. safe to say that I loved this book and will gobble up anything else written by Ms Batuman
I am actually Selin (it is rare that I relate to book characters this much). I often felt like the observations and witticism she made are similar to how i regard the world but way more efficiently articulated. safe to say that I loved this book and will gobble up anything else written by Ms Batuman
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment and Sexual content
Moderate: Xenophobia and Alcohol
brynpemery's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This was delightful. I also really enjoyed The Idiot and was surprised it had a sequel, but this really worked for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual harassment
risemini's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Sexual content
babcha's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I love it, as a Turkish American college girl myself I was very drawn to the heroine. A big conflict that Selin grapples with is her relationship to sex and boys.
Selin is a smart lady and her inner monologue draws me in with new words and different opinions. I wrote a whole google doc about this book , something I have never done before. What a great book to read after my reading slump.
Spoiler
I feel like there is no real satisfying answer to this dilemma but her character develops nonetheless, and the questions that appear toward the end of the story just show she is still growing. The climax being a sex scene makes sense since that is a big part of the thoughts she’s having and struggling with.Selin is a smart lady and her inner monologue draws me in with new words and different opinions. I wrote a whole google doc about this book , something I have never done before. What a great book to read after my reading slump.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
anagramatica's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I found the college setting and philosophical dialog a little irritating at first. I was listening to the audiobook and the author was reading. I wasn’t sure if I was going to continue listening, but I stuck with it. There were some pure funny moments, some cringe funny moments, and a lot of existential young-person-seeking moments. The later part of the story was easier for me to warm up to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Body shaming, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Cancer
waybeyondblue's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Toxic relationship
karabeavis's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I struggled with this one. On the one hand, the writing is incredible, and sure. Phrases like “the tap coughed” are brilliant and stuck in my mind. It’s set in Harvard and the ins and outs of a peer group of talented, precocious students from all over the world: this should be an interesting premise.
I found the book excruciating at times. For me, the main character is hard to identify with and have empathy for. Despite having a cool mum who is a no—nonsense doctor, in regular contact, the protagonist is hapless, and. It’s set in the 1990s — my adolescent period too. This character is empowered in some ways but also naive! She wants to live a little, which is the point of the last third of the book.
Back to the writing which is layer upon layer of cultural literature references: the book is thoroughly researched and clever. I loved the description of Selin’s time spent at her grandmother’s house in Turkey.
Overall highly esoteric and inwardly gazing. I like the sophisticated world the character moves in, but at the same time, I loathe it. I wanted to love this. there’s a buzz around it and many adore it!
I found the book excruciating at times. For me, the main character is hard to identify with and have empathy for. Despite having a cool mum who is a no—nonsense doctor, in regular contact, the protagonist is hapless, and
Spoiler
the sex she finally has is absolutely awful. There doesn’t seem to be a single pleasurable encounter. Pleasure doesn’t come into it. The character is totally neurotic, an American thing I observe in American sitcoms etc. It’s hard to like her.Back to the writing which is layer upon layer of cultural literature references: the book is thoroughly researched and clever. I loved the description of Selin’s time spent at her grandmother’s house in Turkey.
Overall highly esoteric and inwardly gazing. I like the sophisticated world the character moves in, but at the same time, I loathe it. I wanted to love this. there’s a buzz around it and many adore it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment