bronade's review against another edition
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Racial slurs
hannibanani29's review
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Racism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Cursing
emscatchard's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
the first 100 or so pages before she started emailing ivan took me a year to get through, but i really enjoyed the writing style the whole way through. there was no plot, and i found it reminded me of watching those "day in the life" tiktoks people make where you can sit back and get a glimpse through other peoples eyes.
Spoiler
fuck ivan though. very well written character but fuck him fr what an ass
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
wasabby's review against another edition
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The first half of the book is focused on Selin, a freshman at Harvard, going through the machinations of college life. If the whole book was set up like this, I think it'd be easier to like it. Unfortunately, at the halfway mark, the book devolves into a strange grooming scenario between Selin and a senior/grad student. When you combine that with the sheer amount of casual racism, literal slurs, *acknowledgement* of the slurs and yet the continued use of them, the constant antisemitism the book somehow always finds a way to come back to... it's not a good book. It glorifies a predatory dynamic between a young woman and a man too old to be dating an 18 year old. It doesn't criticize the lack of empathy Selin feels for those around her. Characters in the book are often devoid of any real personality beyond "the black roommate" and "the friend of a friend who has a girlfriend in a wheelchair." Also just a lot of strange sexual content. If any of that's not your cup of tea, I'd avoid reading this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Excrement, Emotional abuse, War, Alcoholism, Classism, Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Racism, Addiction, Child death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Ableism, Body shaming, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Stalking, and Xenophobia
kshertz's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
No clue what this is about. A person that doesn’t know what they’re doing and keeps purposefully messing up their life? I’m not sure what they were trying to accomplish here but I’m glad I did the audiobook. Even then, I almost DNFd it. Which never happens with me. Definitely can’t recommend unless you like a really slow pace existential books.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
starryybella's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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
5.0
“The Idiot” is the witty, hilarious, semi-autobiographical story of the daughter of Turkish immigrants, Selin. A first-year student at Harvard in 1995, she discovers e-mail and begins corresponding with one of her Russian classmates, Ivan, and eventually falls for him. In the same Russian class, she also befriends the charismatic Svetlana, who becomes her best friend.
Selin seems to be in the constant pursuit of the answer to the old-as-time question of “Why is everything confusing?” In her naïve attempts at trying to discover what love truly means and the meaning of the world around her, she begins to discover herself in ways that wouldn’t have been possible without Ivan. She travels to the Hungarian countryside, at Ivan’s suggestion since he was going back home to Budapest, and comes to grips with what she wants her relationship to look like with him and what she wants for herself.
Oh, how this book reminded me of first love. The confusion, exhilaration, and miscommunication of it all hit close to home. First love is hard. Anyone who’s truly been in love can tell you that. Ivan even reminded me of love interests I had in the past.
In this scary resemblance, I had time to reflect on my love life. Like Selin, my love life has been a lot of things, but it’s never been boring. There were so many parts to Selin I adored, and she was painfully relatable. This book felt like an extension of myself, scooped out of the deepest thoughts of my brain.
What I admire about the book is that her entire personality doesn’t revolve around Ivan, as other readers have described this book to have been. I think the discovery of her personality wouldn’t have been possible if she hadn’t corresponded with Ivan or followed him to Hungary. The characters were human - which also entails ambiguity. They all had their flaws, but they also had some flame to them that even made me like Ivan, as questionable as he was.
For a few days, I got to be absorbed in Selin’s life and saw even more similarities to my own. She has difficulty fitting in anywhere - even in Turkey, where her family is from. She’s also, as the back of the book jokes, “doomed” to become a writer. Observing my own navel, I’ve also been realizing in the midst of applying to colleges, I, too, am doomed to become a writer.
The fact that this isn’t your traditional narrative makes it all the more exciting. It’s the perfect cross between realism and absurdism - while often being rooted in the real world, things happen for seemingly absurd reasons and sometimes, have random or no explanation behind them, leaving us to philosophize and assume crazy conclusions drawn out of air.
Although the setting is Harvard, the clever narration of this story often pokes fun at the “intellectuals” at Harvard and about academia in general. If you don’t understand the references to media throughout the book, don’t worry, it won’t destroy your comprehension of the plot. With a reference to Dostoyevsky for the namesake of the book, my very basic level of knowledge of Russian literature still allowed me to love “The Idiot” dearly.
As much second-hand embarrassment I got from the book, I loved this blossoming writer with her sharp as a knife humor and her “idiotic” pursuit of love. This book is just as much about love as it is about academia, our emotions, the absurdity of the world around us, college, becoming an adult, and idealizing someone we could hardly ever begin to know. To say it was relatable is merely an understatement.
“The Idiot” was one of the most delightful books I’ve read, and it feels like a breath of very much needed fresh air compared to the other heavier things I’ve read recently. I had a stupid smile on my face after I got finished with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
mondovertigo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
sydneybedell's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Eating disorder
libbyhb's review against another edition
funny
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? Yes
4.5
What a strange book! I enjoyed reading this. The writing style/format was really suited to my tastes - I loved that it was kind of meandering and introspective and that the plot still progressed but in a more detached way. I liked all of Selin's thoughts and observations, even when her actions were sooo frustrating. I also liked how the book was so clearly inspired by real life events, it felt so authentic and grounded. Can't wait to read the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Eating disorder
savvylit's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Idiot is a fascinating glimpse into the mind of an incredibly intelligent yet socially naive young woman. For instance, Selin spends paragraphs contemplating philosophy, existentialism, linguistics, and mathematics - but she can barely express her own emotions and needs. Early in the novel, Selin enters into a toxic friendship with a fellow student named Ivan. Both Selin and Ivan are deeply emotionally stunted. In fact, they both talk AT each other instead of TO each other. And the majority of those one-sided conversations occur only via email. Their relationship was incredibly frustrating to witness & possibly my least favorite aspect of this novel. Luckily, Selin herself is so endearing that it makes up for it!
Selin's naivete, though frustrating, allows her to be an incredibly keen observationist. Being a college freshman, Selin experiences "adult" interaction for the first time. In these encounters, she often has a completely fresh perspective on ordinary scenarios that most of us might take for granted. And she's funny! Selin has a dry humor that kept me chuckling to myself from the first page to the last.
Selin's naivete, though frustrating, allows her to be an incredibly keen observationist. Being a college freshman, Selin experiences "adult" interaction for the first time. In these encounters, she often has a completely fresh perspective on ordinary scenarios that most of us might take for granted. And she's funny! Selin has a dry humor that kept me chuckling to myself from the first page to the last.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Ableism, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: War and Body shaming