A review by severinam
Either/Or by Elif Batuman
2.0
2.5
“At the same time, I had a powerful sense of having escaped something: of having finally stepped outside the script.”
If you thought nothing happened in The Idiot, you should dread this book. I started it with such enthusiasm because I absolutely loved loved loved the first part! Well, this one went from 4 stars to 2 in my mind in the progression of the plot until the ending forced me to put an extra 0.5 because I still care about Selin and her journey.
I liked some passages and I adore Selin, but this book did not make a strong impression on me. The last part, when Selin does a study abroad, left me more uncomfortable than anything and frankly saying I did not enjoy it at all.
I do not know if it is valid to say, but this feels like a second-book syndrome that maybe… possibly… can get better… when we see Selin’s junior year?
Or not. Elif Batuman I have high hopes for your mind (even if I do not anticipate reading about russia).
“At the same time, I had a powerful sense of having escaped something: of having finally stepped outside the script.”
If you thought nothing happened in The Idiot, you should dread this book. I started it with such enthusiasm because I absolutely loved loved loved the first part! Well, this one went from 4 stars to 2 in my mind in the progression of the plot until the ending forced me to put an extra 0.5 because I still care about Selin and her journey.
I liked some passages and I adore Selin, but this book did not make a strong impression on me. The last part, when Selin does a study abroad, left me more uncomfortable than anything and frankly saying I did not enjoy it at all.
I do not know if it is valid to say, but this feels like a second-book syndrome that maybe… possibly… can get better… when we see Selin’s junior year?
Or not. Elif Batuman I have high hopes for your mind (even if I do not anticipate reading about russia).