A review by rw444
The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld
4.0
I read Prep a long time ago, and American Wife right before this. Despite the schlocky title and precious looking cover, it was a skillfully written book. Sittenfeld tends to write characters who are quiet, thoughtful, and not terribly dramatic in their words or actions. That may turn people off who want tantrums and hot sex scenes or whatnot, but I find her characters refreshingly normal and interesting in their normality and quiet struggles.
This book takes a look at Hannah, an insecure, quiet, dreamy, depressive, mixed-up woman, starting with her teenage years and taking her through her twenties. We see her grow, make mistakes, experience new people and places, and come to find some peace with herself and her life. Even though she was unlikable at times, frustratingly obtuse and unrealistic in her expectations, Hannah was real to me, and I could relate to her years as a depressed college student and her fumbling attempts at adulthood. The people in your life disappoint you, and you disappoint them. We all have to try, fail, and out of that we grow and become who we are. It was an honest portrayal of that struggle, and I enjoyed seeing her through to the beginning of her more realized self.
This book takes a look at Hannah, an insecure, quiet, dreamy, depressive, mixed-up woman, starting with her teenage years and taking her through her twenties. We see her grow, make mistakes, experience new people and places, and come to find some peace with herself and her life. Even though she was unlikable at times, frustratingly obtuse and unrealistic in her expectations, Hannah was real to me, and I could relate to her years as a depressed college student and her fumbling attempts at adulthood. The people in your life disappoint you, and you disappoint them. We all have to try, fail, and out of that we grow and become who we are. It was an honest portrayal of that struggle, and I enjoyed seeing her through to the beginning of her more realized self.