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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
Somewhere between Shola von Reinhold’s Lote and Renata Adler’s Speedboat by way of the New Yorker’s gossip columns.
I struggled to get into this book at first because it’s not plot driven and I didn’t find the characters relatable. But, I found the writing style interesting and humorous. As my friend said, this book is about the vibes.
3.5 is more accurate! Usually I really strongly dislike these slice-of-life / moment-in-time style books, but I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed this one. Isa had a way of stating things so perfectly that I highlighted a handful of quotes throughout. While some of this felt super obvious (escape to NYC and try to make it! odd jobs! random roommates!) and it arguably felt more like an essay as part of a collection than an entire book, it was enjoyable, and I imagine will grab some others like The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Witches Are Coming grabbed me (aka a "this book will find you when you need it" moment).
“If I were to describe a typical New York conversation, it would be two people waiting for their turn to talk.”
This novel has a distinct vibe which reminds me a lot of The Catcher in the Rye. The criticism that this book has no plot is unfounded. Superficially it’s about two best friends, Isa and Gala, trying to eke out an existence in the Big Apple while experiencing the nightlife. But it’s also a study in friendship, grief and a subtle criticism of the worship of youth and beauty.
The voice of Isa is amazing in that the author captures all of the conflicting ideas and morals of youth where the world sees you in one way but you have a deeper, inner story that isn’t acknowledged. Isa is young but nostalgic for details of the past in her constant search for happiness. People treat her as a frivolous decoration but in fact she is trying to hide her grief at the recent death of her mother. “My mama wanted me to experience things and go out into the world like she did.” So her exploration of the New York is actually a search for greater meaning in life.
It would be easy to write this book off as superficial and immature but that judgement would only mirror the ways that the experiences and feelings of young women are often discounted. I loved every moment of this book and was disappointed that it had to end.
The voice of Isa is amazing in that the author captures all of the conflicting ideas and morals of youth where the world sees you in one way but you have a deeper, inner story that isn’t acknowledged. Isa is young but nostalgic for details of the past in her constant search for happiness. People treat her as a frivolous decoration but in fact she is trying to hide her grief at the recent death of her mother. “My mama wanted me to experience things and go out into the world like she did.” So her exploration of the New York is actually a search for greater meaning in life.
It would be easy to write this book off as superficial and immature but that judgement would only mirror the ways that the experiences and feelings of young women are often discounted. I loved every moment of this book and was disappointed that it had to end.
lively, refreshing, & melancholy. i know it’s cheesy to liken a book to a fizzy drink but that is the sensation i felt while reading this— excitement & spontaneity always tempered by a slight & lasting pain, the coolness of taste paired with the burn of swallowing it all down. there’s a new york i’ve never been to stashed away in the pages of this, as well as a new york i’m fascinated by but find remote, a new york that repels me, & a new york very dear to me; the city’s representation here is kaleidoscopic, intimate, & fantastical. i began the book rather wary of the main characters’ youth & notions about the city, & especially the very wealthy, white circles they move in and out of seeking survival & friendship & the various relationships which combine the two. the book directs critique at the way these scenes work and the actors who populate it, but i think it also struggles to imagine that there is more to the city and life in the city than the tenuous & exclusive networks that its main characters traverse, spite, adore, & rely on, even as they spend the entire novel in a state of financial insecurity. there is simultaneously a claiming of & a contempt towards the way youth & beauty may be used as social currency, but only to a point. that all said, i come away from the novel loving isa & gala, & loving in particular how isa opens herself to life while determinedly guarding her interiority, refusing to let her own reality give way to another’s. i come away not necessarily nostalgic for or desirous of the life these girls live, but looking forward to crossing paths with an isa or two on the streets or spaces of the city sometime, hoping to meet their generous curiosity with the same, & kindness as well.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
love love love love love love LOVE this book, and all its commentary on so many things including being a young woman, charm, capitalism, grief, and making it happen no matter what. i love the writing i love the characters and their three dimensionality i love the world it slipped me into and the way it interplays with the world we live in. CANNOT RECOMMEND ENOUGH!
SO !! MUCH !! FUN !! it was refreshing and vapid in a way not many other novels i’ve read have been. it was insightful and introspective while knowing when to let the characters just be pretentious young women partying for a summer in new york city. it won’t be for everyone but it was certainly for me.