el_tuttle's review
5.0
Once again, Batuman captures the college experience of being a literary wanderlust thrust into an overtly sexual landscape. The reflections on aesthetics and literature are much appreciated, though I do feel content to know Batuman ultimately finds value in Irigaray/Cixous, because it did a little bit kill me to have a protagonist I relate to so deeply simply caste them aside.
The travel portions remain the weakest part of the storyline, though Either/Or is stronger in keeping a holistic narrative than The Idiot, which had an irreparable juncture between the Harvard and Hungary sagas. Should Batuman feel compelled to keep Selin alive, I would be very excited to read about her adventures in Russia.
The travel portions remain the weakest part of the storyline, though Either/Or is stronger in keeping a holistic narrative than The Idiot, which had an irreparable juncture between the Harvard and Hungary sagas. Should Batuman feel compelled to keep Selin alive, I would be very excited to read about her adventures in Russia.
mimosaeyes's review
4.0
Can you believe I found this in a library, borrowed it and brought it home before realising it's a sequel to The Idiot? Honestly, I barely even read the blurb. The author's name had me sold at once. I may have read The Idiot almost four years ago and forgotten basically everything about it, but I retained a general impression of how good I thought it was.
I'm not blown away by Either/Or in quite the same way, possibly because I've left my undergrad days behind, but I still found myself snapping pictures of passages that hit home, and sending them to friends whom I knew would find the ideas expressed therein relatable. I really like the discussions about literature/art, gender, ethnicity and nationality, and heteronormative expectations about dating, marriage, and motherhood. These are concerns that young women my age (this describes the demographic of friends I was messaging while reading) all have on our minds, I think.
Some parts of this book are so funny that I made silly faces in public. On the other hand, sometimes Selin's pithy musings sound a bit pretentious. I think this was deliberate on the author's part, but I was never entirely certain about it. Another quibble I have is that the fourth and final section feels weaker than the rest. Watching Selin have casual sexual encounters (or near encounters) with various yucky men was alternately dreary and distressing. I liked the first three sections much better.
Batuman's books aren't for people who need a big forward thrust to the plot in order to feel invested. The main draw is that they are quietly intelligent, reflective, and insightful about numerous themes. I would recommend them, but not to everyone.
I'm not blown away by Either/Or in quite the same way, possibly because I've left my undergrad days behind, but I still found myself snapping pictures of passages that hit home, and sending them to friends whom I knew would find the ideas expressed therein relatable. I really like the discussions about literature/art, gender, ethnicity and nationality, and heteronormative expectations about dating, marriage, and motherhood. These are concerns that young women my age (this describes the demographic of friends I was messaging while reading) all have on our minds, I think.
Some parts of this book are so funny that I made silly faces in public. On the other hand, sometimes Selin's pithy musings sound a bit pretentious. I think this was deliberate on the author's part, but I was never entirely certain about it. Another quibble I have is that the fourth and final section feels weaker than the rest. Watching Selin have casual sexual encounters (or near encounters) with various yucky men was alternately dreary and distressing. I liked the first three sections much better.
Batuman's books aren't for people who need a big forward thrust to the plot in order to feel invested. The main draw is that they are quietly intelligent, reflective, and insightful about numerous themes. I would recommend them, but not to everyone.
85tarheel's review against another edition
5.0
“Selin, Sometimes I don’t understand you at all. Why can’t you do anything like a normal person?” is an observation made to the narrator of this wonderful novel. The story follows Selin through her Sophomore year at Harvard, following up on “The Idiot” which covered her Freshman year. There was a point in this book, around 270 pages in or so, when I was beginning to tire of Selin’s inability to take control of her life. I just needed to be a little more patient as Ms. Batuman did a masterful job of showing her growth as a self-realized and kind of confident person. It made me think to how different I was by the end of the Sophomore year of college, I remember when I got back for my Junior year I was much more controlled and in charge, and this is a great example of showing someone hit that point. With the two books it has been around 800 pages of Selin and I must say it has been a fascinating ride. I so identify with her thoughts like “Once or twice, I made up some kind of opinion and said it anyway. It felt both boring and depressing.” I live there. There is a LOT of humor in the book, I mean how can you not laugh at “Well, Selin, I think that the problem-free grasp of idiomatic language isn’t what we go to Alanis Morissette for.” Ironic isn’t it? Selin describes her change this way, “Last year, I admired wines. This, I’m wandering inside the red world.” I was happy to see her get there.
brikalb's review
funny
informative
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
4.5
3vi333's review
5.0
selin you are one of my favourite protagonists and i know, in my heart, a lesbian. elif batuman is hilarious and colours the world with all of these subtle observations in such a beautiful and truthful way. I felt like I was reading my own diary often (further proof of lez-selin agenda I’m pushing as a fellow academic dyke— this observation I want noted is also evidenced by the entire plot of The Idiot plz someone pay me to write about this), just the levels of intimacy in interaction with literature and the world. The Idiot was stunning and sad but Either/Or is sharp in such an intense & lingering way. i’d happily talk about this forever but also want to keep those feelings the novel inspired treasured. so i’ll end this short review with one of my favourite lines in the novel—there are so many—that made me ache for that teenage feeling of a clarity and understanding of the world that seems to unfurl with each passing year:
But I was more fortunate. I was going to remember, or discover, where everything came from. I was going to do the subtle, monstrous thing where you figured out what you were doing, and why.
But I was more fortunate. I was going to remember, or discover, where everything came from. I was going to do the subtle, monstrous thing where you figured out what you were doing, and why.
jennydoesnotgetit's review
4.0
Although Either/Or features the same characters and picks up almost exactly where The Idiot left off, it felt incredibly different. Selin was not nearly as hilarious or reflective as before. This was initially disappointing, but eventually fit the contents of this book, as the plot is much (much) darker. I admire Either/Or for going in a different direction than its wildly successful prequel, but it wasn’t as enjoyable by a long shot.
juliananemezio's review
4.0
"was this the decisive moment of my life? it felt as if the gap that had dogged me all my days knitting together before my eyes - so that, from this point on, my life would be as coherent and meaningful as my favorite books. at the same time, I had a powerful sense of having escaped something: of having finally stepped outside the script."
loulief's review
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault