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lindseyhall44's review
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
“I used to wonder this last year: how could you be so graceful in writing and so clumsy and life?”
Either Or takes place right after the events of its predecessor, The Idiot, as Selin returns to Harvard for her sophomore year of college. While discovering what it means to live an aesthetic versus an ethical life, Selin must deconstruct the issues which occurred last year as well as maneuver through the turbulence known as Academia, all before returning to her parents native country of Turkey for a summer abroad.
The narrative perspective of Selin toes the line between humor and sadness particularly well, as her witty remarks made me laugh out loud, yet were often at the expense of her naïveté. Never in all my reading experience have I ever related to a character as much as Selin, not so much in life stories, but more of how she sees the world. My heart clenched at this feeling of representation, found in a woman who is also trying to navigate the world around her. Similarly, Selin also finds comfort in representation, as the literary cannon serves as a guide to understand life in a more processable way.
While this book is not for everyone, the characters, writing, and nostalgia of a younger time places Either Or on a pedestal for literary fiction which will be hard to outmatch.
Either Or takes place right after the events of its predecessor, The Idiot, as Selin returns to Harvard for her sophomore year of college. While discovering what it means to live an aesthetic versus an ethical life, Selin must deconstruct the issues which occurred last year as well as maneuver through the turbulence known as Academia, all before returning to her parents native country of Turkey for a summer abroad.
The narrative perspective of Selin toes the line between humor and sadness particularly well, as her witty remarks made me laugh out loud, yet were often at the expense of her naïveté. Never in all my reading experience have I ever related to a character as much as Selin, not so much in life stories, but more of how she sees the world. My heart clenched at this feeling of representation, found in a woman who is also trying to navigate the world around her. Similarly, Selin also finds comfort in representation, as the literary cannon serves as a guide to understand life in a more processable way.
While this book is not for everyone, the characters, writing, and nostalgia of a younger time places Either Or on a pedestal for literary fiction which will be hard to outmatch.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Sexual harassment, Eating disorder, and Mental illness
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