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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
Gosh I hated this book, as evidenced by how long it took me to get through it. How it ended up on so many best of 2016 lists, I'll never know.
Cute and fun. I love a novel that weaves together different stories and perspectives.
I liked this better than her other book. I was rolling my eyes at Andrew pretty hard the whole time, I have trouble relating...I feel like if we need to hashtag his existence it's #firstworldproblems. Harry is sweet. I was worried Ruby would disappoint me.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"Choices were easy, until you realized how long life could be."
Well, life and Modern Lovers have at least one thing in common.
I'm not typically one to complain about book length because I have absolutely no reservations about spending a majority of my day reading a book. What else am I going to do? My job? Sleep eight hours a night? Couldn't be me.
Yet, ML dragged on in a way that felt much lengthier than it's 300-ish pages. This was the third novel of Straub's that I've read, and it's clear she has a distinct voice and style that threads ML, This Time Tomorrow and All Adults Here together. Family is a central theme to all three books and the trio of Straub's most recent novels, similar enough to be related yet different enough to be distinct, form their own little family. What ML does well, like exploring adult and childhood simultaneously through the lens of wit and wisdom, is carried through to its predecessors. What is done not so well, like boring, unlikeable characters, is left behind.
All this to say, while I can appreciate ML trailblazing the way for her hipper, most astute siblings, it's just OK in its own right.
--------------------
If Emma Straub writes it, then I read it. Sorry, I don't make the rules.
Well, life and Modern Lovers have at least one thing in common.
I'm not typically one to complain about book length because I have absolutely no reservations about spending a majority of my day reading a book. What else am I going to do? My job? Sleep eight hours a night? Couldn't be me.
Yet, ML dragged on in a way that felt much lengthier than it's 300-ish pages. This was the third novel of Straub's that I've read, and it's clear she has a distinct voice and style that threads ML, This Time Tomorrow and All Adults Here together. Family is a central theme to all three books and the trio of Straub's most recent novels, similar enough to be related yet different enough to be distinct, form their own little family. What ML does well, like exploring adult and childhood simultaneously through the lens of wit and wisdom, is carried through to its predecessors. What is done not so well, like boring, unlikeable characters, is left behind.
All this to say, while I can appreciate ML trailblazing the way for her hipper, most astute siblings, it's just OK in its own right.
--------------------
If Emma Straub writes it, then I read it. Sorry, I don't make the rules.
Vacillating between 3 and 4 stars. It was fine. I generally liked the ideas, I just didn’t love the characters or their various angsts.
And as an aside, the Mexico thing was so out of the blue.
And as an aside, the Mexico thing was so out of the blue.
[SPOILERS]
Meh. Rich middle-aged people in Brooklyn raise two kids, open a restaurant, and sell houses. One of them doesn't need to work because he comes from money, tries to invest in a yoga studio that gets busted for brewing homemade kombucha. The parents used to be in a band, one band member gets slightly more famous, dies, so naturally someone wants to make a movie about her. Why, why, why did I waste the time?
Meh. Rich middle-aged people in Brooklyn raise two kids, open a restaurant, and sell houses. One of them doesn't need to work because he comes from money, tries to invest in a yoga studio that gets busted for brewing homemade kombucha. The parents used to be in a band, one band member gets slightly more famous, dies, so naturally someone wants to make a movie about her. Why, why, why did I waste the time?
I was scared that this book would do the thing a lot of life novels do with adults and get real gloomy. But it didn't. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and following their stories. And for once I didn't really mind multiple narrators.