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savvylit's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
How Should a Person Be? is oddly captivating metafiction. The concept is interesting - philosophical conversations among creatives. It's definitely a mark of adulthood to have deep conversations with your friends about the meaning of life, and to be searching for some meaning together. It was somewhat fun to feel like a voyeur experiencing Heti's conversations secondhand. However, I'm not sure that these conversations are enough to make a book worth reading.
Additionally, this is a plotless, character-focused book with very few likable characters. Sheila portrays both herself and her close friends as unabashedly vain and pretentious. Their attitude towards money and labor is particularly cavalier and seems to reflect an unwritten privilege. Perhaps this book is just too honest; real people are indeed flawed and Heti doesn't hold back in revealing her own flaws.
Overall, I thought How Should a Person Be? was well-written and nominally interesting. However, I wouldn't recommend it nor be interested in revisiting it again in the future.
Additionally, this is a plotless, character-focused book with very few likable characters. Sheila portrays both herself and her close friends as unabashedly vain and pretentious. Their attitude towards money and labor is particularly cavalier and seems to reflect an unwritten privilege. Perhaps this book is just too honest; real people are indeed flawed and Heti doesn't hold back in revealing her own flaws.
Overall, I thought How Should a Person Be? was well-written and nominally interesting. However, I wouldn't recommend it nor be interested in revisiting it again in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Ableism
Moderate: Drug use and Racism
marissab's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Drug use, Sexual content, and Alcohol
tumbly_weed's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
For the first 3/4 of the book I found it pretentious and obnoxious. I set it down, planning to give up on it. But I hate not-finishing books, and I wanted to find out why it had done well, so I decided to finish. The final quarter of the book really brought together the purpose; seeing through the narcissism of the main character while she sees her narcissism, too, and her obsession with being understood and understanding herself.
I’m not really sure what I got out of the book, but there was something pretty stunning about the author being so vulnerable about how shitty a person she saw herself as. I hope she has grown to perceive herself less darkly. I can see why Lena Dunham liked the book, but for me, this is a category of story that has a lot of self-loathing, and I don’t need more examples of how to do that in my brain.
I’m not really sure what I got out of the book, but there was something pretty stunning about the author being so vulnerable about how shitty a person she saw herself as. I hope she has grown to perceive herself less darkly. I can see why Lena Dunham liked the book, but for me, this is a category of story that has a lot of self-loathing, and I don’t need more examples of how to do that in my brain.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual violence
Minor: Drug use
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