Reviews

¿Cómo debería ser una persona? by Sheila Heti

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dianametzger's review against another edition

4.0

This book floored me in a lot of ways: clever, insightful writing and really bold ideas. This is the best quasi-memoir, more so millennial philosophy and psych book that I've read in quite some time. Asks all the right questions and doesn't promise answers, but gives a lot to think about it the end. Truly about a woman in her late twenties looking at the people around her, trying to learn from them exactly how a person should be--in their own lives and in the eyes of those around them. No wonder Heti is interviews editor at The Believer; what a perfect fit.

the_pershina's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-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

2.5

quietdomino's review against another edition

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after endlessly going back and forth on this, i've decided that the fact that i can't decide whether this book is genuinely admirable or horribly admirable means that the book is good. Thought-provoking it is definitely. Encouraging as a discourse on the bounds of female creative ambition, possibly not.

houndsofstars's review against another edition

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this was so bizarre and a bit outdated so idk if it was for me

virginia_vex's review against another edition

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5.0

I don't know if I've ever read a book like this! Purely in it its form I find it quite unique, especially in the dialogue and characters' address of one another in letter and email and how that is handled throughout the story. The main character Sheila is trying to write a play and so the actual form of the story takes on the feel and form of a play at times. It is one of the most relatable stories I've read in a long while in terms of the relationships, particularly the female friendships, in the book. The truths conveyed through such subtleties are just so spot on. The chapter that takes place in Miami at Art Basel is perfect. Like my thoughts, and feelings I have expressed to some of my lady friends, elucidated perfectly. At times I was completely disgusted with Sheila because her struggle seemed needless, that the answers laid before her but she was too weak to address her own weaknesses. It felt like all her attempts to discover how a person should be were in vain because she was uncommitted to being true to herself. It's a story about authenticity as much as it is a story about anything else. But truthfully the reasons I didn't like Sheila at times have to do with reason I don't like myself at times and that a story can present space for that kind of internal searching and realization is amazing. As we approach resolution in the story, in the Intermission chapter of the book, I saw real kernels of truth, about the stories we create about ourselves, that we build up in order to delude ourselves or avoid real pain, or in order to create pain in order to mask greater truths about the perversions in our souls. It feels like Sheila has come around, and in coming to these realizations and finding resolution in her work and her friendships, her future is looking brighter.