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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
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