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mgmoore's review against another edition
4.0
Touching, poignant, awkward and uncomfortable just like the protagonist. Sometimes a bit heavy handed, but a good read about people I cared about.
shailydc's review against another edition
3.0
Goodreads First Reads
I really enjoyed how snarky the writing in this book is.. it's one of the few books I've read where all the awkward things that happen to you in real life actually apply to the characters in the book.
One of my favorite lines, because I do this ALL the time:
I found Eric to be a hard character to root for because in his interactions with Maya and other characters he meets in his San Francisco life, he was always trying to calculate the "right" move. Rather than being himself, he was constantly trying to perfect the mold he thought would fit best in a situation. Perhaps this is realistic of real life, but I'd like to hope not.
I really enjoyed how snarky the writing in this book is.. it's one of the few books I've read where all the awkward things that happen to you in real life actually apply to the characters in the book.
One of my favorite lines, because I do this ALL the time:
"How's it going, Eric?" he says.
"Not much," I say. I always get the easy ones wrong.
I found Eric to be a hard character to root for because in his interactions with Maya and other characters he meets in his San Francisco life, he was always trying to calculate the "right" move. Rather than being himself, he was constantly trying to perfect the mold he thought would fit best in a situation. Perhaps this is realistic of real life, but I'd like to hope not.
readhikerepeat's review against another edition
4.0
From The Book Wheel:
Note: I won this book in a Twitter giveaway from @littlebrown
Have you ever read a book that has you wanting to tear your hair out because you are so torn on how you should be reacting to it? This is one of those books. On the one hand, I loved it. I read it, more or less, from start to finish and could not put it down. Plus, it takes place around Denver, where I live, and a lot of the locations are real, so it was easily to visualize. But…. I feel a little disconnected from the decade that I grew up/went to high school in.
Let me explain. The Unknowns is the story of a computer geek named Eric. A total nerd in high school who had his fair share of embarrassments, he becomes a multi-millionaire by the age of 24 by doing exactly what he was previously made fun of for doing. Of course, with money comes more opportunities for social exchanges, and this awkward kid learns to navigate the world of women. But soon he learns that not everything is as it seems and, at the root of things, there are unknowns (when I first started reading, I thought The Unknowns were people, but of course, they aren’t – they are the things about others that we don’t know, and in hindsight, this was fairly obvious).
But back to my point. In the book, Eric is only four years older than I am. While I could relate to a lot of his high school agony, whether on behalf of him or his antagonizers, most of his high school days are about the desire to conceal his computer geekiness. The problem with this is that I don’t remember computers being so foreign in 1996. I had a family computer with AOL and chatrooms and word processing at that time. And I certainly don’t remember dark dungeon-like classrooms for the computer nerds to run off to during lunch. Perhaps this was the case when Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were doing their thing, but I don’t remember this being an issue when I was in high school. Then again, maybe my school just had an inordinate amount of technology and so it wasn’t as taboo as it was in other schools.
For the full review, click here.
Note: I won this book in a Twitter giveaway from @littlebrown
Have you ever read a book that has you wanting to tear your hair out because you are so torn on how you should be reacting to it? This is one of those books. On the one hand, I loved it. I read it, more or less, from start to finish and could not put it down. Plus, it takes place around Denver, where I live, and a lot of the locations are real, so it was easily to visualize. But…. I feel a little disconnected from the decade that I grew up/went to high school in.
Let me explain. The Unknowns is the story of a computer geek named Eric. A total nerd in high school who had his fair share of embarrassments, he becomes a multi-millionaire by the age of 24 by doing exactly what he was previously made fun of for doing. Of course, with money comes more opportunities for social exchanges, and this awkward kid learns to navigate the world of women. But soon he learns that not everything is as it seems and, at the root of things, there are unknowns (when I first started reading, I thought The Unknowns were people, but of course, they aren’t – they are the things about others that we don’t know, and in hindsight, this was fairly obvious).
But back to my point. In the book, Eric is only four years older than I am. While I could relate to a lot of his high school agony, whether on behalf of him or his antagonizers, most of his high school days are about the desire to conceal his computer geekiness. The problem with this is that I don’t remember computers being so foreign in 1996. I had a family computer with AOL and chatrooms and word processing at that time. And I certainly don’t remember dark dungeon-like classrooms for the computer nerds to run off to during lunch. Perhaps this was the case when Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were doing their thing, but I don’t remember this being an issue when I was in high school. Then again, maybe my school just had an inordinate amount of technology and so it wasn’t as taboo as it was in other schools.
For the full review, click here.
nicolebonia's review against another edition
4.0
I pretty much read The Unknowns with my heart in my throat, very nervous for the main character. The novel alternates between Eric’s newer more polished millionaire version of himself and the geek in high school who had no friends, an awkward relationship with his father, and an idea of keeping a notebook cataloging the attributes of his female peers which just seems destined to go painfully wrong. It is easy to make the connection between the boy who was searching for a way to understand women, and the man who will inevitably run into problems because he hasn’t figured out the values and nuances of trust, loyalty, love and other equally complex notions.
The problem that surfaces with Maya is unique in that there aren’t any clear answers that Eric can see, and his nature makes it impossible for him to leave well enough alone. The Unknowns made me think a lot about the trust, or the appearance of such, we put into people we know and their interpretations of their own histories, and how important our interpretations are of them. So much is “unknown”, and can only be negotiated in the attachments we form with one another.
Eric’s highly evolved problem solving nature, and unambiguous thinking is put to severe strain. I loved the relationship analysis and commentary on modern culture. Roth is spot on. He places the reader so firmly in Eric’s head space that it is a little painful to be cognizant of the problems he’ll face in ways he cannot imagine, but that’s also part of the fun in this astutely observed, intelligent novel. Recommended.
The problem that surfaces with Maya is unique in that there aren’t any clear answers that Eric can see, and his nature makes it impossible for him to leave well enough alone. The Unknowns made me think a lot about the trust, or the appearance of such, we put into people we know and their interpretations of their own histories, and how important our interpretations are of them. So much is “unknown”, and can only be negotiated in the attachments we form with one another.
Eric’s highly evolved problem solving nature, and unambiguous thinking is put to severe strain. I loved the relationship analysis and commentary on modern culture. Roth is spot on. He places the reader so firmly in Eric’s head space that it is a little painful to be cognizant of the problems he’ll face in ways he cannot imagine, but that’s also part of the fun in this astutely observed, intelligent novel. Recommended.
soapy1anopy's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
!REPLACEMENT FOR THE BOOK OF HARRY- A CELEBRATION!
nickdouglas's review against another edition
5.0
I've been emailing myself lines to quote on my Tumblr. I'll have to queue them because there are so many. The book is short and nothing is extraneous. If you've ever over-calculated your romantic life, you in particular should read this and feel sympathetic pangs and yell "no don't do that!" at the protagonist.
adunnells's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
alpacasnout's review against another edition
lighthearted
sad
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
1.5
On the blurb of the German edition it said something along the lines of "can you program life?" and I thought, sounds neat, is he going to code himself an AI girlfriend that will develop sentience, eventually go rogue and try to murder anyone it perceives a romantic rival?
Even going so far to attempt to kill the protagonists mom and sister because AI are kinda stupid and think anything female and close to protagonist == lover?
No, absolutely not. What I got instead was nerdy asshole guy gets with his crush for no reason and keeps being an asshole to everyone, the end.
Even going so far to attempt to kill the protagonists mom and sister because AI are kinda stupid and think anything female and close to protagonist == lover?
No, absolutely not. What I got instead was nerdy asshole guy gets with his crush for no reason and keeps being an asshole to everyone, the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse and Drug use
ktrusty416's review against another edition
4.0
This book. Socially inept protagonist struggles (all of his life) to figure out how to interact with people in general and girls/women in particular. It's hard, so he retreats into the world of programming because it's easier to figure out. Until he meets the girl of his dreams. Funny, poignant, surprising and some absolutely beautiful lines, The Unknowns turned out to be a better book than I had expected. A story with real heart. Lovely.
lmc_sf's review against another edition
5.0
Debut novel from [a:Gabriel Roth|1015823|Gabriel Roth|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg].
I finished this today, what a great book. It starts out with Eric Muller entering high school and immediately making himself a social pariah when his lack of social skills blows up in a big way. He makes a couple of friends, starts programming .. without spoiling- fast forward through the dot com era, Eric's methodical approach to meeting and dating, painful family interactions, growing up. I have not yet decided if Eric's choice of direction in the pivotal moment in his relationship with Maya is the right choice or not, but it's hard not to root for Eric.
This novel reminded me of another favorite of the past few months, [b:Such Great Heights|18159657|Such Great Heights (A Novel)|Chris Cole|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1372868644s/18159657.jpg|25126818], again a debut novel, from [a:Chris Cole|7092026|Chris Cole|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1368650651p2/7092026.jpg]
Highly recommend!
I finished this today, what a great book. It starts out with Eric Muller entering high school and immediately making himself a social pariah when his lack of social skills blows up in a big way. He makes a couple of friends, starts programming .. without spoiling- fast forward through the dot com era, Eric's methodical approach to meeting and dating, painful family interactions, growing up. I have not yet decided if Eric's choice of direction in the pivotal moment in his relationship with Maya is the right choice or not, but it's hard not to root for Eric.
This novel reminded me of another favorite of the past few months, [b:Such Great Heights|18159657|Such Great Heights (A Novel)|Chris Cole|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1372868644s/18159657.jpg|25126818], again a debut novel, from [a:Chris Cole|7092026|Chris Cole|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1368650651p2/7092026.jpg]
Highly recommend!