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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
The plot kept me reading but Jesus, I've never been so frustrated with characters before! There were so PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE about everything it drove me nuts
I picked up this book to read during a NYC vacation, after seeing it billed as the "next great New York novel." While it does make NYC seem like a great place to live, I found myself more annoyed with the book than entranced by it. The story is about Evan and Julia, who meet at Yale and move to NYC after Evan gets a job at a hedge fund right around the time of the market crash. From there it really splinters into two stories: Julia trying to "find herself" and figure out what to do with her life, and Evan working hard and getting caught up in a financial scandal.
The problem with the book is that Evan and Julia were so lacking in personality, and so spoiled and entitled, that it made it very hard for me to care about them at all. Julia is thin and beautiful, came from money, took a job through family connections making $27k a year, and is still going out all the time and partying, but she's UNFULFILLED. At a later point in the book, she's living in NYC rent free with no job at all, but still she's still unhappy and doesn't know what she wants to do with her life. While I understand the difficulty that can come with being a young adult without direction, most people do it without a huge safety net and the ability to live rent-free and without worrying about money in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Evan comes from small-town Canada, so he's supposed to be the fish-out-of-water, but he is so lacking in personality that none of that comes through in the book. Even when he's caught up in a scandal, he never faces any real consequences, and doesn't seem to care, which made me not care either.
There are some interesting parts in the book, but overall it was so milquetoast that I imagine it would only appeal to those similar to Julia - with money and no real problems, but no direction in life.
The problem with the book is that Evan and Julia were so lacking in personality, and so spoiled and entitled, that it made it very hard for me to care about them at all. Julia is thin and beautiful, came from money, took a job through family connections making $27k a year, and is still going out all the time and partying, but she's UNFULFILLED. At a later point in the book, she's living in NYC rent free with no job at all, but still she's still unhappy and doesn't know what she wants to do with her life. While I understand the difficulty that can come with being a young adult without direction, most people do it without a huge safety net and the ability to live rent-free and without worrying about money in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Evan comes from small-town Canada, so he's supposed to be the fish-out-of-water, but he is so lacking in personality that none of that comes through in the book. Even when he's caught up in a scandal, he never faces any real consequences, and doesn't seem to care, which made me not care either.
There are some interesting parts in the book, but overall it was so milquetoast that I imagine it would only appeal to those similar to Julia - with money and no real problems, but no direction in life.
This wasn't what I'd call "dazzling" but it was enjoyable -- a pretty predictable tale of college lovers growing up and figuring out who they are and lying about a lot of things along the way. It's not really a feel-good novel by any means, and there's not a lot of loyalty shown in this relationship, but it was a pretty good breezy summer kind of read!
My reading experience of "The Futures" was like being stuck at a very mediocre night out with only acquaintances.
I started out optimistic - the book grabbed my attention and was slightly enjoyable/relatable. As the story dragged on, I realized the book was not a good use of my time and I would have been better off not reading at all. I also saw the characters' true colors - self-sabotaging, self-pitying, entitled, racist, classist, cheaters. At the same time, it was like I was 3 drinks in and had to see how the night ended: I couldn't stop reading.
Before I knew it, I wasted 3 hours and was so close to being done with the book that I decided to finish it. The remaining hour was like waiting for Uber surge prices to drop: truly awful.
This book = no growth, minimal enjoyment, 4 hours time lost, down $10.
I started out optimistic - the book grabbed my attention and was slightly enjoyable/relatable. As the story dragged on, I realized the book was not a good use of my time and I would have been better off not reading at all. I also saw the characters' true colors - self-sabotaging, self-pitying, entitled, racist, classist, cheaters. At the same time, it was like I was 3 drinks in and had to see how the night ended: I couldn't stop reading.
Before I knew it, I wasted 3 hours and was so close to being done with the book that I decided to finish it. The remaining hour was like waiting for Uber surge prices to drop: truly awful.
This book = no growth, minimal enjoyment, 4 hours time lost, down $10.
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
I think this might have been closer to 1 star, the more I think on it.
I realize I never wrote a review of this (NOT GOOD) book. I can sum up my Strong Feelings for this book with this: the privileged main girl who so royally and dumbly screws up without a smidgen of repercussion goes home to hide in her parents' mansion at the end, and do you know what she does? To come to terms with her mistakes? Let me tell you. She decides to read all the classics she skipped in English class. It says in the book "I have a vague plan to work my way up to the present." You're going to read all of them? All of classic literature? SURE, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A REALISTIC AND RELATABLE TASK.
It reminded me of The Interestings, in that I don't think I can take seriously books about rich, privileged people and their problems of their own making.
(AND THEN THEY GOT BACK TOGETHER, I CANNOT.)
I realize I never wrote a review of this (NOT GOOD) book. I can sum up my Strong Feelings for this book with this: the privileged main girl who so royally and dumbly screws up without a smidgen of repercussion goes home to hide in her parents' mansion at the end, and do you know what she does? To come to terms with her mistakes? Let me tell you. She decides to read all the classics she skipped in English class. It says in the book "I have a vague plan to work my way up to the present." You're going to read all of them? All of classic literature? SURE, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A REALISTIC AND RELATABLE TASK.
It reminded me of The Interestings, in that I don't think I can take seriously books about rich, privileged people and their problems of their own making.
(AND THEN THEY GOT BACK TOGETHER, I CANNOT.)
I’d had The Futures on my TBR for years and after I loved Anna Pitoniak’s Necessary People last year, I decided to finally pick it up. It definitely checks a lot of boxes for me: a little bit coming of age, a little bit domestic drama, a complicated relationship, and lives of the rich and fabulous.
I enjoyed the depth Pitoniak gives her characters. The alternating perspectives between Julia and Evan are fascinating because you get to see how two people interpret the same situation completely differently.
I have to admit, I found Julia’s chapters more compelling than Evan’s. Likely because I identified with her, particularly her worst qualities.
I enjoyed the depth Pitoniak gives her characters. The alternating perspectives between Julia and Evan are fascinating because you get to see how two people interpret the same situation completely differently.
I have to admit, I found Julia’s chapters more compelling than Evan’s. Likely because I identified with her, particularly her worst qualities.
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
wish there was more mess