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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
3.5 / 5 - an accurate, heartfelt, and wholly relatable account of the excitement, grief, and confusion that one experiences coming out of undergrad.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
reflective
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A highly readable and well-observed portrait of Millennial malaise. A touch slow towards the end, but an engaging setting and characters who are lovably flawed and very relatable.
emotional
slow-paced
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
I finished this book last weekend and every time I go to write a review I just end up rambling. I absolutely loved it. The writing is beautiful. The characters are complex, flawed, and real. I think this was very much a ”right time, right place” read for me because the characters are navigating the world post college graduation and trying to figure life out while feeling like they’re failing at it and I relate to that so hard.
If I had to describe The Futures in one sentence it would be this one:
This is a book about adulthood that I believe a good portion of young people have to read.
What I love about Anna Pitoniak is that the plot is the least important aspect of her work but it can still stand and keep the novel entertaining while the real issues are dealt in the characterization and the social commentary that comes with the building of characters.
This is primarily a story about navigating life after college, the readers follow one couple: Evan and Julia. Evan is overly ambitious, focused on the future almost like having tunnel vision; he is sacrificing everything to get to his final destination, which is success, respect, and recognition.
Julia, on the other hand, is confused. She is overwhelmed by the possibilities and insecure about making the wrong choice, she is an outsider in her friend circle, the only one who still hasn’t figured life out – as if life is an equation easily solvable if you follow certain steps that society governs: a steady job with a lot of income, dressing a certain way, acting a certain way (aka follow the social codex), having dinners at certain restaurants, marrying, having kids, retiring in the suburbs, etc.
In a way, Pitoniak’s story is about people who successfully meet social expectations(Evan) and about people who don’t (Julia) – common ground: both are unhappy living on someone else’s terms.
Relationships fall apart, new ones are formed, career choices are re-examined, and the characters are finally satisfied and happy when they focus on their own vision of the future.
As much as Evan thought he could escape his inner dissatisfaction by excessive movement and Julia by stagnation the results are in both cases insufficient.
Both of them haven’t quite figured out how to adjust in order to get what they strive for and what makes them elated with their adult life. I think that is normal, it’s something many of us are struggling with, especially in your 20s (me included and a lot of my friends) and Pitoniak presents this as an unspoken norm; what isn’t normal is repressing these feelings and thoughts because it always has a way of doing damage – either to yourself or others.
Ultimately, the novel offers a comforting view on adulthood – it is something scary, something you have to work through alone; nobody can help you with that (no boss, no co-worker, no parent, no friend) – but they can offer advice, compassion and exchange their experiences: Arthur and Sara are the two confidantes out of whom Evan and Julia get the advice they need to move in the direction that will benefit them in the future.
Pitoniak’s novel offers a gentle pat on the back to all young people while at the same time punching them in the face with the destruction of one’s pre-built social expectations of life.
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I should have never doubted Anna Pitoniak, this book was very good! Review to come.
This is a book about adulthood that I believe a good portion of young people have to read.
What I love about Anna Pitoniak is that the plot is the least important aspect of her work but it can still stand and keep the novel entertaining while the real issues are dealt in the characterization and the social commentary that comes with the building of characters.
This is primarily a story about navigating life after college, the readers follow one couple: Evan and Julia. Evan is overly ambitious, focused on the future almost like having tunnel vision; he is sacrificing everything to get to his final destination, which is success, respect, and recognition.
Julia, on the other hand, is confused. She is overwhelmed by the possibilities and insecure about making the wrong choice, she is an outsider in her friend circle, the only one who still hasn’t figured life out – as if life is an equation easily solvable if you follow certain steps that society governs: a steady job with a lot of income, dressing a certain way, acting a certain way (aka follow the social codex), having dinners at certain restaurants, marrying, having kids, retiring in the suburbs, etc.
“I had made absolutely no plans for the future, and that seemed okay, as long as I wasn’t alone. But as I looked around the party, I realized that I was the only person left. The only one without a job. Abby was going to be a teacher. Evan’s roommate Arthur was working for the Obama campaign. And Evan had secured one of the most competitive jobs in finance. Only then did I see it clearly: everyone was figuring it out. Everyone except me. I had no passion, no plan, nothing that made me stand out from the crowd. I had absolutely no idea what kind of job I was supposed to get.”
In a way, Pitoniak’s story is about people who successfully meet social expectations(Evan) and about people who don’t (Julia) – common ground: both are unhappy living on someone else’s terms.
Relationships fall apart, new ones are formed, career choices are re-examined, and the characters are finally satisfied and happy when they focus on their own vision of the future.
“What if I was wrong? What if I hadn’t needed someone to tell me what to do next? Last year, after graduation, I’d had no idea what I was supposed to do with my life, and I wanted an answer. But what if the point was the question, not the answer?
It’s so tempting. Being told: this is who you are. This is how your life will go. This is what will make you happy. You will go to the right school, find the right job, marry the right man. You’ll do those things, and even if they feel wrong, you’ll keep doing them. Even if it breaks your heart, this is the way it’s done.”
As much as Evan thought he could escape his inner dissatisfaction by excessive movement and Julia by stagnation the results are in both cases insufficient.
Both of them haven’t quite figured out how to adjust in order to get what they strive for and what makes them elated with their adult life. I think that is normal, it’s something many of us are struggling with, especially in your 20s (me included and a lot of my friends) and Pitoniak presents this as an unspoken norm; what isn’t normal is repressing these feelings and thoughts because it always has a way of doing damage – either to yourself or others.
“I always wished someone had warned me about what it was like after college. How weird things are. And I had it really easy. My parents are connected. I got a job right after I graduated. I had nothing to complain about. But I still felt like shit. No one told me how hard it was going to be. It sounds like you went through this last year, too. You can relate.”
“What I mean is there’s nothing wrong with you. You had a shitty job, a shitty guy who messed things up for you. But that happens. You can’t really avoid that stuff. It’s not easy, figuring out what you want. It’s really hard. And I mean what you want, not what your friends want, not what someone else wants.”
I was quiet. She paused. “Is this making sense?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I guess I just—I know what you’re saying, but I don’t know…how do you actually do it? I mean, how do you figure that out?”
“Well,” she said, sitting up straight. Then she laughed. “This is kind of silly. I’m, like, two years older than you. Tell me if I’m being obnoxious.”
“No, not at all.”
“Well, I don’t know. It takes a while. It’s trial and error. But you just have to start doing it. And you have to trust yourself, to know what matters to you. You’re a smart girl. You’re going to be fine. Don’t let other people think they know better.”
Ultimately, the novel offers a comforting view on adulthood – it is something scary, something you have to work through alone; nobody can help you with that (no boss, no co-worker, no parent, no friend) – but they can offer advice, compassion and exchange their experiences: Arthur and Sara are the two confidantes out of whom Evan and Julia get the advice they need to move in the direction that will benefit them in the future.
Pitoniak’s novel offers a gentle pat on the back to all young people while at the same time punching them in the face with the destruction of one’s pre-built social expectations of life.
“Sara was right. It was a messy, difficult, shitty process—growing up, figuring out what you wanted. Some were lucky enough to figure it out on their own. I could see Elizabeth doing it already. Others were lucky enough to find a partner in the process, someone to expand their narrow views of the world. Abby and Jake, as unlikely as it seemed, were doing just that. But maybe there would always be people like me. Those for whom figuring it out came with a steep cost. I could feel it happening, slowly, in the smallest of steps. The future getting brighter. Where I was that day was in fact better than where I had been a year earlier. But the painful part was admitting what had happened to get me there. The implosion of two lives so that I might one day rebuild mine.”
**
“I wasn’t crying for Evan or for what I had done to him. I was crying for the person I had been before. That night, the music on the speakers, the night air through the window, the prickle of the carpet against the back of my legs: what washed over me was the realization that I was finally letting go of that girl. The girl who clung desperately to a hope that it would all work out, that everything would make sense if she just waited a little longer, if she just tried a little harder. I let myself cry for a long time. Until, gradually, the spotlight faded to black. The curtain lowered slowly, a silent pooling of fabric against the floor. The hush that followed. The stillness that felt as long as a eulogy.
And then the house lights coming up. The room blinking back to life. And me, alone, surrounded by a sea of empty seats. I stood up and opened the door.”
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I should have never doubted Anna Pitoniak, this book was very good! Review to come.