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gadicohen93's review against another edition
3.0
Like a Girls episode with the plot removed. Sheila is obsessed by her best friendship and records their conversations for writing material. Much of the book is formatted page turningly as script. The protagonist doesn’t seem to have much going her way artistically but I still found this book readable and it kept me up several nights. At a certain point it does get exasperating and the artifice of the premise starts feeling thin but it was also nice to have a book that is about nothing and everything.
jacbom17's review against another edition
4.0
This was interesting i will probably reread! I really liked the beginning then it got harder to stay with.
savaging's review against another edition
2.0
At certain times in my life, I have been obsessed with the question of how a person should be. Now I'm a little shoulder-shrugging, thinking well we're primates so really what could we expect? Primates are always getting into trouble.
But back when I did more hand-wringing, I came up with a lot of possibilities of how a person should be. None of them were as boring as the options Heti considers.
This is a book about wanting to be a great artist but finding it's hard to be a great artist, and so instead mostly writing emails and doing coke. I liked how important the central friendship is to both characters, but the details of it were dull (the big climatic crisis is that Sheila buys the same yellow dress as Margaux). Haven't we all read enough autobiographical novels by now to know that artists' lives are, in general, the most boring ones out there?
But back when I did more hand-wringing, I came up with a lot of possibilities of how a person should be. None of them were as boring as the options Heti considers.
This is a book about wanting to be a great artist but finding it's hard to be a great artist, and so instead mostly writing emails and doing coke. I liked how important the central friendship is to both characters, but the details of it were dull (the big climatic crisis is that Sheila buys the same yellow dress as Margaux). Haven't we all read enough autobiographical novels by now to know that artists' lives are, in general, the most boring ones out there?
marniemarnmar's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-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
3.0
millienorth's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely inhaled this. Trite, but I would read her shopping lists (especially if they were written like the emails in this book). Already cannot wait to re-read this.
cryingalot49's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
a2lulu's review against another edition
4.0
It was fascinating and innovative. I've never read anything like it and I love having a reading experience like that. There seems to be widespread dislike of it - "self-involved", "navel gazing", "first-world problems" - but to me one of the things I love about fiction is taking a trip into somebody else's life, getting inside their head and how they think. I love flawed characters who struggle and make discoveries that aren't spelled out for you. If you want a straight plot-driven narrative where the loveable heroine triumphs- yeah, this ain't for you.
iggy_pup's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ingeborg_frey's review against another edition
Tenkte hele tiden på middagsscenen i A Room with a View, når George Emerson former maten til et spørsmålstegn, og vipper tallerkenen så Lucy Honeychurch får se. Sjelen på bordet! Senere sier Mr. Emerson til Lucy, “By the side of the everlasting Why there is a Yes--a transitory Yes if you like, but a Yes.”
Sheila Hetis How Should a Person be er akkurat dette, et spørsmålstegn på en tallerken. Rundt bordet finner vi unge, blivende kunstnere. De sloss med sine demoner: perfeksjonisme, usikkerhet, mangel på tillit, dårlig selvbilde, frykt for å dumme seg ut, frykt for å ikke prestere, flauhet, skam. Løsningen på gåten, How Should a Person be? er ulik for alle gjestene. Men de forveksler egne behov og ønsker og utfordringer med hverandres, misforståelser oppstår, løses, fører til nye diskusjoner og konflikter, forsøk, utkast, forslag.
Sheila Heti sitt spørsmål er motivert av drømmen for å BLI noe. Hun har en personlig og innovervendt agenda, og det gjør at spørsmålstegnet hennes i stor grad formes av selvbevissthet og usikkerhet, så vel som nysgjerrighet og apetitt for livet. Hun er mindre interessert i WHY (som George Emerson) og mer interessert i HVORDAN kan jeg FREMSTÅ/BLI xxx. Men det fungerer likevel, for hun forsøker ikke å fremstille seg som hverken mer eller mindre enn det hun er. Hun prøver ikke å forkle selvpromoteringsønsket sitt i påstander om at hun er en filosofisk tenker med interesse for WHY, istedet er hun skamløst ærlig. Boka er rotete og umoden og klein, men også rørende og grådig morsom.
Sheila Hetis How Should a Person be er akkurat dette, et spørsmålstegn på en tallerken. Rundt bordet finner vi unge, blivende kunstnere. De sloss med sine demoner: perfeksjonisme, usikkerhet, mangel på tillit, dårlig selvbilde, frykt for å dumme seg ut, frykt for å ikke prestere, flauhet, skam. Løsningen på gåten, How Should a Person be? er ulik for alle gjestene. Men de forveksler egne behov og ønsker og utfordringer med hverandres, misforståelser oppstår, løses, fører til nye diskusjoner og konflikter, forsøk, utkast, forslag.
Sheila Heti sitt spørsmål er motivert av drømmen for å BLI noe. Hun har en personlig og innovervendt agenda, og det gjør at spørsmålstegnet hennes i stor grad formes av selvbevissthet og usikkerhet, så vel som nysgjerrighet og apetitt for livet. Hun er mindre interessert i WHY (som George Emerson) og mer interessert i HVORDAN kan jeg FREMSTÅ/BLI xxx. Men det fungerer likevel, for hun forsøker ikke å fremstille seg som hverken mer eller mindre enn det hun er. Hun prøver ikke å forkle selvpromoteringsønsket sitt i påstander om at hun er en filosofisk tenker med interesse for WHY, istedet er hun skamløst ærlig. Boka er rotete og umoden og klein, men også rørende og grådig morsom.
katieparrott12's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0