A review by nothingforpomegranted
The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Nate is the child of immigrants and a Harvard graduate with a promising book deal and regular freelance reviewing gigs. Perhaps in the manner of many twenty-something Brooklynite men, he is simultaneously (or alternately) extremely confident and extremely insecure. Nate has recently broken up with his girlfriend of a year or so, Elisa, and he reflects on her mostly disparagingly, with occasional fleeting images of her beauty and his appreciation for her. When he meets one of Elisa’s friends at a dinner party she hosts, Nate is surprised to find her both attractive and appealing, and they begin a relationship that lasts about five months. Nate wrestles with his confusion about the fact that she is the kind of woman he believes he wants, and he genuinely likes her, but he finds that he isn’t attracted to her anymore. With that frustration, he begins to find everything Hannah does irritating. While he’s able to reflect on the vicious cycle of insecurity this creates, eventually the relationship fails. 

This is a novel of manners, slowly following our protagonist from bar to bar, book event to book event, interacting with the people of the town and industry with the occasional plot point thrown in there beyond the personal reflections. I enjoyed this book, though it was one I could just set aside and forget about for days until I finally decided it was time to just pick it up and finish it.