A review by tumbly_weed
How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti

challenging emotional sad tense 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

3.25

For the first 3/4 of the book I found it pretentious and obnoxious. I set it down, planning to give up on it. But I hate not-finishing books, and I wanted to find out why it had done well, so I decided to finish. The final quarter of the book really brought together the purpose; seeing through the narcissism of the main character while she sees her narcissism, too, and her obsession with being understood and understanding herself. 

I’m not really sure what I got out of the book, but there was something pretty stunning about the author being so vulnerable about how shitty a person she saw herself as. I hope she has grown to perceive herself less darkly. I can see why Lena Dunham liked the book, but for me, this is a category of story that has a lot of self-loathing, and I don’t need more examples of how to do that in my brain.
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