Scan barcode
A review by abmochapman
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
Selin’s world is all-consuming and darkly funny. As she navigates the new territory of college, she finds that she has no idea what she’s doing and her classes have brought her no closer to answering that question.
Alongside Selin are a cast of odd friends, classmates, and a withholding love interest that are sometimes helpful and sometimes hostile. I recognized a lot of them from my own life, and while I didn’t find the center romance of the book compelling (I will die on the hill that Selin is gay and afflicted by compulsory heterosexuality), it was still familiar. Maybe that is only because, like Selin, I too am doomed to be a writer!
So, buckle in. The Idiot is full of confusion, impulse, tedium, mistakes, loneliness, new experiences, and more. Prepare to relive your freshman year of college or live it for the first time.
Alongside Selin are a cast of odd friends, classmates, and a withholding love interest that are sometimes helpful and sometimes hostile. I recognized a lot of them from my own life, and while I didn’t find the center romance of the book compelling (I will die on the hill that Selin is gay and afflicted by compulsory heterosexuality), it was still familiar. Maybe that is only because, like Selin, I too am doomed to be a writer!
So, buckle in. The Idiot is full of confusion, impulse, tedium, mistakes, loneliness, new experiences, and more. Prepare to relive your freshman year of college or live it for the first time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia