A review by thewaronhugs
The Idiot by Elif Batuman

challenging funny lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Not sure how I feel overall. I loved a lot of the random little observations and the way Selin sees the world. And I really loved the stuff poking fun at linguistics and philosophy and literature. The actual plot was sometimes hard to stay engaged with (there isn’t much of one), and especially the various characters were really hard to keep track of, or form much of a connection to (apart from Selin herself). Even Ivan who is the most important other person didn’t leave as much of an impression or cause as strong emotions in me as he might have done if everything was written in a more standard way. But Selin is very lovable and the book is frequently very funny, and sometimes really beautiful and deep.