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A review by everythingeatsandiseaten
Either/Or by Elif Batuman
adventurous
funny
reflective
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
5.0
i knew this was going to be one of my favorite books like five pages in.
the narration is so witty and thoughtful, and the story itself felt so specifically relatable, especially for a certain audience. i can’t say if those outside of that audience will enjoy this as much (a man), but as the novel constantly references other pieces of literature one could find those parallels interesting as well, particularly if you’ve read them.
my favorite part is how throughout the author connects every single plot point and reference, creating the aforementioned parallels as well as leading the reader to compare everything to everything else. i did feel that this sort of connectedness fell apart somewhat towards the end, when the location and context of the story somewhat changes. this felt somewhat self-indulgent to me, just because the driving force(s) that had been acting the entire time seemed suddenly dropped, or at least not as prevalent. i do however have faith in batuman and think i just need to reread and reassess :-)
love love love this book! i think it will prove to be a timeless and consistently beautiful read.
the narration is so witty and thoughtful, and the story itself felt so specifically relatable, especially for a certain audience. i can’t say if those outside of that audience will enjoy this as much (a man), but as the novel constantly references other pieces of literature one could find those parallels interesting as well, particularly if you’ve read them.
my favorite part is how throughout the author connects every single plot point and reference, creating the aforementioned parallels as well as leading the reader to compare everything to everything else. i did feel that this sort of connectedness fell apart somewhat towards the end, when the location and context of the story somewhat changes. this felt somewhat self-indulgent to me, just because the driving force(s) that had been acting the entire time seemed suddenly dropped, or at least not as prevalent. i do however have faith in batuman and think i just need to reread and reassess :-)
love love love this book! i think it will prove to be a timeless and consistently beautiful read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment