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A review by jude_hoo
The Man of My Dreams by Sittenfeld
5.0
For me, a Curtis Sittenfeld book is one to be savoured and it is for this reason that I've had this book sitting on my shelf for years before finally cracking the cover and devouring the whole thing in the space of a few days.
Hannah does have a lot in common with Lee from Prep, and I can understand why that doesn't appeal to a lot of people. She's awkward, shy, and sometimes unpleasant. Her thoughts and feelings often reflect that she isn't thinking or feeling the things she thinks she should be questioning why she is the way she is and not a more beautiful, easy-going social butterfly. She is the source of a lot of her own problems and shoots herself in the foot time and time again. It can be uncomfortable to read, and for me, a lot of Hannah's weird thoughts and worries hit very close to home. Perhaps that is why I think of her as lovable and interesting where so many find her tirelessly annoying.
Where Prep and American Wife both tell relatively straightforward stories - the life stories of their protagonists, The Man of my Dreams is more experimental, following Hannah's story only in flashes, and only watching how her thoughts about romantic and sexual relationships changes as she grows from a young girl to a 28-year-old woman. You do see other things happening in her life and with her family, but her focus is solidly on relationships and I found this really interesting.
Hannah does have a lot in common with Lee from Prep, and I can understand why that doesn't appeal to a lot of people. She's awkward, shy, and sometimes unpleasant. Her thoughts and feelings often reflect that she isn't thinking or feeling the things she thinks she should be questioning why she is the way she is and not a more beautiful, easy-going social butterfly. She is the source of a lot of her own problems and shoots herself in the foot time and time again. It can be uncomfortable to read, and for me, a lot of Hannah's weird thoughts and worries hit very close to home. Perhaps that is why I think of her as lovable and interesting where so many find her tirelessly annoying.
Where Prep and American Wife both tell relatively straightforward stories - the life stories of their protagonists, The Man of my Dreams is more experimental, following Hannah's story only in flashes, and only watching how her thoughts about romantic and sexual relationships changes as she grows from a young girl to a 28-year-old woman. You do see other things happening in her life and with her family, but her focus is solidly on relationships and I found this really interesting.