The Best of Youth

by Michael Dahlie

What happens when an introverted young writer takes on a ghostwriting gig for a violent, drug-addicted Hollywood star? In the case of Henry Lang, the result is a string of outrageous disasters, but disasters that are ultimately hilarious, gripping, and deeply moving. When twenty-something Henry Lang loses his parents in a sailing accident, he’s left entirely alone in the world but also with an inheritance of fifteen million bucks. He decides to head to Brooklyn to immerse himself in the place he’s quite sure is the absolute heart of American youth culture to try and make it as a writer and editor at a young upstart literary magazine. He hopes to fall in love too. Unfortunately, Henry soon finds himself navigating increasingly baffling social difficulties with both women and work, eventually leading him to near ruin when he’s hired to ghostwrite a young adult novel. Henry’s integrity and entire fortune are on the line, and no one is sure if he can rescue either. By turns uproarious and tragic, The Best of Youth is a brilliant comedy of manners, introducing us to a surprising modern-day hero for an age where the mean-spirited and the famous triumph all too often.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Audiobook, Writing, Novels

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 2013

Reviews

[Andrew Hicks · Rating 3 out of 5]

The protagonist's name is Henry. He's 23 years old, and he lives in New York, because New York is where all the hip people live. As the book opens, Henry's parents die in a car accident and leave him $15 million.

The exorbitant sum is somewhat baffling, as the $15 million doesn't figure into the story. The Best of Youth would've been essentially the same story if he'd inherited, say, $150,000. Or if his parents would have lived. Oh, I suppose the dead parent factor helps drive home the feeling of Henry being alone and adrift in the world, but shoot, so do Henry's blandness, idiotic decision-making and overall bad luck, all of which actually do figure into the story.

That said, I was absorbed by Henry's strange, white-bread world, especially during the first hundred pages or so. There's a moment early on where Henry, through a series of coincidental plot machinations, is house-sitting for his best friend/would-be love interest's aunt, who is also filthy rich and has an irreplaceable collection of heirloom goats. Well, the winter storm is fierce, the power is out, and Henry decides the goats need to be warm. So he does something unspeakably stupid: he cranks up some gas-powered generators in the barn, plugs in some space heaters, and leaves everything running overnight with the doors closed, like, "I did my good deed, I'll check back in like 12 hours." Henry is quite surprised the next morning to find the goats soundly sleeping very dead.

As a reader, I barreled through this whole episode in a "HOLY SHIT!" state of disbelief. Like, God, that's nuts, what's gonna happen now?! And the answer turned out to be, the aunt got really, really angry, and so did the friend/unrequited love interest, and... life simply went on. The story just kept moving into a second act that wasn't much affected by the first act, except that the next time Henry did something unbelievably but characteristically stupid -- and the time after that -- there wasn't nearly the same impact on me as the reader.

Tell you what, though, I got through this book with a quickness, which says something. The story proper, when Dahlie finally gets to it, involves Henry ghostwriting a YA book for a semi-famous actor. Henry cranks out a draft over a few weeks, and in no time the book is a smash success, and the actor dives headfirst into self-righteously preaching his grossly incorrect notions of what makes a successful author. It kind of reminded me of Steve Carell as John du Pont in Foxcatcher (see it; it's a trip).

A couple Googled interviews with Dahlie revealed that Dahlie himself has done his fair share of ghostwriting, including a YA book that got starred reviews and ended up on a year-end Top 10 list. I'm dying to know what book it was; my money's on Judy Blume's Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret .

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what to say. Normally I don't like reviewing books that I can't give at least three stars to, but I figured since this was a copy I received free I should review it.

The Best of Youth just wasn't anything special for me. I've read the reviews that others have written, and I can't agree. I felt no connection to Henry whatsoever. He's a rich kid with weird social skills that manages to make a mess of things because he doesn't think his actions through. This isn't a new idea. Take a look at any rich adult that inherited the money. I didn't care whether he made it as a writer or not, and I didn't care whether or not he went to jail, or was forgiven for killing goats, or for trying to seduce his cousin.

I don't see this as a novel reflecting young adults either. No, I don't have the problem that people try to be my friend for money. No, I don't have the problem that I'm so rich I don't know what to do with my time. I wish I had those problems, but I don't. And I don't see how Henry is anything similar to a common person in the United States.

It moved very slowly for me. I could put it down for days at a time and not care. I didn't feel the need to rush through to discover the ending, because it frankly seemed pretty obvious (aside from the little meanderings with goats and a two week stint in jail). Sasha was hinted at coming back multiple times. Abby was upfront about not wanting a relationship to begin with. The men, with the exception of Kipling, were all so intangible to me that they never felt like real people.

The one thing that did get to me was Abby's beating. I know women fall under that so easily. It got to me when she said something along the lines of "while he was beating me I just kept saying I was sorry," because that's a real issue. But even that was handled so abruptly. I mean, the damn goats had a bigger part to play than her getting beaten up by a famous celebrity.

I don't know. It just wasn't the book for me. Clearly I'm in the minority on this, but I still felt the need to express how I felt.

(I received this in a First Reads giveaway.)

[Sean Hammer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really solid from start to finish. I'm predisposed to like this one as a result of an alarming amount of similarities with the protagonist, but the prose is excellent and has that effortless quality that always seems to remind me just how purely enjoyable reading a novel can/should be. I wouldn't say it has the thematic depth (though it's only 261 pages, so make of that what you will), to give it five stars, but still definitely recommended.

[Babette Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

FERNANDA ROMANI PER BABETTE BROWN BLOG
Henry è orfano e milionario, ma questa non è una vicenda di successi mondani ed economici.
In una storia permeata di sottile ironia l’autore ci presenta un giovane di 24 anni che, racchiuso dentro di sé il grande dolore per la morte dei genitori, cerca di trovare la propria strada.
Ama scrivere e gli piace raccontare storie di persone anziane, i suoi protagonisti sono sempre ottantenni e novantenni, e, mentre propone a riviste e case editrici i suoi lavori, tenta di muoversi nella società che lo circonda.

Henry è ingenuo e goffo oltre misura ma, soprattutto, è innocente. Attraversa il mondo cercando amicizie, relazioni sociali, amori. Sopra ogni cosa cerca di capire qual è il suo posto.
Potrebbe essere la scrittura, ma sappiamo bene che il percorso è lungo.
Assistiamo ai suoi tentativi, a suoi errori di valutazione, ai suoi comportamenti dettati da visioni stereotipate.
Lo vediamo cadere nella banalità, vittima della sua visione candida dell’Umanità. Eppure è una persona che riflette, fa considerazioni, soppesa i pro e i contro come farebbe chiunque di noi.
Forse per questo suscita tanta tenerezza.

L’autore riesce con grande abilità a raccontarci una nuova versione di Candido. Henry non è uno che vede nel mondo solo il bene ma, semplicemente, prova a confrontarsi con gli altri e spera di trovare accoglienza. Questo è già sufficiente per trovarsi in balia della tempesta. Colleziona disastri in qualunque campo e ci fa sorridere, mai sghignazzare. Sprovveduto e buono, cammina in bilico tra saggezza e profonda onestà, vittima di se stesso.
Henry riceve lezioni amare dalla vita ma riesce anche a darne, grazie alla sua assoluta limpidezza.
Facciamo il tifo per lui e gli auguriamo il meglio.

Cinque stelline.
Copia acquistata.

[Brian O'Leary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing special here

[Emily McDaid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot get a handle on this book and it's really irking me. I don't know whether this was the author's point. The main character is my age (ok.. maybe a bit younger) and yet so unlike anyone I've ever met, especially anyone who lives in Brooklyn. The fact he has money doesn't say enough about his personality, for me. I don't really care about his bank balance: all that tells me is that he's bored because he doesn't need to work. What does this character like to read? Eat, besides overpriced restaurant food? What does he do with his time besides kill goats? Is he bright? Everything he does seems annoying and idiotic. For a book that goes into such odd detail about the man's thought process I feel that I know surprisingly little about him. His easy success in publishing is only more irritating to me, even if it's ghostwritten, even if he can't take credit for it; it's still too easy, and hence the character becomes even more unrealistic. Who gets an agent that quickly? Who gets reviews like that on their very first book? But the thing that is bugging me the most is the women in the book. The cousin seems shallow, Sasha seems to have one characteristic: she has tattoos. (Granted, I'm not finished yet.... and I'm really hoping she's fleshed out a little more - terrible pun, sorry - or I'm going to get really cross!)

The other thing that really annoys me is that this book is described as having anything to do with hipsters. I live in a hipster area of Boston and not one character in this book is remotely similar to the hipsters I encounter on a daily basis in Inman Square. I feel this is probably the fault of the publisher and not the author.

At the risk of sounding extremely first world, I think this character would "make more sense" if he had inherited 15 billion rather than 15 million, because then at least his extremely strange reality would be easier for me to stomach. Is the celebrity impressed by the 15 million? I wouldn't have thought so.

I kept waiting for it it to heat up after the goats (another pun... I'm on a terrible roll here...) but it just hasn't. It's taking me forever to get through and it's a very short book.

I will happily update this review with IT'S BRILLIANT! if the final pages blow me away, but at the moment, I'm baffled by Richard Russo's review on the back that this book is effortless, as that's the last word I'd use to describe it. Making me question..... did he really read it?

[eb · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an odd book. The rather picaresque narrative centers on a sweet but unworldly protagonist, Henry, whose good intentions keep leading him into trouble. I cared about Henry, and read fast, eager to find out what happened to him. But the tone of the novel is bizarrely autistic—perhaps intentionally, perhaps not. The Best of Youth reminds me a piece of sham folk art: knowingly simplistic and naive.

[Moira Crone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really hilarious and beautiful novel. Had a great time reading it. Like Dahlie's previous novel, it is about a character who can't seem to get anything right, even though he's privileged in every way, he is also so clueless. Soft of like the world of HBO's Girls, modern day, pretentious, and complicated, Williamsburg Brooklyn. But there's more. The book has lots of heart. It's old fashioned and a delight.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. Michael Dahlie tells an entertaining, though sometimes painful, story of a well-to-do writer who finds himself in the worst of situations. I enjoyed this book thoroughly, but I will warn prospective readers of a highly disappointing, but still thought provoking, ending.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably one of the funniest books I've read in a long time, one with a narrator you just feel for. The situations Henry gets himself into make you want to knock some sense into him then hug him and say, "Yeah, I know life sucks sometimes."

[Hillary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Best of Youth is what Jane Austen would write if she were here, now, inhabiting a brilliant, self-conscious young writer who'd just been orphaned and inherited fifteen million dollars. This witty, romantic and irresistible story is a surefire antidote to anyone’s modern malaise.

[Darla Stokes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is less a novel than it is a random section cut out of the middle of our hero's life. There's really no beginning, middle, and end; it's just this happens and then this happens and then this happens. It does end at a particularly dramatic point, but it's not like the rest of the book has been leading up to that. The characters waver between being interesting and relatable to being inexplicable and flat.

[Jennifer Delgadillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a way, i kinda feel that it works to have the protagonist be a white rich guy, because it makes the punishing and humiliation a little easier to stomach. And I say this kindly, i don't like thinking that people deserve any of it, and i did love Henry quite a bit. There's a good deal of cause and consequence and cringe, and in the end one walks away feeling bruised but satisfied. I did think this book was really funny. Made me think of Voltaire's Candide.

[Sharon Falduto · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slim novel about a young man in New York City who seems just absolutely bewildered by life. He's been orphaned and left a lot of money, which he doesn't quite know what to do with, and he fancies his 4th cousin....more of a character study than an active packed novel, but the character of Henry is endearing (if a bit frustrating).

[Marta · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Best of Youth (2013)

Mi sono stati sulle balle tutti i personaggi e il protagonista più di tutti, con i suoi 15 milioni di $ e il suo romanzetto pietistico.

[Chia's Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5

[Zahir · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually don't read a lot of fiction, but there was something about the short description of this novel that intrigued me. Henry is a young 20-something who recently lost his parents in a boating accident, and finds himself navigating post-college life, with a sizable inheritance, in the hipster parts of Brooklyn figuring out what to do with his life.

It is difficult to describe Henry, as there is something incredibly human about him that anyone who has felt any form of social rejection, isolation, or awkwardness can relate to. However, at his core, Henry is a good person, but is in a sea of really weird and confusing people. No matter what he does, things seem to go badly for him, at least at first. He reminds me of Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller's character) from There's Something About Mary.

At first, the novel feels extraordinarily disjointed, as Henry is figuring out how to get a literary career off the ground, dealing with his feelings for Abby, who is his close friend and 4th cousin (who may or may not really be family being so distant). The disjointed nature is deliberate, as that really is how he is living his life, drifting from one thing to the next.

At this point, his relationship with Abby is very interesting, but incredibly sad. Henry is a good fellow who is in no uncertain way friendzoned by this girl who he genuinely cares about. The relationship very well described because you can tell they genuinely care for one another, despite the bitter disappointment of Henry being permanently trapped in 'just friends' territory. For much of the story, Abby is the only anchor in Henry's life.

As the plot progress, Henry is just going with the flow and seeing where life takes him. During this time, he can't seem to do anything right despite his good intentions, and even the reader gets annoyed with him. At one point, Henry tries to save a herd of incredibly rare and valuable goats on a Connecticut organic farm during a blizzard. The farm is run by a wealthy Hedge Fund manager's wife, who runs the farm as a hobby. Henry accidentally kills all of the goats, and is made to feel and look like a total jackass. However, Henry is ripped apart by several people for being a jerk and an idiot, despite his good intentions, but not for killing the goats per se. Rather, the most vicious anger is directed toward him by the farm owner because his accident made her look like an idiot socialite who has no business farming, causing her great embarrassment.

After this, Henry's going with the flow seems to take him down a path where nothing ever goes properly, and he winds up bumbling his way into a short stint in a rural jail. At this point, it feels like you're reading the story of Job in the bible, thinking, "when will this guy's torture end?" Throughout the whole thing, you know something bad will happen, but you really root for Henry to get through this in one piece.

As the Novel further progresses, things start getting better and worse for Henry when he agrees to ghostwrite a children's book for a famous actor. Henry produces a masterpiece, and in the process realizes that not only is his employer a real moron, but someone who is also a reprehensible and violent human being. He hurts Henry in many ways, the worst of which are taking full credit for Henry's masterpiece, but also by dating Abby. But when things get really bad, Henry does what he thinks is right, despite the severe personal consequences he will suffer for his actions.

But in the end, the book leaves you with hope. Despite his trials and tribulations, Henry loses big time, but also gains extremely valuable experience and learns some hard lessons. But most importantly, despite the drifting nature of his life and the horrible luck he had all along, things turn out to be fairly ok for him. But most importantly, he kept his integrity intact. In the end, God gave Job a new family and a decent life back.. Henry seems to have suffered, but despite the pain, he is a guy you're happy to root for and glad he made it to the end.

Overall, not a bad read.

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Best of Youth is purportedly a story about growing up in the modern world. And not just growing up as in "getting older" but as in "becoming an adult." Maybe that's why it gets gradually more tolerable; however, fair warning, the beginning is pretty excruciating. It's only because I have a strange and uncontrollable desire to finish things that I start that I pushed through. Was the end totally worth it? Debatable, but subjectively I enjoyed it.

The book is divided into thirds, and it definitely FEELS that way. Each third is sort of dedicated to a major life crisis of the main character, Henry. Henry is, as best described by his fourth cousin Abby, a "Fucking Idiot." And he reads that way. His naivety isn't charming, it's painful. It's so bad it didn't even really evoke pity, but rather contempt. Despite his earnestness and the fact that he is completely guileless, you kind of just want to punch him in the face. However, as mentioned, he grows up a bit, and though still a little too quaint for my taste, he basically ends up growing a pair.

Henry's story, in a very weird way, makes me think of 19th century Russian or English novels about protagonists with too much money and not enough occupation. I'm particularly reminded of Dostoyevsky's The Idiot, where a well-meaning protagonist is brought down by the corruption around him because all he wants to do is help yet gets taken advantage of. Henry's contemporaries, save one very specific example, are far less cynical and cruel, but they aren't really memorable either. Plus, the whole ride is kind of wacky, yet the resolution ends up being predictable and bland, albeit in kind of a sweet way.

What I ultimately liked about this book was: 1) Henry's eventual path to (semi-) self-awareness. Even though I hated him kind of, I still felt satisfaction in seeing him become less of a schmuck. 2) The portrayal of hipster life. I have two very good friends living in New York, one of whom came from Chicago (and still technically works here) and based on my experiences in Wicker Park and what I hear of Williamsburg and Manhattan, it's a pretty realistic depiction of the average 20-something lifestyle. In that regard, I enjoy that it captures a small snapshot of history, even if the story is weak. 3) Some of the writing was outrightly hilarious, though it lacked consistency. 4) The ending actually wound up being sweet, in a sappy kind of way.

What I disliked: 1) The writing was almost apologetic at times, and stylistically felt a bit overenthusiastic, like someone writing their very first book. While I get that this can be tied in with the character's own naivety, it was sort of painful to read as a result. 2) Again, the story was wacky and the characters weren't terribly sympathetic, even the ones I think you were supposed to be sympathetic to. Furthermore, the villain was too over-the-top. In general things went too far into extremes.

Overall I ended up enjoying it, and it was an easy read, but I'm not sure if I'd really send out a ringing endorsement for Best of Youth.

[John Luiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about a meek, hapless man, particularly since it’s told in a fairly serious and not comic vein, doesn’t sound like fodder for a very entertaining novel. But amazingly Michael Dahlie pulls it off in BEST OF YOUTH. Henry is the object of one humiliation after the next here – the literary magazine he bankrolls won’t publish a story he’s written, a woman he’s been to bed with circulates an e-mail letting half of hipster Brooklyn know he’s a milquetoast and bore, and she doesn’t simply confess he’s bad in bed, she also lets his world know he makes funny face when he’s doing it. About all Henry has going for him is that he inherited $15 million when his parents died and that he does seem to have some writing talent, although curiously every story twenty-something Henry wants to tell has someone in their 80s or older as its protagonist. Henry does get involved in some interesting escapades. Without giving too much away, he gets in a mess when he’s first asked to watch over a million-dollar herd of goats and then later to ghost-write a young adult novel for a pompous actor, who thinks he has brilliant ideas about writing, with his most important rule being never to use parentheses. All the while Henry pines for a fourth cousin who has no romantic interest in him. About his only redeeming quality is that he genuinely cares for other people – a quality only his late father seemed to notice. In short order, you do start to root for Henry and the characters in his world are interesting enough and his adversaries rotten enough that you happily keep reading to see if Henry can finally score a few wins in his life.

[La Stamberga dei Lettori · Rating 2 out of 5]

La storia di Henry, un giovane aspirante autore che vive a New York, presenta in modo comico e abbastanza disincantato una serie di situazioni al limite del surreale con l’intento di far divertire il lettore e, nel contempo, presentarci una metafora sui sogni e sugli scontri con la realtà di tutti quelli che come lui intendono percorrere la strada della scrittura professionale.
L’ambientazione del romanzo è abbastanza netta: siamo ai giorni nostri, abbiamo a che fare con un giovane che, a causa del suo dramma personale, ha un’immensa disponibilità finanziaria che gli consente di muoversi in diversi locali, o location statunitensi, in compagnia dei suoi affetti, per quanto il vuoto della perdita dei genitori continui a pesargli in gran parte delle sue ore diurne. Si vivono nella lettura tanti luoghi e storie personali che si accompagnano fedelmente, facendo entrare il lettore in tanti mondi diversificati contemporaneamente.
Come nella miglior tradizione della narrativa comica, ritroviamo anche una serie di personaggi ben calibrati, che recitano un ruolo ben preciso nella storia e che cercano in ogni modo di risvegliare il protagonista dal torpore vitale frutto del suo più grande difetto: la sua ingenuità.

Continua su:
http://www.lastambergadeilettori.com/...

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry inherits $15 million dollars when his parents are killed in a boating accident. Yet, nothing – not even buying his way in – is going to erase the poor young man’s social ineptitude, make him feel like a member of the hip Brooklyn community he so aspires to be a part of. Despite his obvious weaknesses in the romance, sheer competence, and cool lifestyle departments, Henry does have one thing going for him: he is a writer and, apparently, a pretty good one. Henry’s other main characteristic is harder to assess. Henry is a good man. And that becomes the pivot for a strangely straightforward story in which Dahlie explores exactly what that means. What is goodness? What happens to those who are good? What do we, as readers, think about good people, good writing, good anything? There is no elegant phrasing here, none of the ‘lyricism’ so popular in contemporary fiction. Dahlie writes Henry in simple terms, places his thoughts firmly on the page with little equivocation. Is this good writing? Where is the very hazy boundary between goodness and pure irony? It’s an interesting place to inhabit, both for a character and a reader, and Dahlie explores the territory with wonderful humor and wisdom. It’s weird how uncomfortable and revealing goodness can be.

[Campbell Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up by happenstance, because I was at the library with my kids and a) it was on the top shelf, b) I enjoyed the first couple chapters, and c) it has (not coincidentally, as it turns out) the same title as an Italian miniseries I loved.

Turned out to be one of the happier accidents of reading I've had. This is a slyly funny book, which by halfway through had me laughing out loud nearly every chapter. Dahlie writes at a remove, efficient and unencumbered, which entirely complements the tone.

I'm not sure I came away with much beyond simple enjoyment (rare enough, no small feat). It's a slight book, a minor but pleasing work with some sharp insight sprinkled throughout.

SPOILERS FOLLOW!!! DO NOT PROCEED FURTHER UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK

But the biggest problem for me: Henry does something so stupid early on that I almost gave up reading. And yet he's also a kind of unwitting literary genius? (I did like that it's hinted at the end that he might have lost his writer's mojo.) The character is so guileless, it's difficult to identify with him. He's almost a kind of savant.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was validating to read some of the other readers' comments after I read this book. One reviewer summed it up for me with: "I cannot get a handle on this book and it's really irking me." I have no problem, any more, not finishing a book I've started, but I didn't give up on this. Part of it is because it's short, part of it is because I wanted to see if I could figure out what it's about, and part of it is that I found the author's writing intriguing. He really captures what a total nerd the main character is. His inner dialogue, after hearing a girl he has feelings for completely shut him down, is pretty funny. Funny in that he's a total nerd!

This is a totally random, weird example, but... When he wants to offer a girl a non-alcohol, non-caffeine beverage, he says: "I have orange juice and I have pomegranate juice and I have two cans of pear nectar." It's just so unnecessarily detailed. And nerdy. Which is funny to me, but also makes the book a little slow.

[Readersaurus · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, Henry Lang reminds me of a slightly younger and more lost Dent, Arthur Dent. He's likable, but that feeling will wear off if he doesn't start exhibiting a little spark.

Reading this book is a little like watching Mr. Bean or After Hours. You cringe, you cover your eyes. You want it to end. You feel bad for him but, honestly, isn't it time he got his act together? At least Arthur Dent stood up for himself from time to time. (I'm halfway through.)

I think the book's biggest literary strength is that Dahlie makes the reader feel about Henry exactly the same way the other characters do. You want him to do well, but you just don't want to spend all that much time with him anymore.

Almost 4 stars. It has a little magical happity-doo-dah ending that was fun.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone knows a Henry. He's that guy (sometimes he's a woman) who's socially awkward. No matter how hard he tries everything always goes wrong. He's the person you want grab by the lapels and shake while shouting, "What were you thinking?!" But, he's just so gosh darned nice (sometimes leading to his status as a doormat) that you can't help liking him. Kind of.

Initially, I found Henry so frustrating (probably because I couldn't grab his lapels and shake) that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to finish the book. But, Henry perservered and so did I. Henry reminded me that it's always important to do the right thing - even when the cost is high. I'll be recommending this book (I think it would be great for book groups). Added bonus: as the Booth Tarkington writer in residence at Butler University, I can recommend him as a local author.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took 167 pages to actually get into this book. I almost stopped reading it multiple times because I didn't find Henry engaging or likable. He seemed like one of those guys who would've been taken out by natural selection in another time because he had so few street smarts and little common sense. I only kept reading it because a friend had recommended it so highly. While the plot improved during the last ~100 pages, it would be difficult for me to recommend this to many people. I don't know if this was the author's attempt at being ironic, but there were times when the use of parentheses was overdone. I appreciated the happy-ish ending, but it didn't make up for the other parts of the book that I felt I had to slog through.

[Alecia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rounded this rating up to 3 stars as the narrator is a very amiable fellow, and the writing was pretty good for the most part. The story line, however, was rather rambling, and the serious parts of the story did not jive well with the more comedic parts that started this novel. I did find the part about the goats pretty amusing in a horrifying way. I won't go into any more detail than that.

Henry inherits 15 million dollars, while he is in his 20's, because of his parent's untimely death. He is socially awkward, but a nice guy at his core. He discovers himself both romantically, and with his writing career as the story progresses. I liked Henry, but found this book , while a pleasant read, rather uncompelling.

[Mel Bowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend! I enjoyed both rejoicing and cringing at the main character's decisions throughout this book. A young grad finds his way among his peers in NYC, and as a reader I felt compelled to warn him of his naïveté : "Don't trust them!" "Don't do that!" "Stop liking her!" but I never felt frustrated by his decisions, which is often the case for me in this type of author/reader interaction. Rather, I had fun with this book, and further, found myself corrected at the end of the novel after I'd made assumptions about some of the characters. Well played, Dahlie-- looking forward to your next one.

[JBP · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novel by Michael Dahlie. I had my doubts since it is set in the hipster world of Brooklyn but Dahlie gently unspools some effective satire [not nearly as the silly and over-rated Truth in Advertising that I just read] as it follows the misadventures of the lead character Henry Lang. Poor Henry, he's about the nicest person in Brooklyn and people take advantage of him whenever they can, and by the end, I was rooting for the guy after he increasingly gets into more and more trouble. Good stuff.

[Nichola · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up off the library's new arrival shelf. I enjoyed it, but have no idea how to categorize or even summarize it because it was very different. I guess it is the story of a young man of unwanted means growing into himself and his career, but there's also some bother about goats, a felony arrest, a celebrity who dates his cousin, and a novel about terminal illness in there.
What was nice was its complete unpredictablity, the generally amicable nature of the main character and its fast pace.