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The Tourists by Jeff Hobbs
Meet the tourists, former classmates at Yale who, seven years later, must confront the people they've become while forging lives in Manhattan. David, a hedge fund wunderkind who forfeited idealism for wealth, hopes that a more fulfilling life lies ahead in the suburbs. His wife, the beautiful Samona, to whom David returns home nightly with nothing left for her, wonders whether her marriage is stripping away her best years. Ethan, a successful furniture designer with a magnetic sexuality, seeks something darker and more uncertain than the power lunches, needy family, and unsatisfying relationships that comprise his life. Rounding out the group is the story's unnamed narrator, a freelance reporter struggling to stay afloat -- financially, professionally, and emotionally -- who shares complicated histories with each of them. When Ethan and Samona have a chance encounter at a gallery opening, they meet each other's needs. As our narrator traverses the city and gradually reconstructs the events that underlie the present circumstances, his own mysterious role comes into ever sharper focus. Only later, after David commissions Ethan to design some conference rooms at his firm and a secret triangle is formed, does our narrator begin to tie all the pieces together.With The Tourists, Jeff Hobbs delivers a striking and stylish debut about the dark and sometimes destructive aspects of physical attraction and love, marital disillusionment, and the inevitable disappointments life can bring.
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First published January 1, 2007
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About the author
Jeff Hobbs
6 books534 followersJeff Hobbs grew up in Kennett Square, PA and graduated from Yale in 2002 with a BA in English Language and Literature. He is the author of Seeking Shelter (and Amazon Best Book of 2025 so far) and The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace (winner of the LA Times Book Prize and NY Times notable book of the year), Show Them You’re Good, and Children of the State. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. He does not like criticizing the work of others and so only posts books on Goodreads to which he can earnestly give four or five stars.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
October 10, 2007
You know that friend? The one who won't shut up about the girl who broke his heart 8 years ago? And you listen because you have to, because this person is your friend? But for all the time he spends talking about this girl you never hear anything substantial about her and you never know exactly why he is so obsessed with her. And what is makes it worse is that your friend doesn't even have entertaining stories about the girl. When you listen closely it sounds like they might not even have actually dated, but maybe he just stalked her in college. Then you're creeped out, but again, this person is your friend, even though listening to him talk about his obsession makes you wonder why you are still friends.
Jeff Hobbs is not my friend, so I don't know why I put myself through this pedestrian and unrelenting novel.
Jeff Hobbs is not my friend, so I don't know why I put myself through this pedestrian and unrelenting novel.
August 11, 2007
This book is a literary abortion.
January 13, 2008
Uninspiring characters, a largely predictable story and a big waste of time. Good authors do more then illustrate a command of language. They reach out and invite you into a story and compell you to find out what happens. This book failed on all but being able to show that the author knows how to use language. If the words you write are not interesting does anyone really want to read them?
September 12, 2010
Self indulgent wank fest. The only thing that kept me reading this was a cross country flight in the E seat wedged between two dudes.
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July 25, 2011I found this book on one of my fairly routine bookstore browses, where I basically walk the fiction aisles looking at titles until one jumps out at me. Sometimes I remember hearing about the book, and sometimes I am simply intrigued by the description of the book and the first few paragraphs.
The latter was the case with Jeff Hobbs' The Tourists and I'm glad, because apparently when this book came out, it was labeled as a "Gatsby-meets-McInerney debut" novel. I probably would have run in the other direction if I had seen that, because how often does that hype ring true?
This is the story of four Yale graduates dealing with life in the "real world" nearly 10 years after college. While they weren't all friends in college, their lives become intertwined in far too many ways to recount in this review. And chronicling it all is the unnamed narrator, who is trying to keep his own life afloat both professionally and personally, and trying to make his mark in the world.
Even though I saw most of what happened in this book coming from a mile away, Jeff Hobbs created memorable characters from what could have been simple stock stereotypes—the fratboy jock struggling to make it in the business world, the exotic girl trying to be taken seriously, the gay guy determined to succeed over everyone else. The characters aren't always appealing, but I found the story compellingly readable; once I picked it up I couldn't put it down.
I do recommend this book, but for another take on the post-college angst story, I highly recommend Claire Messud's The Emperor's Children.
The latter was the case with Jeff Hobbs' The Tourists and I'm glad, because apparently when this book came out, it was labeled as a "Gatsby-meets-McInerney debut" novel. I probably would have run in the other direction if I had seen that, because how often does that hype ring true?
This is the story of four Yale graduates dealing with life in the "real world" nearly 10 years after college. While they weren't all friends in college, their lives become intertwined in far too many ways to recount in this review. And chronicling it all is the unnamed narrator, who is trying to keep his own life afloat both professionally and personally, and trying to make his mark in the world.
Even though I saw most of what happened in this book coming from a mile away, Jeff Hobbs created memorable characters from what could have been simple stock stereotypes—the fratboy jock struggling to make it in the business world, the exotic girl trying to be taken seriously, the gay guy determined to succeed over everyone else. The characters aren't always appealing, but I found the story compellingly readable; once I picked it up I couldn't put it down.
I do recommend this book, but for another take on the post-college angst story, I highly recommend Claire Messud's The Emperor's Children.
August 28, 2008
i'm a little biased on this one but i have to say- stunning debut!
February 19, 2010
I really enjoyed READING this book; but this is not the same thing as enjoying the book itself. I read this book like an addict. And as such I found it less and less a pleasure as I was further drawn in; the last third is painful. This book has such promise: once you get past the tired "everyone in NYC is jaded" phrases - Mr. Hobbs, it's already been done. A lot. - you realize the author has a very good feel for the city, and he is trying his best that feel to impart it to you.
Or does he? I had tried reading this book before and only gotten fifty pages in; the difference between then and now is that now, I am fresh from an 8-month stint living in New York. Whereas before I couldn't handle his descriptions of walking through the city or the characterizations of the population in that city, this time around I couldn't get enough. Since my reading mind generally hates setting-description unless it's really done well (an author literally needs to trick me into reading it), it may take a preexisting knowledge of the city to appreciate the author's portrait here.
And with that knowledge comes disagreement as I take issue with so much of what he says. This is actually partially what makes the first 2/3 of the book so enjoyable: New York City is as much a setting as the characters, and I disagree with a lot of his generalizations, but can also see the truth that they have grown, or at times exploded, from; the arguments you can have with yourself over which view is right are reason enough to read it. It is only when the author insists on hammering home his dead-horse point about how soulless or crushing the city is that the reader begins to feel that maybe he doesn't really understand: he can at times sound like a visiting relative, commenting on why he wouldn't want to be there, as a way of making himself feel better. The insight and subtlety of the first 2/3 of the book that make me question my own views on the city, or at least make me appreciate his vision gives way to a mindless repetition, so that his earlier progress with me is lost.
This book was compared to "The Great Gatsby" when it was published, and in that respect it is even more prescient: it was published in 2007, and later that year the recession hit; the author does a phenomenal job in capturing the careless attitude of the financial industry and the different livelihoods that sprung up in dependence on that industry. In this respect, it is almost brilliant.
It is also almost impossible to separate the book from its author. "The Tourists" and its author had a lot of hype when first published, and the author's presence is ubiquitous - the high-profile dedication, a really stunning book-jacket photo (really, wow), the twenty-something author from Yale writing about a twenty-something author from Yale - so that he's never far from mind when reading; you never forget who is writing the words. This leads readers like me to at first be impulsively over-critical - after all, when you go in with him on a pedestal he's bound to disappoint - but later on, it leads me to be personally offended when things take a turn for the worst: for example, I resent the times I feel my intelligence is being insulted: when the narrator explains, almost as an afterthought, that he is gleaning half of what he's telling us because of his "journalist's mind" and ability to read into what people are saying, he instantly kills the leap of faith I had already made that the narrator had an ability to infer much from little. Still, the moments of the book that shine through - and there are several - also put the author is a hugely favorable light.
And finally, the story. It is really well wrought; I have issues with the end but this is in keeping with my dislike of the last third of the book. In fact, based on how much I've been thinking about it, the reasons I dislike it are also partially the reasons I recommend it.
Or does he? I had tried reading this book before and only gotten fifty pages in; the difference between then and now is that now, I am fresh from an 8-month stint living in New York. Whereas before I couldn't handle his descriptions of walking through the city or the characterizations of the population in that city, this time around I couldn't get enough. Since my reading mind generally hates setting-description unless it's really done well (an author literally needs to trick me into reading it), it may take a preexisting knowledge of the city to appreciate the author's portrait here.
And with that knowledge comes disagreement as I take issue with so much of what he says. This is actually partially what makes the first 2/3 of the book so enjoyable: New York City is as much a setting as the characters, and I disagree with a lot of his generalizations, but can also see the truth that they have grown, or at times exploded, from; the arguments you can have with yourself over which view is right are reason enough to read it. It is only when the author insists on hammering home his dead-horse point about how soulless or crushing the city is that the reader begins to feel that maybe he doesn't really understand: he can at times sound like a visiting relative, commenting on why he wouldn't want to be there, as a way of making himself feel better. The insight and subtlety of the first 2/3 of the book that make me question my own views on the city, or at least make me appreciate his vision gives way to a mindless repetition, so that his earlier progress with me is lost.
This book was compared to "The Great Gatsby" when it was published, and in that respect it is even more prescient: it was published in 2007, and later that year the recession hit; the author does a phenomenal job in capturing the careless attitude of the financial industry and the different livelihoods that sprung up in dependence on that industry. In this respect, it is almost brilliant.
It is also almost impossible to separate the book from its author. "The Tourists" and its author had a lot of hype when first published, and the author's presence is ubiquitous - the high-profile dedication, a really stunning book-jacket photo (really, wow), the twenty-something author from Yale writing about a twenty-something author from Yale - so that he's never far from mind when reading; you never forget who is writing the words. This leads readers like me to at first be impulsively over-critical - after all, when you go in with him on a pedestal he's bound to disappoint - but later on, it leads me to be personally offended when things take a turn for the worst: for example, I resent the times I feel my intelligence is being insulted: when the narrator explains, almost as an afterthought, that he is gleaning half of what he's telling us because of his "journalist's mind" and ability to read into what people are saying, he instantly kills the leap of faith I had already made that the narrator had an ability to infer much from little. Still, the moments of the book that shine through - and there are several - also put the author is a hugely favorable light.
And finally, the story. It is really well wrought; I have issues with the end but this is in keeping with my dislike of the last third of the book. In fact, based on how much I've been thinking about it, the reasons I dislike it are also partially the reasons I recommend it.
December 15, 2011
This book is like the evening programming slate on Bravo -- utterly trashy and vaguely homophobic, but so deliciously awful you can't tear yourself away. Hey guys, I'm gonna whip me up a little novel! First step is taken care of: last night I taught myself to write by skimming the Wikipedia entry on Jay McInerney. My book is going to be totally awesome because it's going to be all about how complicated modern love and lust is in New York City, which is an odd choice because it's clear from my writing that I have literally not one iota of a clue about how sexuality, desire, romance, or human beings actually work. My favorite things in the world are Prada and Grey Goose so I'm going to name-drop them incessantly. Now, that's not for ironic effect -- like, I just really like Prada and Grey Goose. In fact, I'm going to add lots and lots of useless details all the time, e.g., "As they were driving, the song 'Stan' by Eminem came on the radio" and "I walked in and saw that he had ordered in takeout from Levant East on 4th St. in the East Village." Speaking of, dude, don't you just love how Manhattan is on a grid? I do, which is why I spend endless pages giving turn-by-turn street directions for how characters get from one place to another. Do you think I should cut some of that stuff out? I mean, I don't want to distract from all the spectacularly implausible things my impossibly idiotic and patently unbelievable characters are doing.
August 1, 2009
Halfway through the novel, I ceased caring about the characters and what happened to them. They never did anything to change, meanwhile they all knew they were screwed up. Eight years is a long time to still care what happened in college, and during that time it's expected that some bit of growing up would occur, at least for someone. But they all criticize each other, and perhaps notice their own flaws, but do absolutely nothing about it.
Hobbs has a talent for writing, I'll give him that. And I'll probably give him another chance, but not because I loved this story... but I enjoyed the way he presented it.
Hobbs has a talent for writing, I'll give him that. And I'll probably give him another chance, but not because I loved this story... but I enjoyed the way he presented it.
October 22, 2023
i wished every character in THE TOURISTS would have sat down and read hanya yanagihara's book A LITTLE LIFE and/or did some volunteering amidst the hills overlooking cap haitien, haiti for at least a year. all but the unnamed protagonist were overachievers, except for the scary and openly gay men who stalked co-characters like a maniac. i grew up in the west village of manhattan and fled for greener pastures via a catskill boarding school near woodstock, ho-ho-ho, teachin' english in mexico, and finally relocatin' and settlin' down right across the bay from brooklyn, in li'l old new jersey, and i'm a tad jealous of hobbs sittin' on the california oceanside sippin' beer. i'm an expert on the loneliness and profound isolation that only the streets of new york can provide, mostly to out-of-staters settlin' there without family members. plus, good conversation is so utterly rare unless one is smashed out of one's mind or perhaps with a local irish catholic. rushing to wait, stifling careers, lack of tranquility, and secretly longing for a financially or spiritually lucrative exit from the lifestyle of manhattan or upscale brooklyn says it all. troubled, nebulous characters, the men bicurious as all hell, makes for exposing the wild side of mr. jeff, who has, thanks be to God, aged and matured accordingly and moralistically, indeed. a swell, keen read, DUDE (or is it BOSS, or CHIEF??!!). loved your usage of the word 'playful' many times indeed!
May 12, 2019
This story about former Yale classmates eight years after graduation, is interesting enough. All the characters are flawed and selfish. I couldn't really feel any sympathy for any of them and their self-induced problems, not even for the unnamed narrator.
July 28, 2017
I feel so confused by this book An maybe what the actual point An plot was. Don't waste your time.
October 2, 2021
Implausible melodrama. Nothing gained…
May 29, 2009
I loved this book. At first I thought it was too dramatic for a simple story about four Yale-graduates, and I suppose that if you don't connect with the book it might seem that way, but after a while I realized the meaning of the story and it made me get just a little bit teary eyed. It took a bit of interpretation and I don't know if this was the author's intent, but this is what I got.
The unnamed narrator acts as a bystander and occasional participator in the post-college struggle of three of his friends to make it in a world more cold than you're taught in school. David and Samona were the perfect couple in college, beautiful and popular, but their marriage is as shallow as their love was at Yale. Enter Ethan Hoevel, a charismatic furniture designer with a plan to seperate them and subtle motives, who sees the people in his life as types of people as opposed to just people. Only in this book does a couple who stays together despite being torn apart by cheating and ugly truths represent failure and petty, mortal shallowness, because Samona and David are too scared to face the truth.
What had the most profound effect on me was the way life out of college was portrayed. It was nothing dramatic - just explaining the daily struggle that can make fools and cowards out of otherwise strong people. The saddest thing was the conclusion that the strongest and most intimate friendships can become the coldest, the most distant, the most meaningless. The narrator watches Ethan walk away in a dream and when he wakes up he tells himself that people disappear all the time and that he can move on, but he and I both feel that after the destruction of such a friendship, moving on is an illusion.
The only reason I gave this 4 stars and not 5 is because I plan on rereading it after college to see if life is really that way, and I want to give myself the opportunity to love it more than I do now.
The unnamed narrator acts as a bystander and occasional participator in the post-college struggle of three of his friends to make it in a world more cold than you're taught in school. David and Samona were the perfect couple in college, beautiful and popular, but their marriage is as shallow as their love was at Yale. Enter Ethan Hoevel, a charismatic furniture designer with a plan to seperate them and subtle motives, who sees the people in his life as types of people as opposed to just people. Only in this book does a couple who stays together despite being torn apart by cheating and ugly truths represent failure and petty, mortal shallowness, because Samona and David are too scared to face the truth.
What had the most profound effect on me was the way life out of college was portrayed. It was nothing dramatic - just explaining the daily struggle that can make fools and cowards out of otherwise strong people. The saddest thing was the conclusion that the strongest and most intimate friendships can become the coldest, the most distant, the most meaningless. The narrator watches Ethan walk away in a dream and when he wakes up he tells himself that people disappear all the time and that he can move on, but he and I both feel that after the destruction of such a friendship, moving on is an illusion.
The only reason I gave this 4 stars and not 5 is because I plan on rereading it after college to see if life is really that way, and I want to give myself the opportunity to love it more than I do now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2009
The Tourists by Jeff Hobbs is a contemporary look into, essentially, the power of obsession. The story revolves around four Yale alumnists who all live in New York City. They share a complicated history. Our narrator remains nameless, and acts as our guide into a twisted past. He has spent the past eight years pining for Samona Ashley, a beautiful girl he's been in love with since college. Samona's married to David, an unremarkably dull man tied to his job. They live in a nice apartment, have nice friends, all pretending they still feel an ounce of affection for their partner.
This is when Ethan comes in. Ethan is charismatic and handsome. He's rich, sophisticated, and smart - and there are few who can resist him. Our nameless narrator tends to examine Ethan with a touch of envy. Ethan and him had a relationship in college - a relationship the narrator attests to "experimentation" and nothing more.
Ethan and Samona's meeting seems predestined. She is instantly seduced by him, enchanted by him, and our narrator can only watch hopelessly as the girl he loves falls for his former lover. David, however, is not left out. Oblivious to his wife's infidelity initially he does not even notice her growing distance towards him. This is when David, too, meets Ethan. "He intrigues me," Ethan says. He never mentions to David that he 'knows' his wife. Despite himself, David ends up powerless in Ethan's presense, seduced and intrigued by this strange, beautiful man. "You're sick," the narrator tells Ethan when he learns of his seperate affairs.
Of course, all along Ethan's been pining for our narrator who's still hung up on Samona. The novel offers us a unique look into sexuality and it's limits, and about whether or not loving someone is ever really enough.
Time changes us, it moves us, it alters us - For these four classmates, college is a lifetime away, and their left only with their own nostal gia for something that was simply never meant to be.
This is when Ethan comes in. Ethan is charismatic and handsome. He's rich, sophisticated, and smart - and there are few who can resist him. Our nameless narrator tends to examine Ethan with a touch of envy. Ethan and him had a relationship in college - a relationship the narrator attests to "experimentation" and nothing more.
Ethan and Samona's meeting seems predestined. She is instantly seduced by him, enchanted by him, and our narrator can only watch hopelessly as the girl he loves falls for his former lover. David, however, is not left out. Oblivious to his wife's infidelity initially he does not even notice her growing distance towards him. This is when David, too, meets Ethan. "He intrigues me," Ethan says. He never mentions to David that he 'knows' his wife. Despite himself, David ends up powerless in Ethan's presense, seduced and intrigued by this strange, beautiful man. "You're sick," the narrator tells Ethan when he learns of his seperate affairs.
Of course, all along Ethan's been pining for our narrator who's still hung up on Samona. The novel offers us a unique look into sexuality and it's limits, and about whether or not loving someone is ever really enough.
Time changes us, it moves us, it alters us - For these four classmates, college is a lifetime away, and their left only with their own nostal gia for something that was simply never meant to be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 10, 2018
Expert use of language but not a very good story.
I did stay up all night reading to find out what would happen. When finished, sorry I read the book. It is curious to read this after reading his other book about Robert Peace. Basically it is about a group of friend that all seem to dislike each other but have lustful fixations. Three men are all obsesses with one woman for an unclear reason (other than that she is beautiful, oh, and a bulimic) but has not depth in terms of a character. Maybe she is a mirror they look into. The relationships between the men are even more ridiculous. I could not tell in the end if the author was a straight who did not understand gay love or vice versa. The men who consider themselves straight 'accidentally' sleep with men; the man who has known he was gay forever somehow falls in lust with a woman. The main antagonist is kind of a milquetoast version of the talented Mr Ripley. There are weird scenes such as when one of the characters who is a competent, masculine, athletic achiever acts like an incompetent girl when the car breaks down in Peru simply because he is having gay sex. I think he would still know how to change a tire. In other words, there is no consistency to these silly characters.
But it certainly is several steps up in terms of writing ability than the average beach or chic-lit fodder. The sex scenes are actually done fairly well without being unnecessarily graphic but still conveying the physical interest and feelings. There are some weak, incoherent devices like the mother of the woma nof interest, described as 'Tana from Ghana' who constantly criticizes her daughter's intake unless it is a diet coke, resulting in tears and vomiting. Surely we can communicate the complexities of bulimia with a little more subtly.
Bottom line: interesting but silly story, fairly well written, unbelievable and unlikable characters
I did stay up all night reading to find out what would happen. When finished, sorry I read the book. It is curious to read this after reading his other book about Robert Peace. Basically it is about a group of friend that all seem to dislike each other but have lustful fixations. Three men are all obsesses with one woman for an unclear reason (other than that she is beautiful, oh, and a bulimic) but has not depth in terms of a character. Maybe she is a mirror they look into. The relationships between the men are even more ridiculous. I could not tell in the end if the author was a straight who did not understand gay love or vice versa. The men who consider themselves straight 'accidentally' sleep with men; the man who has known he was gay forever somehow falls in lust with a woman. The main antagonist is kind of a milquetoast version of the talented Mr Ripley. There are weird scenes such as when one of the characters who is a competent, masculine, athletic achiever acts like an incompetent girl when the car breaks down in Peru simply because he is having gay sex. I think he would still know how to change a tire. In other words, there is no consistency to these silly characters.
But it certainly is several steps up in terms of writing ability than the average beach or chic-lit fodder. The sex scenes are actually done fairly well without being unnecessarily graphic but still conveying the physical interest and feelings. There are some weak, incoherent devices like the mother of the woma nof interest, described as 'Tana from Ghana' who constantly criticizes her daughter's intake unless it is a diet coke, resulting in tears and vomiting. Surely we can communicate the complexities of bulimia with a little more subtly.
Bottom line: interesting but silly story, fairly well written, unbelievable and unlikable characters
February 14, 2009
This is another book I borrowed from Pam - entertaining without being too light or too heavy. I got drawn into the story, and although it's a bit of a cheap ploy to alternate between present and past in order to keep the reader turning the pages, it always works on me and I find myself wanting to find out what's going to happen. Foreshadowing was sometimes a bit heavy handed too. I liked the tourists analogy/theme, and the way the sexuality of the characters was ambiguous. I did find myself wishing that the guy would just tell Samona he loved her and get it over with already. Or, that he would tell Ethan he loved him; I wasn't really sure in the end which it was. Maybe both. Anyway, an enjoyable read. Another one of the books that as you read it, you can tell that the author was already imagining the screenplay. I understand he's adapting it - interesting to see how it turns out, seems like it's a book that could be adapted very well or very badly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 2, 2009
I really knew nothing about this book or author, it was just one of those that I randomly picked up while browsing at the bookstore.
Probably the immediate thing that struck me about this book was the style. I have never read a book where I thought that my own style was similar to the authors. I am nowhere as good as Hobbs, but I was surprised to find similarities.
I am not sure what to think about this book. First, none of the characters are very likeable. They are heavily flawed and very cruel to each other. This in itself, really didn't bother me, what I didn't like is that none of the characters are very interesting. The book meanders and the plot gets a bit bogged down.
I did find parts of the book to be funny and relatable. It definitely wasn't flat out terrible, just more ok. I would give another Hobbs novel a chance.
Also I really liked the quote at the beginning and how it related to the story. Nice touch.
Probably the immediate thing that struck me about this book was the style. I have never read a book where I thought that my own style was similar to the authors. I am nowhere as good as Hobbs, but I was surprised to find similarities.
I am not sure what to think about this book. First, none of the characters are very likeable. They are heavily flawed and very cruel to each other. This in itself, really didn't bother me, what I didn't like is that none of the characters are very interesting. The book meanders and the plot gets a bit bogged down.
I did find parts of the book to be funny and relatable. It definitely wasn't flat out terrible, just more ok. I would give another Hobbs novel a chance.
Also I really liked the quote at the beginning and how it related to the story. Nice touch.
April 12, 2009
If I could have, I'd have given this one two and a half stars, because "It was OK" is a little understated and "I liked it" is a little overstated.
The author dedicated this book to Bret Easton Ellis, which doesn't really surprise me seeing as (to me at least) it read a bit like an Ellis novel. The characters are all enjoyable to read about, but none you really find yourself rooting for either. Each of them is rather loathsome to be honest...yet there's enough of a hook to to each one that you never stop wanting to find out what happens next.
If you're a fan of Bret Eason Ellis and ever wondered what he might write about the characters of 'Gossip Girl' in their post-college years, then you'd probably enjoy this book.
The author dedicated this book to Bret Easton Ellis, which doesn't really surprise me seeing as (to me at least) it read a bit like an Ellis novel. The characters are all enjoyable to read about, but none you really find yourself rooting for either. Each of them is rather loathsome to be honest...yet there's enough of a hook to to each one that you never stop wanting to find out what happens next.
If you're a fan of Bret Eason Ellis and ever wondered what he might write about the characters of 'Gossip Girl' in their post-college years, then you'd probably enjoy this book.
September 15, 2012
It was a fun read; not very serious, but had interesting characters (which I probably found more interesting reading it as a Yale grad in my early 20s who had recently lived in Manhattan) and a well-paced plot. If I re-read it now I probably wouldn't find it as compelling, and would probably have more issues with the characters (from conversations I've had with friends who've read it more recently).
That said, it's pretty similar to other "young grad in Manhattan dealing with a career and becoming a young adult" stories in the conflicts it presents for the characters (see also: Bright Lights, Big City; The Bonfire of the Vanities; Free Food For Millionaires; etc.) However, it does a decent job of capturing the particular place and time in which it is set.
That said, it's pretty similar to other "young grad in Manhattan dealing with a career and becoming a young adult" stories in the conflicts it presents for the characters (see also: Bright Lights, Big City; The Bonfire of the Vanities; Free Food For Millionaires; etc.) However, it does a decent job of capturing the particular place and time in which it is set.
January 4, 2009
Call me judgemental, but I most certainly picked this book up because of its cover. It just seemed the most compelling on the table of Pages' latest collection.
And while some people were quick to critique Hobbs' debut novel, I thought it did the job. It makes you think about the influential people in your life, the power of sex and the burden of commitment. And while I'm not sure how much I learned from this book, I know that in the two days it took to read, I wasn't bored, not a once.
And it'll probably inspired you to pick up The Great Gatsby again.
And while some people were quick to critique Hobbs' debut novel, I thought it did the job. It makes you think about the influential people in your life, the power of sex and the burden of commitment. And while I'm not sure how much I learned from this book, I know that in the two days it took to read, I wasn't bored, not a once.
And it'll probably inspired you to pick up The Great Gatsby again.
February 9, 2014
I've finally finished this book. I was determined to finish it since I'd gotten so far into it. It didn't get interesting until the last 1/4 of the book. This is not a book I'd suggest anyone to read. It's boring!!
I'm currently reading The Tourist by Jeff Hobbs and boy am I having a difficult time getting through it. I thought I'd take a look at other reviews on Goodreads and was not surppised at what folks were writing. I picked this book up at a wholesale bookstore, 3 paperbacks for $10. I didn't loose any money. This is a good way to pass time in the doctor's office
I'm currently reading The Tourist by Jeff Hobbs and boy am I having a difficult time getting through it. I thought I'd take a look at other reviews on Goodreads and was not surppised at what folks were writing. I picked this book up at a wholesale bookstore, 3 paperbacks for $10. I didn't loose any money. This is a good way to pass time in the doctor's office
July 24, 2007
he met up with bret easton ellis and dedicated the book to him. it's in that kind of vein, but he's too subtle when he shouldn't be.
the structure's also lacking something. it's a rememberance, sometimes in present tense, sometimes it's in flash back within the rememberance... i forget what this is called. the society of the "and"? something like that. it's been a while since i've thought about the tense of a book.
the structure's also lacking something. it's a rememberance, sometimes in present tense, sometimes it's in flash back within the rememberance... i forget what this is called. the society of the "and"? something like that. it's been a while since i've thought about the tense of a book.
October 22, 2007
So, I read this while graduating from Yale, so I wasn't nostalgic yet, but I can see how it would have been better to read after a couple of years after Yale. I liked the story, but the writing is so pretentious, sometimes it's hard to stomach. It feels like he's trying to immitate a certain great writer (you'll know when you read it) and it totally fails. PS I hope I don't end up like them in any way.
March 17, 2008
Hated everyone and myself after reading this. Hobb's does a fabulous job depicting the worst in humanity without touching upon any redeeming qualities in humankind. Utterly ridiculous and left one wondering if perhaps the makers of Grey Goose, Ambien, Fiji water and Prada sponsored the author. Totally useless product mentions that distracted from the story rather than helping it move along. At the end of it all... What was the point?
January 28, 2008
Potboiler! Thoughtful potboiler! With multiple sexual orientations, and self-loathing, and quarter-life crises, and long lost loves, and unrequited loves, and relationships that look far better on the outside than they do from the inside. But it all takes place in a glamorous setting...so that tempers the gloom. Recommended for airplanes, beaches, etc.
October 29, 2008
Jeff Hobbs in the beginning of the book talks about how is likes and admired Brett Easton Ellis. So what he did, is write a book that tries to imitate him exactly. It is a poor showing of him trying to copy BEE's style. The charecters were boring, and I couldn't really get into caring about them. This was very dissapointing.
December 25, 2008
I got through 120 pages, but lost interest. It really felt like a soap opera trying to be a novel. The characters were flat and predictable, and I couldn't care less about a single one. There were a few insights that caught my attention, but they were pretty fleeting and not enough to keep me going. I wouldn't recommend this one.
September 6, 2007
This novel finds some former Yale classmates in New York city seven years after their graduation. All are pursuing different paths, but re-connect through a bizzare series of events. Through these events an almost absurd love triange is formed and the remainder of the story is its resolution.
February 9, 2008
A well-written soap opera about 20-somethings in NYC who keep lusting after their friends, their friends' wives, their friends' husbands...kind of incest-y, in retrospect. It's a big city, kids, try dating outside your social circle. But it was guilty fun.
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