What do you think?
Rate this book
Ask Me Again
From the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize finalist, whose short stories received instant acclaim (“Sparingly told, evoked with lacerating intimacy . . . Extraordinary”—Esquire), a debut novel about a young woman’s coming of age, and the singular friendship that challenges her values, her beliefs, and the course of her life
At sixteen, Eva meets Jamie by chance. She lives in middle-class south Brooklyn; he comes from the super rich of upper Manhattan. She’s observant, cautious, often insecure; he’s curious, bold, full of mysteries. These two questers are drawn together in a strange and profound friendship, tested by forces larger than themselves. As Eva follows a path of conventional achievement—a prestigious degree, a classic romance, the start of an ambitious career—Jamie seeks out more radical experiments in finding renouncing his family, joining a political movement, and eventually even talking to God.
Carried forcefully along by Clare Sestanovich’s exquisite prose, these two characters are pulled into separate spheres but circle the same how to define their values and find their purpose, how to create a sense of self while discovering what they owe to society and to the cause of justice. These reckonings propel a surprising story of intimacy across time, exploring the alchemy of identity, the mystery of destiny, and the difficult journey of finding faith—in yourself, and in the world.
At sixteen, Eva meets Jamie by chance. She lives in middle-class south Brooklyn; he comes from the super rich of upper Manhattan. She’s observant, cautious, often insecure; he’s curious, bold, full of mysteries. These two questers are drawn together in a strange and profound friendship, tested by forces larger than themselves. As Eva follows a path of conventional achievement—a prestigious degree, a classic romance, the start of an ambitious career—Jamie seeks out more radical experiments in finding renouncing his family, joining a political movement, and eventually even talking to God.
Carried forcefully along by Clare Sestanovich’s exquisite prose, these two characters are pulled into separate spheres but circle the same how to define their values and find their purpose, how to create a sense of self while discovering what they owe to society and to the cause of justice. These reckonings propel a surprising story of intimacy across time, exploring the alchemy of identity, the mystery of destiny, and the difficult journey of finding faith—in yourself, and in the world.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 11, 2024
102 people are currently reading
2653 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews
June 26, 2024
I need to stop doing this -- forcing myself to finish books because I'm sure they'll get better, because some supposedly important voice has deemed it worthy. I connected to none of the characters. The decade-spanning connection between the two apparent best friends was barely forged in the beginning, so I never bought it. And just so painfully slow. Sigh.
dnfed
July 24, 2024DNF at 64%. Theres a lot of beautiful lines but other than that it feels like a nothing burger of a story and I couldn't make myself read anymore of it.
No rating because I don't rate DNFs.
No rating because I don't rate DNFs.
December 31, 2024
this book started strong but then just... lost the plot, leaving me wondering if i was even reading the same story by the end. still, i couldn't help but love the pacing and those gorgeous quotes.
huge thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy—i really appreciate it! <3
huge thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy—i really appreciate it! <3
Read
April 17, 2025Buone le prime 80 pagine circa, poi parte una serie di cose nonsense intramezzate da dialoghi nonsense. Boh.
August 1, 2024
Ask Me Again is a gorgeously written account of asking for more from life. More is not a cliched stand-in for typical aspirations like financial/career success, world travel, or even passionate romances. Here, ‘more’ represents a quieter desire to remain porous enough to receive life. It’s reckoning the rawness of adolescence – a time when you wanted to feel the rattle of life’s extremes in your bones – with the slow shedding of that openness as life transitions into a series of mundane tasks.
At 16, Eva exists on the sidelines of her life. She notices everything but does not always know what to make of it. When she meets Jamie (also 16), she is instantly enamored with his strong convictions and philosophical worldview. They are opposites in many ways – she is the child of artists in middle-class Brooklyn while he is the neglected son of extreme wealth on the Upper East Side. Their connection is not romantic or sexual. To call it friendship feels somehow both more and less than what it is, which is more like blood or (in the words of T. Swift) an invisible string tying them together.
Their lives go in different directions after high school, as Eva takes the sensible linear steps: going to college, moving to a new city, and getting an entry-level job at a prestigious company in the field she’s interested in. Jamie denounces his wealth, moves in with Eva’s parents, and follows his feelings to extremes, which rarely land him in positive situations. While I cared about Jamie, this book is very much about Eva, and every experience is another opportunity to explore her perspective.
Her voice is like a toothache as she marches through life in step with (as opposed to against) the subtle throbbing of pain. This book took me places I wasn’t expecting, like explorations of the shady underworlds of young politicians and new-age organized religious groups, but it was so gorgeously written I would have followed Eva anywhere!
At 16, Eva exists on the sidelines of her life. She notices everything but does not always know what to make of it. When she meets Jamie (also 16), she is instantly enamored with his strong convictions and philosophical worldview. They are opposites in many ways – she is the child of artists in middle-class Brooklyn while he is the neglected son of extreme wealth on the Upper East Side. Their connection is not romantic or sexual. To call it friendship feels somehow both more and less than what it is, which is more like blood or (in the words of T. Swift) an invisible string tying them together.
Their lives go in different directions after high school, as Eva takes the sensible linear steps: going to college, moving to a new city, and getting an entry-level job at a prestigious company in the field she’s interested in. Jamie denounces his wealth, moves in with Eva’s parents, and follows his feelings to extremes, which rarely land him in positive situations. While I cared about Jamie, this book is very much about Eva, and every experience is another opportunity to explore her perspective.
Her voice is like a toothache as she marches through life in step with (as opposed to against) the subtle throbbing of pain. This book took me places I wasn’t expecting, like explorations of the shady underworlds of young politicians and new-age organized religious groups, but it was so gorgeously written I would have followed Eva anywhere!
November 25, 2024
thank you to the publishers for my review copy, i am very grateful!
unfortunately i didnt gel with this book at all. i found it really slow and uneventful, the characters flat and i struggled to actually understand what the storyline was and what the book was trying to achieve. there is potential, but the execution just wasn’t the best.
unfortunately i didnt gel with this book at all. i found it really slow and uneventful, the characters flat and i struggled to actually understand what the storyline was and what the book was trying to achieve. there is potential, but the execution just wasn’t the best.
July 21, 2024
I had really high hopes for this because of Sestanovich’s story collection, my main critic of it being that she didn’t dive as deeply into the characters as I thought she should have, assuming that a novel would give her the room she needed to develop her characters.
And yet…here we are.
The sentences were clear and picturesque in parts, but whatever joy can be found in the syntax is overshadowed by the shallowness of the characters. It makes me a little apathetic towards everything else, you know.
Some great questions are asked in these pages, yet I never get the sense that the main character ever really grapples with them, opting instead to shrug and never think about them again—the book never suggesting that this behavior contributes to anything.
But! I enjoyed the scope. I think Sestanovich shoots for the sky and, though she misses, demonstrates what she is capable of doing. I hope the next book, the daunting future book, can have both Sestanovich’s elegant prose and a cast of characters who breathe on the page.
And yet…here we are.
The sentences were clear and picturesque in parts, but whatever joy can be found in the syntax is overshadowed by the shallowness of the characters. It makes me a little apathetic towards everything else, you know.
Some great questions are asked in these pages, yet I never get the sense that the main character ever really grapples with them, opting instead to shrug and never think about them again—the book never suggesting that this behavior contributes to anything.
But! I enjoyed the scope. I think Sestanovich shoots for the sky and, though she misses, demonstrates what she is capable of doing. I hope the next book, the daunting future book, can have both Sestanovich’s elegant prose and a cast of characters who breathe on the page.
Read
May 7, 2025I didn't get it
August 3, 2025
Kind of a let down? The book starts off really intense with Eva and Jamie, who have a typical teenage dynamic: Eva is an insecure young woman who sees something in Jamie that he isn't, as he just hides behind pretentious phrases. Then, suddenly, they grow apart, but process gets pictured is so incidental and unimportant that the story is no longer about them both, but only about her. It's about all her developments, decisions, and guilt. I think I can only agree with most people here, and I'm reassured that it wasn't just me: I really didn't get the point? There are many good ideas in this book, but none of them are fully explored – only philosophical questions are asked, but no answers are provided. Kinda disappointing.
February 17, 2025
this was kind of crazy to read and made me miss philosophy tutes so much
January 24, 2026
Eva ha sedici anni quando incontra Jamie in una sala d’aspetto in ospedale. Lei appartiene alla classe media e vive a Brooklyn coi genitori, lui è cresciuto nell’attico del padre a Manhattan, ma d’istinto Eva riconosce in lui un pezzo di sé, o della persona che vorrebbe essere: Jamie è curioso, audace, aperto al mondo; mentre lei, cauta e riflessiva, si tiene sempre in disparte. La loro intesa si trasforma subito in un’amicizia profonda, fatta di grandi affinità, dubbi condivisi, ma anche di zone d’ombra cariche di mistero. Arrivati all’università, però, i loro destini si separano: Jamie lascia gli studi, si allontana dalla famiglia per aderire a un movimento di protesta e poi diventa membro di un gruppo cattolico; Eva si laurea e segue una strada all’apparenza già tracciata, ma l’influenza di Jamie resta una bussola che orienta la sua vita, persino quando l’amico sembra perdersi definitivamente. "Chiedimelo ancora" è la storia di Eva e Jamie, due persone “normali” che nell’amicizia trovano la chiave per diventare adulti insieme, affidandosi al proprio modo di sentire il mondo e le persone, così da coglierne l’essenza. Clare Sestanovich racconta la vita come un susseguirsi di domande, intime e talvolta scomode, e ci invita ad allenare sguardo e intuito per cercare le risposte nei gesti, nei dettagli, nei silenzi densi di significato.
Il romanzo d'esordio di Clare Sestanovich è strutturato attorno a una serie di quesiti. Ogni capitolo inizia con una domanda, come se ognuno di essi rappresenti una sorta di indagine: Quanto vale? L'hai visto? Da dove arrivi? e diverse altre. Tutto ciò risulta un semplice espediente letterario, ma crea una sorta di atmosfera di incertezza.
Il libro esplora il difficile percorso di crescita di una giovane donna e un'insolita amicizia tra Eva e Jamie, sedicenni, che si incontrano per caso. Lei viene da Brooklyn ed è figlia di genitori liberali della classe media; lui è cresciuto a Manhattan in una famiglia tanto disfunzionale quanto ricca. I loro background non potrebbero essere più diversi. Tuttavia, tra i due si forma subito un legame, radicato non nell'attrazione romantica, ma nella loro reciproca timidezza e nel disagio nei confronti della società moderna che porta Jamie ad abbandonare gli studi, esplorare la politica radicale e unirsi a una strana chiesa molto simile ad una setta. Nel frattempo, Eva frequenta il college, intraprende una carriera nel giornalismo e cerca di adattarsi ai suoi coetanei. Mentre lei e Jamie si allontanano, lei desidera ardentemente la loro vicinanza. Ma può essere recuperata? E possono entrambi trovare l'equilibrio che desiderano?
L'autrice americana cattura perfettamente le emozioni intense e confuse di Eva mentre attraversa i suoi vent'anni. Mentre Jamie si rifugia nel misticismo, Eva cerca disperatamente qualcuno che possa insegnarle come vivere una vita "normale".
Nonostante tutta la sua attenzione all'ansia e all'incertezza, tuttavia, questo romanzo non risulta deprimente. La penna austera ed elegante di Sestanovich risulta deliziosa. Non mancano momenti di ironica, come quando Eva descrive l'aldilà. Man mano che la trama avanza Eva acquisisce gradualmente empatia e auto accettazione, imparando a fare tesoro di piccoli piaceri come il giardinaggio o una passeggiata su una spiaggia dove ogni granello di sabbia e ogni goccia d'acqua sono illuminate dalla luce del sole.
Non si può dire che il romanzo sia un libro ricco di azione e alcuni lettori potrebbero trovare frustrante la sua conclusione aperta; tuttavia, consiglio il libro a chiunque sia interessato alle sfide emotive e professionali che devono affrontare i giovani di oggi.
Il romanzo d'esordio di Clare Sestanovich è strutturato attorno a una serie di quesiti. Ogni capitolo inizia con una domanda, come se ognuno di essi rappresenti una sorta di indagine: Quanto vale? L'hai visto? Da dove arrivi? e diverse altre. Tutto ciò risulta un semplice espediente letterario, ma crea una sorta di atmosfera di incertezza.
Il libro esplora il difficile percorso di crescita di una giovane donna e un'insolita amicizia tra Eva e Jamie, sedicenni, che si incontrano per caso. Lei viene da Brooklyn ed è figlia di genitori liberali della classe media; lui è cresciuto a Manhattan in una famiglia tanto disfunzionale quanto ricca. I loro background non potrebbero essere più diversi. Tuttavia, tra i due si forma subito un legame, radicato non nell'attrazione romantica, ma nella loro reciproca timidezza e nel disagio nei confronti della società moderna che porta Jamie ad abbandonare gli studi, esplorare la politica radicale e unirsi a una strana chiesa molto simile ad una setta. Nel frattempo, Eva frequenta il college, intraprende una carriera nel giornalismo e cerca di adattarsi ai suoi coetanei. Mentre lei e Jamie si allontanano, lei desidera ardentemente la loro vicinanza. Ma può essere recuperata? E possono entrambi trovare l'equilibrio che desiderano?
L'autrice americana cattura perfettamente le emozioni intense e confuse di Eva mentre attraversa i suoi vent'anni. Mentre Jamie si rifugia nel misticismo, Eva cerca disperatamente qualcuno che possa insegnarle come vivere una vita "normale".
Nonostante tutta la sua attenzione all'ansia e all'incertezza, tuttavia, questo romanzo non risulta deprimente. La penna austera ed elegante di Sestanovich risulta deliziosa. Non mancano momenti di ironica, come quando Eva descrive l'aldilà. Man mano che la trama avanza Eva acquisisce gradualmente empatia e auto accettazione, imparando a fare tesoro di piccoli piaceri come il giardinaggio o una passeggiata su una spiaggia dove ogni granello di sabbia e ogni goccia d'acqua sono illuminate dalla luce del sole.
Non si può dire che il romanzo sia un libro ricco di azione e alcuni lettori potrebbero trovare frustrante la sua conclusione aperta; tuttavia, consiglio il libro a chiunque sia interessato alle sfide emotive e professionali che devono affrontare i giovani di oggi.
December 26, 2025
1,9 – das wirkt irgendwie harsch, aber ich habe mich über dieses Buch auch geärgert. Die Beobachtungen und langsamen, lebensnahen Beschreibungen von scheinbar unscheinbaren, aber doch gehaltvollen Situationen haben mir gefallen, die Melancholie, die sich durch alles zieht, kenne ich selbst, aber es gibt kein Takeaway, keinen Handlungsstrang, die Figur scheint sich nicht weiterzuentwickeln und eigentlich wirkt alles nur schwer und schmerzhaft, ohne etwas Gehaltvolles auszusagen. Ich glaube nicht einmal, etwas zu übersehen, das hat es anstrengend gemacht.
January 28, 2026
3,5 for what is worth it
This book is beautifully written and I underlined a lot of passages. Nevertheless, I can’t say I loved it. It digresses completely from the initial plot, to a point where it no longer has a plot. I get that it is supposed to portray the intricacies and complexities of friendship and coming-of-age but I just found it cruel the way Eva looses touch with Jamie to a point of plain indifference. And as The Lumineers had put it in a song quite wisely “it’s better to feel pain than nothing at all, the opposite of love is indifference”.
The pace also killed me. I really wanted to connect with the book because, I say it again, it was very well written, but nothing really happened - and when it did, it was disregarded (I thought Jamie’s accident would be a turning point).
I’m really bummed because this had all the ingredients to be enjoyable. All in all, a lot of unfulfilled potential.
Well, this one’s on me for not trusting online ratings.
This book is beautifully written and I underlined a lot of passages. Nevertheless, I can’t say I loved it. It digresses completely from the initial plot, to a point where it no longer has a plot. I get that it is supposed to portray the intricacies and complexities of friendship and coming-of-age but I just found it cruel the way Eva looses touch with Jamie to a point of plain indifference. And as The Lumineers had put it in a song quite wisely “it’s better to feel pain than nothing at all, the opposite of love is indifference”.
The pace also killed me. I really wanted to connect with the book because, I say it again, it was very well written, but nothing really happened - and when it did, it was disregarded (I thought Jamie’s accident would be a turning point).
I’m really bummed because this had all the ingredients to be enjoyable. All in all, a lot of unfulfilled potential.
Well, this one’s on me for not trusting online ratings.
January 3, 2025
For a book that is all about searching for meaning and belonging, the narrative tone of this book is very shallow and unemotional. It hooked me in pretty well at first, but it didn’t really keep me in its grasp for the entire novel.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
August 4, 2024
Ask Me Again is a book that tries very hard to be smart. It should not try so hard to be smart. What it needs is a heartbeat. There's a lot of moments packaged as profound-- tons of 'let that sink in's-- but none of them have teeth. I didn't learn anything. The teeth Ask Me Again are in the parts that Claire neglected.
Eva (narrator) and the world she navigates are detached and gray. Passion, care, love, wonder, excitement, grief, sadness, and devastation are all alluded to. But they're rarely shown and they're never dwelled upon. There's a sensory, emotional *thump* missing. Eva doesn't have many passions, she doesn't have many friends. She allegedly falls in love, but it feels transactional. When she has sex it's to scratch an itch. These are sort of themes but they're minor ones. I can't quite fit myself in Eva's head.
I loved the scope and pace of the book. Seeing Evas life change was honest and refreshing. The time covered feels substantial. People & problems come and go. Jamie is the only constant but his relevance varies. It reflects life in a way traditional story structures can't. That made me happy.
If you like deep quotes then you will find plenty. If you tend to find the 'deep quote' aesthetic offsetting, then there might not be much for you here.
Eva (narrator) and the world she navigates are detached and gray. Passion, care, love, wonder, excitement, grief, sadness, and devastation are all alluded to. But they're rarely shown and they're never dwelled upon. There's a sensory, emotional *thump* missing. Eva doesn't have many passions, she doesn't have many friends. She allegedly falls in love, but it feels transactional. When she has sex it's to scratch an itch. These are sort of themes but they're minor ones. I can't quite fit myself in Eva's head.
I loved the scope and pace of the book. Seeing Evas life change was honest and refreshing. The time covered feels substantial. People & problems come and go. Jamie is the only constant but his relevance varies. It reflects life in a way traditional story structures can't. That made me happy.
If you like deep quotes then you will find plenty. If you tend to find the 'deep quote' aesthetic offsetting, then there might not be much for you here.
August 7, 2024
Gonna need a few days to think on this one (or for a friend to read it so we can discuss) as I'm not quite sure what to make of it. The middle section, which becomes very much about progressive politics and churches, felt quite directionless when I was in it, which frustrated me. By the end, though, I think perhaps the whole book is exploring the ways in which we make meaning of the world (through our relationships, our upbringing, our academic experiences, politics, religion, advice columns) and how, even with all of those things, we often end up coming up short (but also is that just the theme of my own life at the moment? Do books have themes and meanings independent to those that we bring to the reading experience?). Sestanovich's sentence by sentence level writing continues to be beautiful though (really loved her debut short story collection Objects of Desire: Stories) and I'm eager to see what she does next.
August 19, 2024
I completely loved this. Sestanovich is such a strong and technical writer.
We meet Eva, at 16, when she meets Jamie. They’re both New York City kids, though Jamie wealthier, with less stable roots. We follow them through the end of high school, into college and their early twenties. They’re precocious, irritating, and always searching. They ask big questions, look for “truth,” purpose, and belonging.
I really believe the writing here ensures this story and these characters feel earnest and new. I found myself totally consumed by this from the first page. And was impressed by my interest in the side characters introduced throughout. The central friendship, while vexing and unstable, was, for me, full of heart.
There’s also a lot going on beneath the surface, a lot to glean on a reread or in discussion. The ending!?
We meet Eva, at 16, when she meets Jamie. They’re both New York City kids, though Jamie wealthier, with less stable roots. We follow them through the end of high school, into college and their early twenties. They’re precocious, irritating, and always searching. They ask big questions, look for “truth,” purpose, and belonging.
I really believe the writing here ensures this story and these characters feel earnest and new. I found myself totally consumed by this from the first page. And was impressed by my interest in the side characters introduced throughout. The central friendship, while vexing and unstable, was, for me, full of heart.
There’s also a lot going on beneath the surface, a lot to glean on a reread or in discussion. The ending!?
July 10, 2025
3.75/5 (rounded)
everyone seems to be on the same consensus that nothing really happened in this, to which I agree, but I think that added to its charm. The characters were very eye-roll-worthy at times, but again that gave them some charm. The writing was beautiful, but it seemed to introduce ideas and characters with little to no reasoning (perhaps I didn’t pick up on it) and then just carried on like nothing happened. It’s certainly not a bad book and would appeal to those who like character stories but something was just missing !!!
everyone seems to be on the same consensus that nothing really happened in this, to which I agree, but I think that added to its charm. The characters were very eye-roll-worthy at times, but again that gave them some charm. The writing was beautiful, but it seemed to introduce ideas and characters with little to no reasoning (perhaps I didn’t pick up on it) and then just carried on like nothing happened. It’s certainly not a bad book and would appeal to those who like character stories but something was just missing !!!
June 25, 2024
2.5 stars
This book didn't actually follow through on the synopsis and somewhat just stopped talking about Jamie. It dragged and didn't have much of a plot, but rather than focusing on character development, it felt like it was just random little things from the main character (but she didn't really show development in my opinion).
This book didn't actually follow through on the synopsis and somewhat just stopped talking about Jamie. It dragged and didn't have much of a plot, but rather than focusing on character development, it felt like it was just random little things from the main character (but she didn't really show development in my opinion).
September 7, 2024
This book was such a disappointment. It started off good and was well-written, but then quickly lost its focus. For the back half, Jamie wasn't even really an important character anymore. I made myself skim to the end because I spent so much time reading this book, but I would not reccomend it. Absolutely no cohesive through line at all.
July 15, 2024
Exception that proves the rule! (The rule: blurbs commending prose in contemporary fiction are full of shit)
What a relief to find a new book full of good sentences! It's also very thoughtful about friendship and human relationships generally. I read it in like 24 hours.
What a relief to find a new book full of good sentences! It's also very thoughtful about friendship and human relationships generally. I read it in like 24 hours.
January 13, 2025
Ask Me Again is a coming-of-age story with a difference. The whole way through it was following Eva and Jamie's lives, wondering when they would come back together and the answer to my questions astounded me.
The writing is very engaging and thought-provoking, and that is the true beauty of this novel. It captures your attention and makes you ask the same questions as Eva and Jamie are facing themselves. You can't help but feel connected to the characters and relate to how they handle the life they find themselves in.
It's a novel that sits with you long after you've finished reading, leaving you constantly wondering and questioning what happens next.
The writing is very engaging and thought-provoking, and that is the true beauty of this novel. It captures your attention and makes you ask the same questions as Eva and Jamie are facing themselves. You can't help but feel connected to the characters and relate to how they handle the life they find themselves in.
It's a novel that sits with you long after you've finished reading, leaving you constantly wondering and questioning what happens next.
June 2, 2025
This is a coming of age novel about Eva and Jamie who meet by chance at a hospital and develop a strong friendship. We follow their development through teens and into adulthood.
If you are hoping for a One Day vibe then you'll be sadly disappointed. In fact nothing big really happens at all throughout but I felt myself compelled to keep reading.
I can't really say why I enjoyed it - perhaps the well rounded characters meant you really got to know Eva and never quite knowing Jamie - just how it's supposed to be.
If you are hoping for a One Day vibe then you'll be sadly disappointed. In fact nothing big really happens at all throughout but I felt myself compelled to keep reading.
I can't really say why I enjoyed it - perhaps the well rounded characters meant you really got to know Eva and never quite knowing Jamie - just how it's supposed to be.
February 11, 2025
Slow pace but I think she does a great job at capturing mundane experiences and depicting them as the sort of essence of life. Not a super uplifting read but lots of moments that I find myself still turning over in my head.
This is the kind of book that I should read again...!
This is the kind of book that I should read again...!
Read
March 7, 2025Freshman year, Eva gets good advice from new friend Lorrie: “Flirt with grad students, fuck grad students, but don’t make the mistake of actually talking to them. They sound ridiculous when they talk.”
August 25, 2024
This book was like eating candy! So beautifully written
June 14, 2024
This book is a coming of age story following a girl over the course of 10 years or so. The entire plot is inconsequential. The author uses no foreshadowing or references anything else that has happened throughout the book almost ever. Almost like an anthropological diary of the girl’s life.
The main character has terribly low self-esteem and remains quite juvenile despite her aging and having new experiences.
The book is incredibly descriptive and perceptive when describing every interaction between characters. The side characters are all interesting but it doesn’t quite make sense why they continue to engage with the main character. Her life-long best friend’s side story is captivating then devastating.
I read this book in three days. It was a strange nostalgic and introspective escape but left me feeling sad for everyone involved. Very teenage-girl philosophical and at times meta.
The main character has terribly low self-esteem and remains quite juvenile despite her aging and having new experiences.
The book is incredibly descriptive and perceptive when describing every interaction between characters. The side characters are all interesting but it doesn’t quite make sense why they continue to engage with the main character. Her life-long best friend’s side story is captivating then devastating.
I read this book in three days. It was a strange nostalgic and introspective escape but left me feeling sad for everyone involved. Very teenage-girl philosophical and at times meta.
October 22, 2024
As soon as I learned that the author has previously published mainly short stories, it was a clear aha! moment. I will first admit that it took me forever to read this book (3 months!) I kept putting it down and reading other things, but eventually picking it back up because I did enjoy the writing. The way I finally got through it was to treat each chapter as a standalone short story. That was quite easy to do, as the author spent zero time cultivating the central "best friendship" of the two "main" characters. The entire novel is written from one character's point of view and the other "main" character ambles in and out of chapters but you learn literally nothing about his personality or desires. This story is supposed to follow two best friends as they grow up and move through life; I would say that this story depicts acquaintances, at best, who seem to kind of tolerate each other. Even the narrator is an enigma. She seems disenchanted with all aspects of life; it's hard to root for her when she doesn't seem to have any depth or substance. All of the other characters - her parents, her on and off boyfriend, her best friend, a random politician she befriends - are the broadest of sketches and seem to have no inner life.
So why did I keep reading this book until the end? The prose is good. The words flow in an almost lyrical way at times. I think this is the book equivalent of an art house film that you see at the local art museum, tell everyone you loved it to sound smart and artistic, but actually can't remember any of the plot the minute you leave the theater.
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for an advanced copy of this story.
So why did I keep reading this book until the end? The prose is good. The words flow in an almost lyrical way at times. I think this is the book equivalent of an art house film that you see at the local art museum, tell everyone you loved it to sound smart and artistic, but actually can't remember any of the plot the minute you leave the theater.
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for an advanced copy of this story.
October 1, 2024
1/3 of the way into this book, Sestanovich titles a chapter “What’s the Point?” and yeah. Yeah yeah yeah.
Sestanovich is a talented writer at the sentence level, but the entire novel collapses into nothingness. this is the kind of novel I fear the most: people who are ordinary but never too ordinary (the outrage!), existing in worlds that are ugly but always in a beautiful way. The protagonist has no tactile involvement with the world around her, which enables her to exist in a register that is—unintentionally but functionally—privileged and uninteresting. This would not be such a crime if the book were content to be privileged and uninteresting (sallyrooneysallyrooneysallyrooney) but instead the book aspires to something like a impotent social and political critique. Also Sestanovich invests heavily in the rare specimen of the manic pixie dream boy and like, What’s the Point?
Sestanovich is a talented writer at the sentence level, but the entire novel collapses into nothingness. this is the kind of novel I fear the most: people who are ordinary but never too ordinary (the outrage!), existing in worlds that are ugly but always in a beautiful way. The protagonist has no tactile involvement with the world around her, which enables her to exist in a register that is—unintentionally but functionally—privileged and uninteresting. This would not be such a crime if the book were content to be privileged and uninteresting (sallyrooneysallyrooneysallyrooney) but instead the book aspires to something like a impotent social and political critique. Also Sestanovich invests heavily in the rare specimen of the manic pixie dream boy and like, What’s the Point?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews