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Famous Men
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Expected 14 Jul 26From the acclaimed author of the “wild, gorgeous” (San Francisco Chronicle) Marlena comes a novel about a young woman looking for a father and finding herself—a vivid, uncompromising exploration of sex, money, power, and art.
The right book at the right time can change your life.
Will Miles is trapped. Trapped in tiny Greening, Michigan, where a toxic high school rumor has turned her into a social exile. Trapped in the predictable routines of her mother, and under the unrelenting gaze of her mother’s increasingly sinister boyfriend. But when Will stumbles across the early poems of Nathaniel Fellow, a famous writer forty years her senior who also grew up in Greening, she feels she’s found a kindred spirit. A passing comment from her mother only adds to Will’s fascination: Is Nathaniel the father she’s never known?
Will orchestrates a plan to track Nathaniel down, following in his footsteps to New York City, where she learns he’s not the answer to her past, not the way she imagined. But their meeting sparks a complicated, consuming relationship that gives Will sidelong access to a world she’s only ever imagined: of writers and intellectuals, a financial safety net, and, most intoxicatingly, a glimpse into her own potential. But who is Nathaniel Fellow, off the page? And what will shaping her life to suit his cost her? When a torrent of information about his past threatens not just her life with Nathaniel, but the story she tells herself about him, Will is faced with a choice that will change everything.
A gripping novel about ambition, parents and children, and all the ways women still pay for men’s mistakes, Famous Men traces one woman’s journey to the truth of where she comes from, what she’s capable of, and how she might start again.
The right book at the right time can change your life.
Will Miles is trapped. Trapped in tiny Greening, Michigan, where a toxic high school rumor has turned her into a social exile. Trapped in the predictable routines of her mother, and under the unrelenting gaze of her mother’s increasingly sinister boyfriend. But when Will stumbles across the early poems of Nathaniel Fellow, a famous writer forty years her senior who also grew up in Greening, she feels she’s found a kindred spirit. A passing comment from her mother only adds to Will’s fascination: Is Nathaniel the father she’s never known?
Will orchestrates a plan to track Nathaniel down, following in his footsteps to New York City, where she learns he’s not the answer to her past, not the way she imagined. But their meeting sparks a complicated, consuming relationship that gives Will sidelong access to a world she’s only ever imagined: of writers and intellectuals, a financial safety net, and, most intoxicatingly, a glimpse into her own potential. But who is Nathaniel Fellow, off the page? And what will shaping her life to suit his cost her? When a torrent of information about his past threatens not just her life with Nathaniel, but the story she tells herself about him, Will is faced with a choice that will change everything.
A gripping novel about ambition, parents and children, and all the ways women still pay for men’s mistakes, Famous Men traces one woman’s journey to the truth of where she comes from, what she’s capable of, and how she might start again.
380 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication July 14, 2026
About the author
Julie Buntin
5 books550 followersJulie Buntin's new novel, Famous Men, is forthcoming from Random House in July. She's also the author of Marlena (Holt, 2017) - a finalist for the NBCC John Leonard Prize - and the co-editor of Notes to New Mothers, a collection of dispatches from postpartum life by sixty writers and artists. Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Harper’s, and the New York Times, among other publications, and has been supported by the MacDowell Colony, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and the New York Community Trust. Formerly an editor and director of writing programs at Catapult, she’s an assistant professor of English at the University of Michigan, and has taught creative writing at NYU, Columbia University, Marymount Manhattan College, and the Yale Writer's Workshop.
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July 7, 2026two of the scariest words in the english language
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
February 20, 2026
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. I get what this book was attempting to do but it really missed to mark for me. Nothing really happens in this book and it’s a lot of random events that hold no significance to the main plot in my opinion. The point the author was trying to make about me too was clear but that doesn’t mean this was entertaining or engaging to read. I honestly found myself very bored with everything happening and this book didn’t say anything new or interesting about the me too movement. It started out with so much promise but I honestly should have just dnfed this.
April 9, 2026
ADVANCE REVIEW COPY: EXPECTED RELEASE 14 JULY 2026
Wilhelmina (Will for short) grew up in a single parent home in the tiny town of Greening, Michigan. Her mom was (and still is) the cafeteria chief at a boarding school there. During Will’s early adolescent years, she becomes enthralled with the poetry of Nathaniel Fellow, himself a Greening product and now a famous, award-winning author. Her mother mentions an encounter with Nathaniel when she was young, a passing comment that leads Will to ponder whether he’s the father she never knew.
Will goes a little adrift in her teenage and community college years, but when she gets accepted to a small college in New York City, she sees a chance to connect with Nathaniel. He teaches at a major university nearby, and through a little quiet networking, she makes her way into his poetry workshop. Eventually she makes an impression on Nathaniel and becomes his assistant…and maybe more.
It might be best to summarize what happens next with a focus on Will’s two main desires: to become a poet / author / artist, and to discover whether Nathaniel is really her father. The pursuit of both leads her down some icky but meaningful and thoughtful paths. From the outside, you might judge her life as her friends do: what is she doing with this guy? Why is she languishing in a crummy job without health insurance, accepting pay in the form of his credit card, living in his apartment or a sublet studio in the West Village? It’s easy to feel for her, stubbornly in search of something to give her life substance.
See, Will’s early life involves not just the mystery of her father’s identity. She was also shamed in her early high school years for having allegedly engaged in loose activity with a boy at a barn party. She spent those years getting ridiculed and even abused by kids for that fateful night. It hurt her maybe even more than she leads on in her first-person wonderings. Thus, the novel is essentially a journey through Will’s search for an identity.
The central setting for this journey isn’t just New York; it’s Nathaniel’s poetry workshop. Buntin tells us in her Acknowledgements (yes, I almost always read them) that workshopping was an inspiration for her. Thus, Will’s side-door entry into the group of poets and writers is where she grows as an artist, a friend, even a lover. It’s not just the mechanics of writing, however: it’s emotional, tense, even nasty at times. But it’s tight-knit and serious for the participants.
A big side-theme here is the #metoo movement. As Will ages and gets increasingly involved with Nathaniel, other famous men are exposed for their abuses and even crimes. He might be one of them, which makes her relationship with him even more complicated. Go ahead and say you saw it coming with his borderline creepy behavior midway through the novel, but consider Will’s fragile ego. Would we really have expected her to storm out and join the protest line? No, and credit to Buntin for making this situation opaque and gray. Yes, she’s clearly disgusted by the activities of the #metoo men out there, but Will seems in-between, caught between what’s right and what she wants for herself (which itself is murky and ever-changing).
Now, a novel of self-discovery can’t be expected to be a page-turning thriller. The literary setting begets a work of literary consideration. So, the action is slow, deliberate, and heady. Four hundred pages is quite a bit, and all that thinking and flashbacking takes time. Just know what you’re getting into here: it’s meant to be savored and considered.
The writing is crisp and the character development exquisite and expertly done. Buntin has written a strong work of literature involving a very interesting protagonist in a unique situation.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Famous Men will be released July 14, 2026.
Wilhelmina (Will for short) grew up in a single parent home in the tiny town of Greening, Michigan. Her mom was (and still is) the cafeteria chief at a boarding school there. During Will’s early adolescent years, she becomes enthralled with the poetry of Nathaniel Fellow, himself a Greening product and now a famous, award-winning author. Her mother mentions an encounter with Nathaniel when she was young, a passing comment that leads Will to ponder whether he’s the father she never knew.
Will goes a little adrift in her teenage and community college years, but when she gets accepted to a small college in New York City, she sees a chance to connect with Nathaniel. He teaches at a major university nearby, and through a little quiet networking, she makes her way into his poetry workshop. Eventually she makes an impression on Nathaniel and becomes his assistant…and maybe more.
It might be best to summarize what happens next with a focus on Will’s two main desires: to become a poet / author / artist, and to discover whether Nathaniel is really her father. The pursuit of both leads her down some icky but meaningful and thoughtful paths. From the outside, you might judge her life as her friends do: what is she doing with this guy? Why is she languishing in a crummy job without health insurance, accepting pay in the form of his credit card, living in his apartment or a sublet studio in the West Village? It’s easy to feel for her, stubbornly in search of something to give her life substance.
See, Will’s early life involves not just the mystery of her father’s identity. She was also shamed in her early high school years for having allegedly engaged in loose activity with a boy at a barn party. She spent those years getting ridiculed and even abused by kids for that fateful night. It hurt her maybe even more than she leads on in her first-person wonderings. Thus, the novel is essentially a journey through Will’s search for an identity.
The central setting for this journey isn’t just New York; it’s Nathaniel’s poetry workshop. Buntin tells us in her Acknowledgements (yes, I almost always read them) that workshopping was an inspiration for her. Thus, Will’s side-door entry into the group of poets and writers is where she grows as an artist, a friend, even a lover. It’s not just the mechanics of writing, however: it’s emotional, tense, even nasty at times. But it’s tight-knit and serious for the participants.
A big side-theme here is the #metoo movement. As Will ages and gets increasingly involved with Nathaniel, other famous men are exposed for their abuses and even crimes. He might be one of them, which makes her relationship with him even more complicated. Go ahead and say you saw it coming with his borderline creepy behavior midway through the novel, but consider Will’s fragile ego. Would we really have expected her to storm out and join the protest line? No, and credit to Buntin for making this situation opaque and gray. Yes, she’s clearly disgusted by the activities of the #metoo men out there, but Will seems in-between, caught between what’s right and what she wants for herself (which itself is murky and ever-changing).
Now, a novel of self-discovery can’t be expected to be a page-turning thriller. The literary setting begets a work of literary consideration. So, the action is slow, deliberate, and heady. Four hundred pages is quite a bit, and all that thinking and flashbacking takes time. Just know what you’re getting into here: it’s meant to be savored and considered.
The writing is crisp and the character development exquisite and expertly done. Buntin has written a strong work of literature involving a very interesting protagonist in a unique situation.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Famous Men will be released July 14, 2026.
June 30, 2026
I am begging more midwestern women to write novels, because this was everything to me. Julie Buntin wrote her absolute head off in this novel, and I was glued to every single page.
Will, the daughter of a single mother, becomes convinced that her real father is Nathaniel Fellows, a writer who “made it” from her tiny northern Michigan town. She molds her life around getting to be in his company, poring over his work, and moving to New York City to be in his company. When she finally meets him, their connection inflates to something completely separate.
Famous Men so perfectly highlights the grey areas and nuance of life. Between life and fiction. Between privilege and talent. Between conscious choice and a forced hand. Wilhelmina is a character that endears and frustrates and I was absolutely riveted by her.
*thank you to the publisher for the advanced reader copy.
Will, the daughter of a single mother, becomes convinced that her real father is Nathaniel Fellows, a writer who “made it” from her tiny northern Michigan town. She molds her life around getting to be in his company, poring over his work, and moving to New York City to be in his company. When she finally meets him, their connection inflates to something completely separate.
Famous Men so perfectly highlights the grey areas and nuance of life. Between life and fiction. Between privilege and talent. Between conscious choice and a forced hand. Wilhelmina is a character that endears and frustrates and I was absolutely riveted by her.
*thank you to the publisher for the advanced reader copy.
March 23, 2026
I've been a fan of Julie Buntin's since she was publishing essays in Explosion Proof. Her first novel, Marlena, is one of my favorite novels of the century. But she outdoes herself in Famous Men, one of the most ambitious and satisfying novels about the real cost of making art that I've ever read. This novel takes its reader seriously. It is completely unafraid, drifting into thorny moral territory to pose provocative questions that readers are asked to consider for themselves. It's also written with sterling stylistic precision and is genuinely moving. I think it's a true artistic achievement, and a book that I feel lucky to have read.
March 6, 2026
We've read this story before, so there were not really any "gasp out loud" moments for me, but I thoroughly the writing on this.
Even though I knew exactly where this was going most of the time, and the ending was not surprising, I found myself not being able to put this one down.
Thank you to Hogarth and the author for providing a free copy of this book through NetGalley.
Even though I knew exactly where this was going most of the time, and the ending was not surprising, I found myself not being able to put this one down.
Thank you to Hogarth and the author for providing a free copy of this book through NetGalley.
May 4, 2026
Famous Men is the story of Wilhelmina a small town girl raised by her single mother. After a traumatic incident in high school, she finds solace in the words of a poet named Nathaniel Fellow. The mystery deepens when Wil discovers that her mother actually met the poet one night in her early twenties. Desperate to uncover the identity of her father, Wil begins to suspect that Fellow might be the man she’s been looking for, which draws her into his orbit.
She finds her life intertwined with Nathaniel’s and they enter into a complex relationship. The reader grows with Wil as she works towards finding her voice and comes to terms with the traumas that shaped her.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
The Verdict:
Rating: ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Buy/Borrow/Skip- Buy, the writing is so compelling and the author explores difficult topics with a deft hand.
Read if you like: Coming of age stories with complex power dynamics and one’s search for identity
She finds her life intertwined with Nathaniel’s and they enter into a complex relationship. The reader grows with Wil as she works towards finding her voice and comes to terms with the traumas that shaped her.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
The Verdict:
Rating: ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Buy/Borrow/Skip- Buy, the writing is so compelling and the author explores difficult topics with a deft hand.
Read if you like: Coming of age stories with complex power dynamics and one’s search for identity
April 24, 2026
I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley.
I was really drawn to the premise of this book. As a Midwest girl who at time felt trapped in her small town before eventually leaving, I think it’s easy to latch on to an idea of what could be out there. I think following the path of someone who could be her father is a great beginning to a chaotic adventure. Once I started reading the book I really appreciated how gripping the story was. I think Wills relationship with her mother was very real. I often blamed my mother for things I did not fully understand at a similar time in my life. Watching will work her way through things at times was a bit difficult, but I think that added to what this book was exploring. I am in a different side of the art world, but it has the exact same dynamic, so I found it to be an honest reflection of what it’s like to be a woman in the art world. A very thought provoking read!
I was really drawn to the premise of this book. As a Midwest girl who at time felt trapped in her small town before eventually leaving, I think it’s easy to latch on to an idea of what could be out there. I think following the path of someone who could be her father is a great beginning to a chaotic adventure. Once I started reading the book I really appreciated how gripping the story was. I think Wills relationship with her mother was very real. I often blamed my mother for things I did not fully understand at a similar time in my life. Watching will work her way through things at times was a bit difficult, but I think that added to what this book was exploring. I am in a different side of the art world, but it has the exact same dynamic, so I found it to be an honest reflection of what it’s like to be a woman in the art world. A very thought provoking read!
April 30, 2026
Not all men, but all women experience something like this.
The feelings of Willhelmina are so raw and her guilt and complicit behaviors are so heartbreaking.
What happens to her at the end. Does she keep the child? Does she tell Nathaniel? Does she tell the truth and implicate him?
Oh, the questions I have.
The feelings of Willhelmina are so raw and her guilt and complicit behaviors are so heartbreaking.
What happens to her at the end. Does she keep the child? Does she tell Nathaniel? Does she tell the truth and implicate him?
Oh, the questions I have.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
LOVED Marlena. It’s THE book that got me back into reading six years ago. This feels like it was written by someone totally different. There’s hardly any prose or emotion or life/events. It was a 400 pg slog, juice not worth the squeeze àt áll. Even though the summary sounded perfectly for me.
Even when it’s not in second or third person it seems as distant/bloodless as some new fourth person narrative. The MC and all the “girls” are about 25 in NYC but act as helpless and passive as spoiled 15y/os. The girl moves there because she’s from the same Michigan town as a writer, Nathaniel, she’s fan of and suspects could be her real father, teaching there. Her mom is so flighty about this, which makes more sense àt the end but still less than I anticipated.
So she pretty immediately realizes he’s not her father and he invites her to be his assistant. It takes like 150 pages for them to hook up so it’s not like he jumped on her. She’s always claiming she’s down for casual relationships/sex but it seems like every single female character is secretly embittered by it. So this seems way less à book about SA and more about how girls need to demand better and announce their intentions, that the desire for more emotional intimacy and respect is not weak, just because serious relationships have become unfashionable.
Yeah, it’s so shallow and gross he’s an old player, but why play along for YEARS. It’s not like they ever said they loved each other, it’s all so transactional to FWB/blurry sugar baby-y. Which fine either way, but this is the worst character to make any point with. It would’ve been waaay more impactful or interesting if we followed the girl he seemed to treat the worst, honking her breasts like a joke. (Other books have already covered the ground of least hurt girl/defender better, like Putney or My Dark Vanessa) Not the one he just brushed her knee àt à reading and somehow that was like heroin? When he’s not even in town half the time, or the most affectionate thing they do together is watch TV over takeout.
He’s 62-70 in the book, persnickety, not good-looking, that nice or that clean. So what’s the draw?? His money, connections? He’s popular but not thaaat famous and most of the time what he writes sounds basic and narrow. Is it like the sunken cost of her wishing he /was/ her dad so she can stop looking for one, so she’s mad he’s not?
Misdirected hate for her real unheard of father and creepy stepfather who’s the one who deserves the actual backlash for taking underage pictures of her?? I know the point of the book is messiness, how there are no perfect victims or perpetrators, but it comes off so meek, meandering, inane.
From their first interaction and almost ever since, she admits her voice sounds mad and whiny, so why persue him? She constantly hears other graduate students can’t stand how pretentious he is, how they drop out over not putting up with his celeb-like lunch requests or some vague fling. Her boring friends are always like, Are you sure you wanna be close to him? So there are constant warnings, no real goals.
She’s like a ghost, no personality, floating through life. It’s like giving áll the million humdrum specifics of say, her rumored “pepperoni nipples” and course credits that do or don’t transfer, weigh her down. Putting scraps on a paper doll, trying to make her real but missing any heart. (Also for a big fan of poetry, she never noticed how punctuation has to do with pausing breath until his workshop?)
Book gets better once they hook up, but it’s abrupt. She comes prob just from taboo of how she used to think he could be her father—but it’s not even disected that interestingly taboo or forbidden. Nothing changes between them. It’s just glossed over how they hook up a couple times, then he says someone complained about her so she can’t go to his workshops? I assumed he was lying or it’s someone jealous she’s the assistant on scholarship, plus ignorant to be in the exclusive setting.
That’s not even a real problem though she starts having panic attacks and he arranges her à free apartment after she conveniently faints like a soap opera heroine (I did like how that was poked fun at). And it was funny how she gradually spends more on his credit card like silent literal payback for him not being more interested or mentory, yet he does relentlessly edit her book until it’s a hit way down the road. Frankly, it ironically showed some integrity, him rejecting her from magazines til she was ready.
She seems to know the whole time he’s a manwhore or lots of girls are as upset as her but she hopes she’ll be the exception. Even she admits she’s so passive. She says she sets out to change it, but how? By getting a MacBook? She’s as vapid and plain as a new England art ho or the Michigan bores she wants to transcend.
The most stand out scenes are when she’s getting pushback from Lily about how she thinks she’s so special or the friendly one. From the start, she deletes his emails from other students. Like she later kinda wishes she could do when other female alums band together like a decade later to call him out for being sleazy, using his class like speed dating/Tindr.
Tension and connections get better àt the end but the point about MeToo was floundering, the daddy issue analysis mostly abandoned early on so feels incomplete. It was okay but not enough to use the MC’s book within this book to explain the framing. I guess the final pages were bittersweet. More could’ve happened with the other father figures in her life. I will give this author more chances, I just really wish this was half the size with more intensity, maybe a first person POV, focus on the personal more than some grander movement or statement. This review wouldve been more articulate if my last two didn’t get deleted.
Even when it’s not in second or third person it seems as distant/bloodless as some new fourth person narrative. The MC and all the “girls” are about 25 in NYC but act as helpless and passive as spoiled 15y/os. The girl moves there because she’s from the same Michigan town as a writer, Nathaniel, she’s fan of and suspects could be her real father, teaching there. Her mom is so flighty about this, which makes more sense àt the end but still less than I anticipated.
So she pretty immediately realizes he’s not her father and he invites her to be his assistant. It takes like 150 pages for them to hook up so it’s not like he jumped on her. She’s always claiming she’s down for casual relationships/sex but it seems like every single female character is secretly embittered by it. So this seems way less à book about SA and more about how girls need to demand better and announce their intentions, that the desire for more emotional intimacy and respect is not weak, just because serious relationships have become unfashionable.
Yeah, it’s so shallow and gross he’s an old player, but why play along for YEARS. It’s not like they ever said they loved each other, it’s all so transactional to FWB/blurry sugar baby-y. Which fine either way, but this is the worst character to make any point with. It would’ve been waaay more impactful or interesting if we followed the girl he seemed to treat the worst, honking her breasts like a joke. (Other books have already covered the ground of least hurt girl/defender better, like Putney or My Dark Vanessa) Not the one he just brushed her knee àt à reading and somehow that was like heroin? When he’s not even in town half the time, or the most affectionate thing they do together is watch TV over takeout.
He’s 62-70 in the book, persnickety, not good-looking, that nice or that clean. So what’s the draw?? His money, connections? He’s popular but not thaaat famous and most of the time what he writes sounds basic and narrow. Is it like the sunken cost of her wishing he /was/ her dad so she can stop looking for one, so she’s mad he’s not?
Misdirected hate for her real unheard of father and creepy stepfather who’s the one who deserves the actual backlash for taking underage pictures of her?? I know the point of the book is messiness, how there are no perfect victims or perpetrators, but it comes off so meek, meandering, inane.
From their first interaction and almost ever since, she admits her voice sounds mad and whiny, so why persue him? She constantly hears other graduate students can’t stand how pretentious he is, how they drop out over not putting up with his celeb-like lunch requests or some vague fling. Her boring friends are always like, Are you sure you wanna be close to him? So there are constant warnings, no real goals.
She’s like a ghost, no personality, floating through life. It’s like giving áll the million humdrum specifics of say, her rumored “pepperoni nipples” and course credits that do or don’t transfer, weigh her down. Putting scraps on a paper doll, trying to make her real but missing any heart. (Also for a big fan of poetry, she never noticed how punctuation has to do with pausing breath until his workshop?)
Book gets better once they hook up, but it’s abrupt. She comes prob just from taboo of how she used to think he could be her father—but it’s not even disected that interestingly taboo or forbidden. Nothing changes between them. It’s just glossed over how they hook up a couple times, then he says someone complained about her so she can’t go to his workshops? I assumed he was lying or it’s someone jealous she’s the assistant on scholarship, plus ignorant to be in the exclusive setting.
That’s not even a real problem though she starts having panic attacks and he arranges her à free apartment after she conveniently faints like a soap opera heroine (I did like how that was poked fun at). And it was funny how she gradually spends more on his credit card like silent literal payback for him not being more interested or mentory, yet he does relentlessly edit her book until it’s a hit way down the road. Frankly, it ironically showed some integrity, him rejecting her from magazines til she was ready.
She seems to know the whole time he’s a manwhore or lots of girls are as upset as her but she hopes she’ll be the exception. Even she admits she’s so passive. She says she sets out to change it, but how? By getting a MacBook? She’s as vapid and plain as a new England art ho or the Michigan bores she wants to transcend.
The most stand out scenes are when she’s getting pushback from Lily about how she thinks she’s so special or the friendly one. From the start, she deletes his emails from other students. Like she later kinda wishes she could do when other female alums band together like a decade later to call him out for being sleazy, using his class like speed dating/Tindr.
Tension and connections get better àt the end but the point about MeToo was floundering, the daddy issue analysis mostly abandoned early on so feels incomplete. It was okay but not enough to use the MC’s book within this book to explain the framing. I guess the final pages were bittersweet. More could’ve happened with the other father figures in her life. I will give this author more chances, I just really wish this was half the size with more intensity, maybe a first person POV, focus on the personal more than some grander movement or statement. This review wouldve been more articulate if my last two didn’t get deleted.
July 6, 2026
I read this book much slower than usual because it was stressing me out so bad, and I do mean that as a compliment. It felt like a very real story, like this could be a friend opening up and sharing her past with me: no great conclusion, just a life to continue living in a (hopefully) better direction. I really enjoyed the writing, the way Nathaniel is allowed to be pathetic and yet understandably powerful when it comes to his students. Having Wilhelmina be a young women who thinks she knows the deal she's making with this older man, who thinks she understands exactly what she's giving and what she's taking, only to grow older and see the bigger picture... I really felt for her as a character, even when she was being very passive or making bad decisions. I don't think this book will be for everyone, but I enjoyed it.
Also SPOILER I would've gotten an abortion so fast it'd make ya head spin
I received this ebook for free via Netgalley. This review is my honest opinion. Famous Men releases on July 14th, 2026.
Also SPOILER I would've gotten an abortion so fast it'd make ya head spin
I received this ebook for free via Netgalley. This review is my honest opinion. Famous Men releases on July 14th, 2026.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Julie Buntin is a very good writer, so I kept going for a hundred pages and then another hundred, even though I was thinking, "I have read this before." I wondered what Buntin's goal was, and that is why I kept going. Ultimately I think she is doing something quite specific and doing it well. It is not just a story of the ways a woman can find herself in submission to an older, more powerful man. It is also the story of how that woman can become complicit in his defense.
All the time we spend with Wil in the early parts of the book will eventually become quite important, so you should just relax and hand yourself over to Buntin. Let yourself soak up this young woman. Once she meets Nathaniel Fellow, a much-lauded (though rather past his prime) author that has been her guiding star for many years, it's easy to understand how she will do anything to be close to him. He represents a world Wil doesn't have any way to access unless he opens the door.
The novel is narrated by an older Wil and that older Wil makes sure she notes all the little breadcrumbs along the way that younger Wil ignores. If you were to get your highlighter out and highlight every red flag you'd have a pretty marked up book. It is a particular tightrope, to make it clear just how much Wil is ignoring without hitting the reader over the head with it. Buntin is trusting you to see it and to see Wil not seeing it.
It is not fun to watch all of this happen to Wil. But this idea of complicity, to watch a woman who has suffered at a man's hands be so sure she has not suffered, is one that feels more and more relevant. There has always been a lot of gray area in the post-MeToo world, the times where power dynamics made it all rather fuzzy, where women insisted they consented so what was the problem. That is the space Buntin curls up in for this book. And it isn't going to give you a lot of warm, happy feelings. Wil isn't going to make good decisions, even as she gets older and wiser.
It's a frustrating book. And I did wonder more than once why we are back in this place over and over again, in fiction and in reality, why we can never seem to agree, why men never seem to be punished, where women are so eager to help redeem them. But that is the point.
All the time we spend with Wil in the early parts of the book will eventually become quite important, so you should just relax and hand yourself over to Buntin. Let yourself soak up this young woman. Once she meets Nathaniel Fellow, a much-lauded (though rather past his prime) author that has been her guiding star for many years, it's easy to understand how she will do anything to be close to him. He represents a world Wil doesn't have any way to access unless he opens the door.
The novel is narrated by an older Wil and that older Wil makes sure she notes all the little breadcrumbs along the way that younger Wil ignores. If you were to get your highlighter out and highlight every red flag you'd have a pretty marked up book. It is a particular tightrope, to make it clear just how much Wil is ignoring without hitting the reader over the head with it. Buntin is trusting you to see it and to see Wil not seeing it.
It is not fun to watch all of this happen to Wil. But this idea of complicity, to watch a woman who has suffered at a man's hands be so sure she has not suffered, is one that feels more and more relevant. There has always been a lot of gray area in the post-MeToo world, the times where power dynamics made it all rather fuzzy, where women insisted they consented so what was the problem. That is the space Buntin curls up in for this book. And it isn't going to give you a lot of warm, happy feelings. Wil isn't going to make good decisions, even as she gets older and wiser.
It's a frustrating book. And I did wonder more than once why we are back in this place over and over again, in fiction and in reality, why we can never seem to agree, why men never seem to be punished, where women are so eager to help redeem them. But that is the point.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Where to begin. If you loved Marlena (and who didn’t) then you will love this book. It feels connected tonally and yet it’s also a major departure into the slippery territory of literary success and the true cost of imbalance of power over a lifetime. I think what this book did SO brilliantly was show the very way consent, desire, and ambition cannot be simplified. Or at least Buntin refused to simplify it, which is why the book rings so absolutely true. At one point, a character describes a story as feeling like it’s talking directly to them—and that was exactly the sensation I felt while reading. I felt a deep, disorienting sense of recognition. This is a novel that understands power—not just in its most visible forms, but in its subtler, more insidious permutations. The way admiration can blur into devotion. The way attention can feel like oxygen. And the way a young writer, especially a young woman, can mistake being chosen for being loved.
What Famous Men makes clear is that once those boundaries blur, everything becomes entangled. Not just in the moment, but for years. Possibly forever.
So many of us, I think, can count our own versions of those figures who shaped us in ways we’re still metabolizing. And there’s a reckoning with how much of girlhood involves learning to survive these dynamics, often without language for them at the time.
What I loved most beyond the beautiful writing, is that Famous Men does not flatten these experiences into easy moral binaries. Instead, it lingers in the uneasy terrain of consent, choice, agency—asking what those words even mean when power is unevenly distributed from the start. Will is such a precise and compelling voice throughout, and the emotional architecture of the book is extraordinary. The tenderness between her and the man in question, an older and lauded professor, is rendered with such care, and it’s exactly that tenderness that sharpens the more difficult questions the novel asks. Nothing is isolated; everything is in conversation.
What Famous Men makes clear is that once those boundaries blur, everything becomes entangled. Not just in the moment, but for years. Possibly forever.
So many of us, I think, can count our own versions of those figures who shaped us in ways we’re still metabolizing. And there’s a reckoning with how much of girlhood involves learning to survive these dynamics, often without language for them at the time.
What I loved most beyond the beautiful writing, is that Famous Men does not flatten these experiences into easy moral binaries. Instead, it lingers in the uneasy terrain of consent, choice, agency—asking what those words even mean when power is unevenly distributed from the start. Will is such a precise and compelling voice throughout, and the emotional architecture of the book is extraordinary. The tenderness between her and the man in question, an older and lauded professor, is rendered with such care, and it’s exactly that tenderness that sharpens the more difficult questions the novel asks. Nothing is isolated; everything is in conversation.
June 6, 2026
Thank you, to the author herself (!!), for the advanced reader copy.
This novel is just incredible. Very different to Marlena, but just as engrossing and honest. Will Miles is a truly singular voice, witty and gimlet-eyed and dynamic, as over the course of the story the truth of her life, amid its wondrous victories and humiliating pratfalls, comes slowly into focus. I was gripped the entire way through—oh, how the MFA cohort, for all their cattiness and erudite witticisms, stole my heart.
Nathaniel’s nickname for Wilhelmina is “Wilhelmet,” an impartial translation of her name from the German. The part he is missing is Will: “I want.” What is it Will really wants—the question any reader (and writer) should ask of the protagonist—if not only to able to want at all? To want things as simply, incontestably, as men want them?
*light spoilers ahead*
Readers of the modern age need things spelled out for them. They need to know who to root for, and who to detest for standing in the way of the former. I have a terrible sinking feeling Famous Men will strike these readers as missing something essential. What this novel is “missing” is the startling revelation when Will realizes what the reader has known all along: Nathaniel is Bad News! Perhaps after a melodramatic fight, or the long-awaited reveal of Will’s predecessor. It is with great relief that I tell you, neither of those things happen. Instead, Julie Buntin gives her protagonist the time and agency to learn for herself, on her own terms, that what she endured is not normal. A brilliant and nuanced decision that may not agree with readers of the spoon-fed persuasion. Will does not always—in fact, rarely—makes the right decisions. She is an imperfect heroine, an imperfect victim. She disappoints easier than she prevails. Yet, who else could’ve told this story? Will Miles, I miss you already.
This novel is just incredible. Very different to Marlena, but just as engrossing and honest. Will Miles is a truly singular voice, witty and gimlet-eyed and dynamic, as over the course of the story the truth of her life, amid its wondrous victories and humiliating pratfalls, comes slowly into focus. I was gripped the entire way through—oh, how the MFA cohort, for all their cattiness and erudite witticisms, stole my heart.
Nathaniel’s nickname for Wilhelmina is “Wilhelmet,” an impartial translation of her name from the German. The part he is missing is Will: “I want.” What is it Will really wants—the question any reader (and writer) should ask of the protagonist—if not only to able to want at all? To want things as simply, incontestably, as men want them?
*light spoilers ahead*
Readers of the modern age need things spelled out for them. They need to know who to root for, and who to detest for standing in the way of the former. I have a terrible sinking feeling Famous Men will strike these readers as missing something essential. What this novel is “missing” is the startling revelation when Will realizes what the reader has known all along: Nathaniel is Bad News! Perhaps after a melodramatic fight, or the long-awaited reveal of Will’s predecessor. It is with great relief that I tell you, neither of those things happen. Instead, Julie Buntin gives her protagonist the time and agency to learn for herself, on her own terms, that what she endured is not normal. A brilliant and nuanced decision that may not agree with readers of the spoon-fed persuasion. Will does not always—in fact, rarely—makes the right decisions. She is an imperfect heroine, an imperfect victim. She disappoints easier than she prevails. Yet, who else could’ve told this story? Will Miles, I miss you already.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. I really, really, really wanted to love this book, because I loved Marlena. Readers of Marlena will notice the similarities: a female protagonist from small town Michigan, who dreams of being a writer, and moves to NYC. A fraught relationship with the working-class mother. I enjoyed reading it and becoming immersed in Will's world.
At the same time, if you lived through 2016-2018, you might feel like you've already read this story. There is momentum building through hinting at Lili's piece, through the mystery of Gerry (never revealed), through some assumed break in Will's relationship with Nathaniel, but it is anticlimactic when it finally happens, and I was left wondering how Will felt about leaving, and what led her to finally leave. But maybe these lingering questions are what makes this book an excellent bookclub choice.
The characters felt flat. Lili too perfect, Reg boringly unoffensive. The best chapter was the list of things Nathaniel said. This finally gives the reader a glimpse of his spark, his draw, his flaws. I wish this came earlier. Will is such a passive character-- maybe the point, but not a likable nor unlikeable character- kind of confident yet bland - and I didn't feel myself rooting for her. Nathaniel was believable, but Will maybe less so.
There was too much happening-- the Reg romance, the high school scenes, the mother-daughter rift, the Tray story, the Benji character/the teaching at Rosendale plotline. The twist was predictable and felt rushed, like it was added at the last minute. And why does the voice suddenly switch into second person for one chapter?
Again, these might be purposeful choices for ambiguity, but for me it lacked a certain crispness and the messy yet believable, complicated characters of Marlena.
At the same time, if you lived through 2016-2018, you might feel like you've already read this story. There is momentum building through hinting at Lili's piece, through the mystery of Gerry (never revealed), through some assumed break in Will's relationship with Nathaniel, but it is anticlimactic when it finally happens, and I was left wondering how Will felt about leaving, and what led her to finally leave. But maybe these lingering questions are what makes this book an excellent bookclub choice.
The characters felt flat. Lili too perfect, Reg boringly unoffensive. The best chapter was the list of things Nathaniel said. This finally gives the reader a glimpse of his spark, his draw, his flaws. I wish this came earlier. Will is such a passive character-- maybe the point, but not a likable nor unlikeable character- kind of confident yet bland - and I didn't feel myself rooting for her. Nathaniel was believable, but Will maybe less so.
There was too much happening-- the Reg romance, the high school scenes, the mother-daughter rift, the Tray story, the Benji character/the teaching at Rosendale plotline. The twist was predictable and felt rushed, like it was added at the last minute. And why does the voice suddenly switch into second person for one chapter?
Again, these might be purposeful choices for ambiguity, but for me it lacked a certain crispness and the messy yet believable, complicated characters of Marlena.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
*4.25*
Fans of Kate Elizabeth Russell's "My Dark Vanessa" and the "daddy issues"-coded lyrics in many Lana Del Rey songs.
While perhaps a bit of a slow burn at first, I'll start off by saying that the writing in this is superb. Julie Buntin writes with such precision, the type of prose where you can tell she carefully considered every sentence she wrote. I was thoroughly captivated by her words.
I loved following our compelling main character's POV. Will (Wilhemina Miles) is written in such a realistic, believable, and nuanced way that she feels like a real person. While you don't have to agree with her decisions, I, for one, could absolutely understand why she acts the way she does once she falls into the orbit of this prestigious MFA university program in New York, and once she captures the eye of the old, but charismatic, male professor/famous writer. (And, as an aside, WOW does Julie Buntin get it right with capturing the old male English professor who conducts himself inappropriately with a young female undergrad).
This is a novel that speaks to the #MeToo movement, a novel that doesn't simplify its discussion of power imbalances, female ambition, the arts, and consent. What does it mean to have choice or agency when power is already unequally distributed from the start? As the story develops, you can easily see how the male professor is someone who has played a huge part in shaping Will and where her writing career ends up -- but at what cost? And is that enough for her to let certain things -- certain uncomfortable things -- slide? And what does it/can it do to her sense of identity (not a victim, no, but an active participant) if she doesn't let it slide?
I highly recommend!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.
Fans of Kate Elizabeth Russell's "My Dark Vanessa" and the "daddy issues"-coded lyrics in many Lana Del Rey songs.
While perhaps a bit of a slow burn at first, I'll start off by saying that the writing in this is superb. Julie Buntin writes with such precision, the type of prose where you can tell she carefully considered every sentence she wrote. I was thoroughly captivated by her words.
I loved following our compelling main character's POV. Will (Wilhemina Miles) is written in such a realistic, believable, and nuanced way that she feels like a real person. While you don't have to agree with her decisions, I, for one, could absolutely understand why she acts the way she does once she falls into the orbit of this prestigious MFA university program in New York, and once she captures the eye of the old, but charismatic, male professor/famous writer. (And, as an aside, WOW does Julie Buntin get it right with capturing the old male English professor who conducts himself inappropriately with a young female undergrad).
This is a novel that speaks to the #MeToo movement, a novel that doesn't simplify its discussion of power imbalances, female ambition, the arts, and consent. What does it mean to have choice or agency when power is already unequally distributed from the start? As the story develops, you can easily see how the male professor is someone who has played a huge part in shaping Will and where her writing career ends up -- but at what cost? And is that enough for her to let certain things -- certain uncomfortable things -- slide? And what does it/can it do to her sense of identity (not a victim, no, but an active participant) if she doesn't let it slide?
I highly recommend!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to get an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I read the synopsis and some reviews and was pretty clear on the storyline. Somehow, I feel I was misled.
The story starts of giving us some context into the life of Will, a girl who has a lot of things happen to her, yet she’s written pretty passive to all of it. Quite similarly to the MMC in “Flesh” by David Szalay.
All her actions are directed towards the main goal of her life, meeting the man she thinks is her father.
*SPOILER*
Pretty soon after moving to NYC she discovers her premise was wrong, the man isn’t really her father and this is where there’s a huge disconnect for me. Not only does she not consider changing her initial plans, but she diggs herself deeper into this life.
I understand the whole “poet /artist life” and her pursuit of that, I even put a lot of her inactions to things happening to her onto her “daddy issues”. Still, I find so much of the writing was pointless, didn’t serve the plot (no matter how weak it may be), didn’t help characterize her more or better. I kept waiting for a revelation, not necessarily some big plot twist or reveal, just something that would show her feeling something, anything at all!
The fact that she’s so serving of Nathaniel and others and all of their needs, the fact that she’s such a “yes” person, I could live with all of that as her characteristics IF ONLY she would show some sort of emotion about these things..if the author would show her being tired of doing it, or worried about losing herself in all of it, just SOMETHING!
A lot of people gave 4 star ratings so I’m assuming I’m a minority in thinking all this:)
I read the synopsis and some reviews and was pretty clear on the storyline. Somehow, I feel I was misled.
The story starts of giving us some context into the life of Will, a girl who has a lot of things happen to her, yet she’s written pretty passive to all of it. Quite similarly to the MMC in “Flesh” by David Szalay.
All her actions are directed towards the main goal of her life, meeting the man she thinks is her father.
*SPOILER*
Pretty soon after moving to NYC she discovers her premise was wrong, the man isn’t really her father and this is where there’s a huge disconnect for me. Not only does she not consider changing her initial plans, but she diggs herself deeper into this life.
I understand the whole “poet /artist life” and her pursuit of that, I even put a lot of her inactions to things happening to her onto her “daddy issues”. Still, I find so much of the writing was pointless, didn’t serve the plot (no matter how weak it may be), didn’t help characterize her more or better. I kept waiting for a revelation, not necessarily some big plot twist or reveal, just something that would show her feeling something, anything at all!
The fact that she’s so serving of Nathaniel and others and all of their needs, the fact that she’s such a “yes” person, I could live with all of that as her characteristics IF ONLY she would show some sort of emotion about these things..if the author would show her being tired of doing it, or worried about losing herself in all of it, just SOMETHING!
A lot of people gave 4 star ratings so I’m assuming I’m a minority in thinking all this:)
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Wilhelmina is having a difficult time. Being raised by a single mom in a small town where everyone knows your business, surely has not helped. After years of being ostracized by her peers and living under the uneasy dynamics of her household, Will finds an unlikely escape through the early poems of Nathaniel Fellow, a writer decades her senior who once lived in the same town. Convinced he might even be the father she never knew, Will sets off for New York City, to find answers about her family and to redefine her identity and future.
When she eventually meets Nathaniel, she doesn’t find the parental figure she imagined, but begins to enter into a complex and consuming relationship with him that blurs the boundaries between mentor er and friend. Nathaniel’s world offers Will access to intellectual circles, financial stability, and the promise of transformation, yet it also entangles her in a dynamic where power and control are constantly shifting. As revelations about Nathaniel’s past unfold, Will must reckon not only with who he really is, but with how much of her own story she is willing to surrender.
This is a well written, slow paced character study about the sacrafices one makes for the sake of art. Nathaniel is very successful, but at what price? The author does a great job showing how May/December relationships can be influenced by social capital, cultural influence, and psychological dependence. Will Will make these types of sacrafices in order to obtain success? Read on and you'll find out!
When she eventually meets Nathaniel, she doesn’t find the parental figure she imagined, but begins to enter into a complex and consuming relationship with him that blurs the boundaries between mentor er and friend. Nathaniel’s world offers Will access to intellectual circles, financial stability, and the promise of transformation, yet it also entangles her in a dynamic where power and control are constantly shifting. As revelations about Nathaniel’s past unfold, Will must reckon not only with who he really is, but with how much of her own story she is willing to surrender.
This is a well written, slow paced character study about the sacrafices one makes for the sake of art. Nathaniel is very successful, but at what price? The author does a great job showing how May/December relationships can be influenced by social capital, cultural influence, and psychological dependence. Will Will make these types of sacrafices in order to obtain success? Read on and you'll find out!
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy of the book for review. Willhelmina, a transplant to New York City, arrives with the dream of becoming a writer and the hope of finding her father. She pursues a well-known writer, becoming his assistant and, inevitably, his lover. Famous Men explores the dynamics between men and women, which has been done before. What makes this book compelling is the narrator’s commitment to her version of the narrative. She recognizes the predatory habits of men in her past but is willing to overlook her much older lover’s many faults–because, she tells herself, she is really the one using him. And perhaps she is using him–for rent, a salary, easy mediocre sex, connections, just as he is enjoying her availability and hero-worship. She walls herself off so completely from anyone who could offer her a different perspective; even her “friends” seem to know very little about her. It’s this ill-advised self-protection and isolation that stop Will from maturing. When she finally leaves the professor, in the wake of an “Me Too” article about him, it feels like she’s still acting the part that she thinks she is supposed to play in her story.
This isn’t necessarily a book to enjoy; it’s no fast-paced beach read. Instead, if you need a reminder that most of us don’t grow up all at once, that we can incrementally wake up from the stories we tell ourselves, that not all relationships are good or bad but somewhere in a murky fog–that’s what this book is for.
This isn’t necessarily a book to enjoy; it’s no fast-paced beach read. Instead, if you need a reminder that most of us don’t grow up all at once, that we can incrementally wake up from the stories we tell ourselves, that not all relationships are good or bad but somewhere in a murky fog–that’s what this book is for.
June 14, 2026
Thank you NetGalley and Random House for giving me this e-ARC!
The allure of just wanting to be close to someone you admire, the desire to be praised for doing a good job, and the aspirations of success all blend into this deeply complex book.
My chest physically felt tight reading through the novel, as I could not let out a sign of relief until the end when I felt the main character, Will, was in a comfortable place to move forward.
Normally, this is enough for me to turn away from the novel and come back to it with a few palette cleansers; but the writing just pulled me in, and held me hostage just as Will had been with Nathaniel. Whether it be because of his reputation, connections, or perceived brilliance, I was forced to continue reading this man, this monster mistreating a glass statue for a paperweight.
Motherhood/ childhood is also a HUGE factor in this novel as you could argue the alternative “villain” to the story was mothers and what they didn’t do for their children. And how that cycle of abuse is difficult to shake, that victims would find “softer” abusers to prove that their upbringing wasn’t that bad.
There are mentions/ hints of CSA/SA that are also discussed in this novel which was definitely an experience to go through.
This novel could be emotionally distressing or frustrating, but I found it to be more distressing and I continued since I wanted to give Will a chance to actually tell her truth for once.
Overall, an interesting book that would linger in the back of my mind for a bit.
3.75/5 stars
The allure of just wanting to be close to someone you admire, the desire to be praised for doing a good job, and the aspirations of success all blend into this deeply complex book.
My chest physically felt tight reading through the novel, as I could not let out a sign of relief until the end when I felt the main character, Will, was in a comfortable place to move forward.
Normally, this is enough for me to turn away from the novel and come back to it with a few palette cleansers; but the writing just pulled me in, and held me hostage just as Will had been with Nathaniel. Whether it be because of his reputation, connections, or perceived brilliance, I was forced to continue reading this man, this monster mistreating a glass statue for a paperweight.
Motherhood/ childhood is also a HUGE factor in this novel as you could argue the alternative “villain” to the story was mothers and what they didn’t do for their children. And how that cycle of abuse is difficult to shake, that victims would find “softer” abusers to prove that their upbringing wasn’t that bad.
There are mentions/ hints of CSA/SA that are also discussed in this novel which was definitely an experience to go through.
This novel could be emotionally distressing or frustrating, but I found it to be more distressing and I continued since I wanted to give Will a chance to actually tell her truth for once.
Overall, an interesting book that would linger in the back of my mind for a bit.
3.75/5 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Wilhelmina reaches New York City due to her own efforts, and it's also due to her efforts that she lands a job of sorts as assistant to her literary hero, a middle-aged man who grew up in her small Michigan town, but who ended up as a well-known poet and who now teaches at a prominent university. Her growing up was rocky, with a single mother struggling to pay the bills, and she sees Nathaniel Fellow as a father figure and Great Man and the one who can help her achieve her dream of becoming a poet. But her dreams are different from what Fellow wants from her and, before long, she's sleeping with him and spending hours cleaning his apartment and making copies, all for a marginal sum, paid under the table. But he also sometimes comments on her work, usually that it's not worth keeping, but every so often, he'll compliment her writing, which is enough for her to continue living a shadow life, without a degree or official job or even a livable apartment. Will has heard stories about why previous assistants have left, why some women refuse to work with him, but she feels they have a special relationship that not even the emerging #MeToo movement can shake.
I'm a lot older than the protagonist and I can't count the number of times I wanted to shout, "Oh, honey, no!" at the decisions she was sure were the best ones for her, or didn't think about much at all, but then I remembered when I read Middlemarch and realized how easily I would have, like Dorothea, fallen for a Casaubon. Buntin does a marvelous job of putting the reader so completely in Wilhelmina's head, and letting us deal with the frustrations of that viewpoint. There are hints that this is being written by an older, hopefully wiser, Wilhelmina, but those glimpses are kept to a minimum in a way that shows Buntin's control of this story.
I'm a lot older than the protagonist and I can't count the number of times I wanted to shout, "Oh, honey, no!" at the decisions she was sure were the best ones for her, or didn't think about much at all, but then I remembered when I read Middlemarch and realized how easily I would have, like Dorothea, fallen for a Casaubon. Buntin does a marvelous job of putting the reader so completely in Wilhelmina's head, and letting us deal with the frustrations of that viewpoint. There are hints that this is being written by an older, hopefully wiser, Wilhelmina, but those glimpses are kept to a minimum in a way that shows Buntin's control of this story.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I wanted to love Julie Buntin’s latest novel FAMOUS MEN because I adored her debut, and most of the book takes place at a university I know well, with characters that I can picture in my head at the drop of a hat. It’s an interesting take on the Me Too movement, with a “literary manager” Willehemina enmeshed in the life of a uber-famous author and professor. All Will wants to do is become a poet, and as she discovers Nathaniel Fellow, an alum of the boarding school her mother works at at a young age, she decides to move to NYC with one goal: to learn how to write from him. This is despite not even applying to the college he works at.
The story webs and weaves through how Fellow takes Will under his wing and a relationship blossoms. Oh, I forgot that she also thinks he may be her dad! Look, there is a lot to this plot and I appreciated Buntin’s expansive ideas, but I don’t think she brings anything new to the table here and honestly, it was just super depressing. Will is not a character I liked and seemed like one of those characters that annoy me in fiction lately: a character who things only happen to, who don’t have a distinct voice, and therefore makes it hard to root for them. There is no light or humor in this book, and while there doesn’t necessarily have to be, it just made this 400 page book a slog to get through at times. I hoped for better, even though I by no means hated it. Just not one I will remember for very long.
The story webs and weaves through how Fellow takes Will under his wing and a relationship blossoms. Oh, I forgot that she also thinks he may be her dad! Look, there is a lot to this plot and I appreciated Buntin’s expansive ideas, but I don’t think she brings anything new to the table here and honestly, it was just super depressing. Will is not a character I liked and seemed like one of those characters that annoy me in fiction lately: a character who things only happen to, who don’t have a distinct voice, and therefore makes it hard to root for them. There is no light or humor in this book, and while there doesn’t necessarily have to be, it just made this 400 page book a slog to get through at times. I hoped for better, even though I by no means hated it. Just not one I will remember for very long.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Wilhelmina, Will, Wilhelmet; A woman of many names but no father. Our protagonist, Will, seeks solace in literature at a young age following the spreading of rumors that cause her social ostracization as well as an escape from her regimented mother and foreboding stepfather. As for her real father, she is historically left in the dark, yet searches for him singularly like you search for a light switch in a dark room. Passing time in the library of the college her mother works at, Will stumbles upon the published writings of a man from her same small town, Nathaniel Fellow, and they strike a chord within her; Maybe she’s found her father, or maybe she’s found something much more complicated, either way, after calculating a meeting with him she has the correct sense that nothing will ever be the same. This book addresses phenomena such as the Me Too movement, the crooked advantages and disadvantages of overtly boundary crossing relationships in the guise of networking, the manipulation inherent in uneven power dynamics, responsibility to the self vs. to the “greater good”, amongst more. I found the narrative to be quietly confessional and critically introspective, and that all of the characters came across as quite true to their form and felt palpable. The pacing and plot felt generally well aligned, maybe felt a bit too long at times but had such an insular and very literary tone that I often found myself wanting to go back to it. Really good!
May 23, 2026
3.75 🌟
FAMOUS MEN is really just about one famous man, Nathaniel Fellow, and a young female writer, Wilhelmina Miles’, knotty relationship with him. Julie Buntin explores the gray areas of the MeToo movement, challenging Will’s convictions using believable and emotionally resonant circumstances.
More than that, though, this novel is a love letter to writing; an ars poetica in novel form. There are plenty of lines that suggest to me that Buntin has been a writer and student of poetry. The descriptions of what it feels like to try and capture a feeling, a moment, an essence, in words are idiosyncratic, incisive and, in my opinion, pretty accurate to the process.
Though I understand the cultural landscape Buntin was setting up by setting the bulk of her story in the mid-2010s, the oblique references to the 2016 election and the Twitter backlash stuff reads as stale to me. But honestly, I have only ever read one or two books that use mid-late 2010s and early 2020s technology in a compelling way. Small qualms that should in no way deter interested readers!
One final note that probably only means something to five people — I also felt it was a bit DANIEL DERONDA coded given Will’s search for her father coinciding with her search for a sense of purpose/belonging/accomplishment.
Thank you to Random House for reaching out and offering me an eARC!
FAMOUS MEN is really just about one famous man, Nathaniel Fellow, and a young female writer, Wilhelmina Miles’, knotty relationship with him. Julie Buntin explores the gray areas of the MeToo movement, challenging Will’s convictions using believable and emotionally resonant circumstances.
More than that, though, this novel is a love letter to writing; an ars poetica in novel form. There are plenty of lines that suggest to me that Buntin has been a writer and student of poetry. The descriptions of what it feels like to try and capture a feeling, a moment, an essence, in words are idiosyncratic, incisive and, in my opinion, pretty accurate to the process.
Though I understand the cultural landscape Buntin was setting up by setting the bulk of her story in the mid-2010s, the oblique references to the 2016 election and the Twitter backlash stuff reads as stale to me. But honestly, I have only ever read one or two books that use mid-late 2010s and early 2020s technology in a compelling way. Small qualms that should in no way deter interested readers!
One final note that probably only means something to five people — I also felt it was a bit DANIEL DERONDA coded given Will’s search for her father coinciding with her search for a sense of purpose/belonging/accomplishment.
Thank you to Random House for reaching out and offering me an eARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Julie Buntin's "Famous Men" is a beautifully written, slow burn about a woman who sets out to leave her small town in search of something more and encounters a grim reality that many women face.
Will Miles has spent her whole life in the small town of Greening, Michigan and wants nothing more than to get out. When Will discovers the work of Nathaniel Fellows, a poet from the same town, she becomes fixated on his work and also the idea that he could be her estranged father. When Will arrives in New York, eager for Nathaniel to be her mentor, she quickly realizes that her relationship with him will not be what she anticipated.
Famous Men is a slow moving novel, but I didn't find that to be a bad thing. This novel is a character-centered story that revolves around power imbalances, predatory men, and the treatment women often endure at the hands of men. This book is uncomfortable at times and Will's decisions are frustrating, but I think that's a strength of this book- Buntin expertly shows how complex and flawed people can be.
Will Miles has spent her whole life in the small town of Greening, Michigan and wants nothing more than to get out. When Will discovers the work of Nathaniel Fellows, a poet from the same town, she becomes fixated on his work and also the idea that he could be her estranged father. When Will arrives in New York, eager for Nathaniel to be her mentor, she quickly realizes that her relationship with him will not be what she anticipated.
Famous Men is a slow moving novel, but I didn't find that to be a bad thing. This novel is a character-centered story that revolves around power imbalances, predatory men, and the treatment women often endure at the hands of men. This book is uncomfortable at times and Will's decisions are frustrating, but I think that's a strength of this book- Buntin expertly shows how complex and flawed people can be.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This novel explores the familiar theme of power imbalance in a way that still felt gripping and emotionally immersive. While the protagonist, sometimes felt underdeveloped, this seemed partly intentional and i think it reflected her claustrophobic life in Michigan and limited life experience. Because of this, her dialogue occasionally felt unnatural, and at times the writing could have been a little sharper, with certain points feeling heavy handed.
Despite that, the story completely held my attention from beginning to end and I felt completely immersed in it. The pacing felt perfect, and several stylistic choices added real depth and impact to the narrative. I found myself reaching for it first thing in the morning and staying up too late to finish it. I was left with some questions at the end-not in a frustrating way but ones that pushed me to think more deeply.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Despite that, the story completely held my attention from beginning to end and I felt completely immersed in it. The pacing felt perfect, and several stylistic choices added real depth and impact to the narrative. I found myself reaching for it first thing in the morning and staying up too late to finish it. I was left with some questions at the end-not in a frustrating way but ones that pushed me to think more deeply.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Oftentimes, stories like this, being tales of influential men behaving badly, can be triggering and hard to read. For them to work, the author needs to be able to dissect these stories with a fine-toothed comb, and say something new. Bunting accomplishes this in Famous Men, taking the story of an uneven power dynamic and letting it slowly fill you with dread and anxiety. By the end of the book, you are forced to reevaluate everything you have just read, with Nathaniel's transgressions becoming more and more apparent as Will grows older and wiser.
Will is a character you can't help but root for, despite her misguided decisions, as I think every young woman in the arts has had a more or less comparable situation with a man in power. Bravo to Buntin for writing this engaging and thought-provoking piece, it's well-done commentary on the Me Too era with a strong voice to go with it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Will is a character you can't help but root for, despite her misguided decisions, as I think every young woman in the arts has had a more or less comparable situation with a man in power. Bravo to Buntin for writing this engaging and thought-provoking piece, it's well-done commentary on the Me Too era with a strong voice to go with it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ebook. Will Miles has a toxic life in high school and things are only marginally better at home. She becomes obsessed with the poet Nathaniel Fellow, who grew up in her hometown. She makes her way to New York City and quickly meets Nathaniel, just as his current assistant is leaving him, and somehow falls into working for him. And then starts an education on two levels, a talented writer taking you under his wing to truly make you a better writer, but also comes the education of the imbalance of power. A rich older man offering to share small parts of his life for almost no salary and, most troubling, questions of intimacy. Will publishes a novel and seems to be on a very different road just as the Me Too movement comes to life and the whispers of Nathaniel’s past are given more light. A fascinating look at desire of all types.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Famous Men by Julie Bunton is a striking character study of ambition and privilege. While the narrative follows Wilhelmina Miles’s coming-of-age, its true strength lies in how her various relationships—ranging from a "tale as old as time" with Nathaniel to the complex one with her mother (Mary) and Lilli—act as mirrors to her evolving identity. I was particularly captivated by the contrast between Will and Lilli; seeing how financial insecurity forces one to make concessions while wealth allows the other to maintain a rigid moral high ground is a profound exploration of how "survivorship" dictates our boundaries. Wilhelmina is a character who will stay with me for a long time.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. My review is voluntary and reflects my honest opinion.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. My review is voluntary and reflects my honest opinion.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
OOH. So, I wish this was not an advance readers copy I am reviewing because this book has made me think and I want to talk about it (and I am doing that). It's about a girl raised by a single mom in rural Michigan who doesn't know her dad's identity but becomes kind of fixated on the work of town's famous son (an acclaimed poet, author and screenwriter) and thinks it might be him. She quickly makes her way to New York to pursue her own dream of being a writer and meets the author and becomes his literary assistant. But it's way more complicated than that. The book makes you think about the power dynamics of mentorship, particularly between men and women and in the arts sector. What is acceptable, what are the parameters and who decides? Sometimes this book felt a little slow-paced and the end was not as satisfying as I hoped for but a very solid and intriguing read. Recommended!
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