The Romantics

by Galt Niederhoffer

" The Romantics is a smart, edgy novel that is wickedly insightful about class and privilege, amusingly cynical about love and friendship, and thoroughly entertaining throughout. Galt Niederhoffer is an elegant prose stylist and a shrewd social observer."—Tom Perrotta Laura and Lila were once as close as could be--college roommates at the center of a tight-knit group of friends. But the friendship has wilted a bit. Now, ten years after college, the friends--and the boyfriend they shared--have reunited for Lila’s wedding at her family’s seaside estate in Maine. Laura is reserved, single, and the only Jew in the group, while the bride, Lila, is a WASP-y moneyed golden girl, and the groom, Tom, a swim team star from a working class Catholic background, is a perfect paradox of confidence and confusion. As the wedding draws near and wine flows faster, the disappointments and desires of the reuniting friends come quickly to the surface. A drunken game on the estate’s dock goes awry when the revelers are pulled out to sea by the current. When they swim back to shore, they are short by one—the groom. The search throws the group’s shifting allegiances into relief and results in new betrayals as well as confessions. With Lila’s family’s picture-perfect Maine summer house as the backdrop, Laura not only sees her old friends in a new light, but reassesses herself as well—is she the only one of the group destined to be unmarried into her thirties? Was it always this obvious that she was the only Jew in a pride of WASPs? Struggling with the traditionally thankless role of maid of honor—not to mention contending with Lila’s formidable mother Augusta—Laura also realizes she can't stop thinking about her complicated, long and intense relationship with the groom. But isn't that relationship far in the past? A wry observer of cultural and social mores, Niederhoffer creates a pitch-perfect group of characters and a winning novel about friendship, class and love.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Friendship, Novels

288 pages, Hardcover

First published July 8, 2008

Reviews

[Hillary · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing read that had none of the charm of Galt Niederhoffer's first book, A Taxonomy of Barnacles. In this group of college friends gathering for a wedding, I expected to find at least one relatable or redeeming character, but none of the characters were appealing and the individuals in the group simply blended together from lack of personality or distinguishing characteristics. It seemed that Laura, the maid of honor who still pines after the groom and is the only Jew in a group of WASPs, was supposed to be the redeeming character, but I found her just as unappealing as the rest and couldn't root for her to win back the groom. What is more, the author kept emphasizing that Laura was a Jew, as if this explained her whole being or gave her some kind of personality, but I never saw any real significance to that label. In the end, none of the characters were likable and seemed to dislike each other to the extent that I spent most of the book wondering why they were friends and how so many people could do so little with their lives. If this book was intended as a portrait of my generation, 20-somethings who came of age in the 1990s, I object and suggest reading Janet Rakoff Smith's A Fortunate Age instead.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books where you learn about the characters throughout the book. This book is one of those books where the longer you read, the more you learn. The characters are multi-dimensional and just when you think you have them figured out, you find out that they are not quite whom you thought they are. The central figures of the book are Laura, Lila and Tom.

Lila is marrying Tom and the maid of honor is Laura. Laura and Lila are best friends, but not your ordinary best friends. Lila is outspoken and confident, while Laura is more of a follower. You are never quite sure of Lila's motives when it comes to this friendship and it keeps you on your toes as it is never quite what it seems. There is a 10 year time period of which Tom has gone back and forth between Laura and Lila, but in the end chose Lila to be the woman he marries. Throughout the book, you will find yourself going back and forth as much as Tom does. It is one of those books where you find yourself rooting for one character, yet understanding the other character's motives. I love how richly written these characters are as I enjoy books where no character is truly black and white and you find yourself thinking "maybe these two people should be together, but then again, maybe not!"

[Natalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horr-i-ble.

Admittedly, I only read this book because I knew there was a movie coming out and I like doing the comparison. I haven't even seen the movie yet and it is guaranteed to be better than this. Sometimes I enjoy reading crap, like when I'm on a beach and don't feel like thinking too much. It's the same reason I occasionally watch reality TV. But this hits a new low. Nothing at all about this book is likeable.

It's very clear from the shallow, WASP-y characters who sniff coke and all have sex with each other that this book was written to be made into a movie. If you are writing for a movie, please, write a screenplay. Seriously. But, come on, at least try to make me feel like you're trying to write a book.

Crappy lines abound. I didn't even need to mark them. Here, I'll flip through now and pull out some best of the worst:
1) "Tom faced Laura, shaking his head, his clothes as soaked as his soul" (277).
2) "Musical highlights included songs such as 'Mein Minesweeper', 'Rosie, I'm Riveted', 'Uncle Sam, I'm Your Man,' and...'Nuremberg Trials and Errors' (170).
3) "She stood in the doorway in pink pyjamas, a petite variation on an angry general" (192).

And don't even get me started on the annoying overuse of the passive tense littering the beginning of this sucker. (See page 13, for example.)

No. No. No. I have a copy here if anyone would like to take it off my hands.

[Carie · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Yes, I posted a copy of this on my blog.)

This is an interesting book, and not necessarily in a good way. A group of nine college friends - best friends - reunite 10 years later in Maine for a wedding. Their definition of friend is vastly different from yours and mine. Tom and Lila are getting married. Laura is the maid of honor, Lila's best friend, AND Tom's ex-girlfriend. All the other couples are interconnected as well, married or engaged to each other, each having dated another member of the group at some point in time.

Then wackiness ensues.

Okay, not wackiness. There is nothing lighthearted about this book. Mostly because the characters are all unlikeable. Every last one. You think you will like this one or that one, but they all turn out to be complete narcissists and terribly screwed up. Poor little rich kids.

In the beginning, it was fun read about the lives of wealthy New Englanders, see how the other half lives. Like in the way you might enjoy reality tv. People live like this? But soon their shallowness becomes unbearable. About half way through, the book spirals into a drunken night of revelation and truth telling. It gets ugly.

This is where the interesting part comes in: part of me that kind of liked this book. Not just because I felt a little smug reading it. Not just because you say to yourself, I am not as bad as these horrible people. They may have their ivy league educations and their millions but at least I am a good person. But because, to your surprise, you recognize a small part of yourself in these characters and get a little embarrassed for feeling so superior. You realize that the author is using extremes to expose human frailties. You may have never been jealous like these characters (trust me, it is not possible) but you have been jealous before.

So that is what I liked about this book: how it caused you to examine motivations, expectations, relationships with others, and social mores. I just wish the author had given you some good examples along with the bad.

Content note: While the author (thankfully) doesn't subject us to sordid details or long offensive passages, this book definitely pushed the limit. Also, there was some strong language.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to be clear that I, as an English major, love this books because it mockingly shows English majors who are constantly looking for the perfect person to say, "YOU UNDERSTAND ME." Plus, I'm intrigued by preppies.

Galt Niederhoffer presents us with a group of graduated Yalies who have left college and...well, not done too much except had crappy, incestuous relationships among the same group of college friends. Somehow I find this way less annoying than I did in my own college group. Few of the characters are truly likeable. They're snobby, shallow, obsessive, and sometimes downright mean. But again...somehow still attractive to the reader. The situation they're in (MOH at a wedding being in love with the groom and possibly vice versa) is appalling to the point that its slightly contrived.

I suppose I like it because Niederhoffer unapologetically shows us at our worst at the most self-absorbed period of our lives during our late 20s. It's a time when most people still believe that they want one person and one person alone to understand them perfectly rather than take comfort in the isolation that is life. At one point, Niederhoffer talks about how the group called themselves "The Romantics" because they were all in love with one another. But that's not true...like most English majors, they can analyze plot lines better than their own lives. They actually romanticize their own lives and imagine the build up to marriage to be an intricate storyline. They fight to be the main characters and ultimate winners/protagonist. And they all know that once the vows of marriage are said, they'll be in a world where they can't map out their life like a story and where there might not be the perfect happy ending.

In summary, I thorougly enjoyed this.

[Alex Sosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like The Romantics. It was an unexpected story...I was surprised by the ending and all the unresolved things that were left in the air...
The characters are real, they have flaws, like everybody, but that is what makes them memorable. Yes, they are kinda selfish and arrogant, but that's why the story is different from others.
The only thing that I didn't like was the fact that they showed us all negative things in their relationships as friends, but they didn't show the good parts... and that is something the book never says. Maybe that's why many people complain about "why are they friends if they hate each other so much?" My guess is that yes, they hated each other, but they also loved each other, for a reason that the story never covers.
At the end, The Romantics, like its title suggests, is a love story, but a real one. The one where the ending is not happy, is just bittersweet.

[Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great rendition of a modern Jane Austen novel for young adults with an inside peek into the divisions that money and social class pervades and inflicts upon the nature of friendships. Lovely all around for its insights into the priviledged WASP culture yet refreshing for its realistic view about the dynamics we all go through in relating to one another, no matter the type of relationship that's initially and innocently established. The characters Laura and Lila are the Oxford definition of 'frenemies' - you will come to see the weird superficial friendship they both pretend to have with one another without ever really addressing their lack of true friendship all because of the same guy. You will come to appreciate and empathize between the struggle that each friend expresses as the story unfolds by illustrating their interconnections; as well as the personalities and layers that these characters have are revealed more in depth as individuals and couples. One second you find yourselff siding with Luara then with Lila but by the end I don't there is a real conclusion of who to feel the pity for because it is essentially a screwed up situation to be in no matter what angle it is portrayed. I am convinced my copy had pages missing because I still had questions, like, it didn't seem to end with a strong quality statement of finality. It is that little fact that bothers me. The ending is just too weak to such a phenomenal story with a good beginning and middle. I suggest this book for anyone who has completed college and has a large group of friends to relate this too. Enjoy this delightful piece of writing.

[Melinda Worfolk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was fascinated by the description of American upper class WASP culture! It's just so foreign to me, so I liked reading about the goings-on from the point of view of Laura, the outsider. I could just imagine her feeling bullied into being maid of honour, while silently seething. Oh the dysfunction. I did have a good laugh reading about the terrible speeches at the rehearsal dinner, also--talk about secondhand cringe.

I liked the plot and protagonist well enough, but occasionally there were clunky bits in the writing. There's a little too much "she barked" and "he quipped" for my taste. And I'm not sure the author actually knows what "quip" means; she seems to use it to mean "retort." Anyway, it was fine and kept my interest until the very end.

[Ayla (I'm not here) · Rating 2 out of 5]

i only gave it 2 stars because i enjoyed some of it

men are all over the world so don't date your best friend's ex, i got board reading this from the beginning

and the ending...... huh i wouldn't call it ending actually 'cause nothing happened


so

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw the movie a couple of years ago and fell in love with it. Couldn't get enough of it and, until recently, I learned it was based off a book and simply had to get a hold of it. Partial reason being that the movie's ending left a lot to be desired and I hoped that the book would have a much clearer or better ending and I can defiantly say I was disappointed. The book's ending left me even more confused but enough of that.

The book itself was very difficult to read because of it's narrative choice and lengthy descriptions of unsalvageable characters. But I think this worked as a temporary charm that kept me going, these despicable characters. It wasn't even an anticipation of what I'd already seen in the movie; it just felt dragged.

Overall, I just did not enjoy the writing to the point of having to stop reading it only to pick it up later because I could not leave it unfinished.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of arrogant, definantly selfish priviledged 20 somethings coming together for a wedding. They broke the don't date your best friend's boyfriend in college and seem to have boundary issues now too as feelings are still in the picture. Book seems to try to cover is there the one-thinking about true love but damn sucks at the ending!

[EMA · Rating 3 out of 5]

wow. blew through this book. this book is sort of like getting an entire season of felicity or dawson's creek or something in one novel. and i sort of put it on par with that kind of story telling/setting. incestuous group of privileged white friends who are constantly stabbing each other in the back get together for the wedding of their two most lauded/hated members. it was fun, in the same way that marathon watching gossip girl is fun, but hardly profound. and that was why i had soooo much trouble with the ending.

**spoilers**

so we go on this big ride through all the petty yesteryear remembrances of this pretty group of gorgeous squabbling preppies, complete with everybody switching husbands/boyfriends for the night and the attempted deposing of their queen bee/bride. i mean it's classic tv drama stuff. and then all of a sudden the author does this symbolic lightning bolt at the alter of the wedding and then cuts off the final chapter mid conclusion? i just felt like it was an attempt to make the story heavier than it was. if the author had just accepted this for what it was and just given us an ending (any ending, laura and tom or lila and tom, whatever) it would have been a lot better than some attempt at trying to make this guilty pleasure type of story into something you actually need your brain for.

**spoilers over**

three stars because it sucks your right in and because i am pretty sure it will make a good movie.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what everyone else's problem with this was; I thought it was wonderful.

Now of course, I have my complaints about this book. It was kind of like the dark version of South of Broad (not that the plot was darker, mind you, merely that I liked it less). It lacked the love of that book, and I cannot understand why people with such vile feelings toward each other would stay together.

But. I love the realism of this book (though the coke did scare me just a smidgeon). I love the extraneous amounts of introspection because, let's face it, that's what I live for in a book.

Yes, it could have been better in places. Though I like open endings, I thought that was a bit *too* much of one. The hatred is a little extreme. The jumping of view points, though interesting, kind of makes everyone hatable. Still, it was a good book. The religion didn't need to be focused on so much, and I would have preferred a book that capitalized on the "incestual" nature of the friends (so interesting!), but I did like what was presented.

My favorite characters would have been Annie and Oscar, had they not been such blatant plots, but as it was I liked Tom and Laura and Weesie. I wanted to strangle Tripler more than Lila, easily, and I don't understand how the hell they tolerate such a person.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know lots of people have panned this book as not bring too great, but I really enjoyed it. Sarcasm and cynicism are abundant in these characters and I personally loved that. Maybe that's because I'm a little cynical, but hey. I loved being inside the minds of so many different people and on some small level related to their phase of life. Being out of college for ten years is an awkward and often overlooked spot. While in some ways your life has taken off and you've experienced a lot, life isn't as dreamy and exciting as it was when you left college. There's a reality to being an adult that's sunk in. I related with the characters in this odd combination of dreams fulfilled and hopes that have been shattered. Maybe you have to be in the right life phase to really get this book.

Interested to see how they take this to the screen as much of it is conveyed in people's personal thoughts and memories. Would have given it 5 stars if the author had given me a little more definitive ending.

[Carmen R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite negative reviews, The Romantics, by Galt Niederhoffer was a joy to read.

The story follows seven college friends who reunite at a friend's wedding ten years after graduating from Yale. Lila, the bride, and her maid of honor, Laura, have two things keeping them together: their frenemy-type friendship and their love for the groom, Tom. And to add a little more spice to this dramatic book, Tom, who also happens to be the ex-boyfriend of Laura, is having doubts of getting married.

Yes, the characters are a little arrogant and self centered at times. But beneath their WASPy exteriors, Niederhoffer shares the raw emotion and the truest of human thoughts and desires. They are the same thoughts that you think to yourself and make you glad that nobody else can read your mind. Hands down, my favorite character was Laura. She's strong, mature, and yet fragile in the presence of Tom, who she loves to her core.

I searched through many bookstores for a copy of this book and needless to say I felt that this book was well worth the search.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a re-read for me and I loved it just as much this time around. This is a great book about the complex relationships between seven friends who have know each other freshman year in college and the next 10 years that follow.

This takes place over a wedding weekend for two of the friends in the group and the pressure that surrounds the weekend with a hefty amount of alcohol on top makes for a weekend they didn't expect. They grapple with their history and living up to who they were at Yale...and who they expect one another to be. There are lies, deception, love, loyalty, sarcasm, laughter, joy, sadness, regret and that total comfort and familiarity that comes with being surrounded by people who know you best...and who perhaps have seen you at your worst.

At the core of the book is a complicated story of love and it both breaks my heart and gives me all the feels. Love it!

[Kris (My Novelesque Life) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 STARS

"Laura and Lila were college roommates--one brooding and Jewish, the other the epitome of golden WASP-dom. Now it's ten years later, a day before Lila's wedding to Laura’s former boyfriend, and as the guests arrive, Laura finds herself the only one not coupled up. Struggling with the traditionally thankless role of maid of honor, Laura realizes for the first time why she can't stop thinking about her long, tangled relationship with the groom. And it appears that he is not entirely ready for the altar himself. Unfolding over two days off the coast of Maine, The Romantics follows the shifting allegiances among an unforgettable set of characters." (From Amazon)

I enjoyed this novel and would like to see the movie.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick read about a group of college friends that reunite at a posh newengland wedding. Drama ensues between the friends after the rehearsal dinner and you find that their perfect lives are full of flaws, deception and bitterness. The characters were shallow and a bit pathetic. The ending was even worse. A movie based on this book is in production. I admit, I will have to see the film when it is available on dvd.

[Phil · Rating 1 out of 5]

A throw away novel about an incestuous group of college friends who reunite years later in Maine for a wedding. The characters weren’t particularly great; the story wasn’t particularly great; the writing wasn’t particularly great; but I still didn’t hate it. I guess I have a high tolerance for low culture.

[Mae · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of those books where the movie will probably be better than the book. The author is a movie producer, so I guess it's no shock. Niederhoffer is clearly writing about a culture she knows a lot about (Waspy New England), but I find it kind of interesting she went to Harvard yet the book is about Yale alum.

[Maureen Flatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another literary novel from the author of The Taxonomy of Barnacles. Niederhoffer is a new wave Laurie Colwin with her precious, upper class characters. This was a great beach read that I finished in one sitting. Not as complex as her earlier work but still a page turner.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. I had a hard time feeling any sympathy or connection to any of the "stuck-up" so-called "friends" in the novel. It made an ok summer beach read, but it seemed more like chick-lit than a literary work.

[Katie Wilhelm · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was awful on a level that I lack the vocabulary to describe.

[Colleen Whale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, with friends like these, who needs enemies? Seriously, these people are just awful. Basically, this book is about a group of friends from college getting together for the marriage of 2 people from the group, Tom and Lila. Tom and Lila have been dating since college, but before they got together, he was dating Laura, who is Lila's maid of honour. Laura has never gotten over Tom, and therein lies the problem we face as she's forced to stand beside her "best friend" and watch the love of her life get married. Of course, Laura is the only single one of her friends (of course!) and she's "different" being the only who who is Jewish, has dark hair, and isn't born into a wealthy family. These "friends" spend the entire time talking behind each other's backs, with the married couples splitting up and cheating on one another. Most of the story was spent searching for the groom after he goes missing during a drunken midnight swim with the rest of the group (minus the bride, who goes to bed early and waits for her doting bridesmaids to "tuck her in"). The problem isn't that this book is bad. The writing is actually quite good and descriptive. It's that the storyline itself is pretty awful and the characters are all one-dimensional, horrible human beings. The author tried to give them distinctive qualities (ie: making one of the bridesmaids "the funny one"), the problem is that even with these differences, I couldn't tell them apart. Which one was the funny one? Who's married to who? The only character I actually enjoyed was Chip, the annoying younger brother of the bride who spends the entire time completely wasted. His rehearsal dinner speech was probably the best part of this book. And then it just ends and I'm like "Okay, so I guess that's it then?"

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished this read because of the drama-filled love triangle storyline but overall the writing style was a bit difficult for me to enjoy. The characters seemed a little ridiculous (they’re supposed to be in their 30s??). These friends are awful to one another and just seem very immature for supposed professionals. The writing was overly complicated and the metaphors thrown in here and there not add anything extra. Overuse of the word “simply” started driving me crazy. The backdrop for the story and descriptions of the house and setting were some of the best parts. Chapters were short which I liked. The ending was much better in the story than the movie, but the movie definitely makes you enjoy the characters more.

[Edmund Bloxam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I watched the movie and sensed there was some depth to the situation presented, something about the Romantic poets. There wasn't. This is witty and sarcastically dressed, but all the situations ultimately boil down to a will-they-won't-they dime store romance. Don't be fooled by the smoothness of the prose. Greater depth is expressed in the acting in the movie version, the greater sense of staging in this 'it all happened on one fateful day' story. Hugely disappointed. Accidentally bought two copies, which makes it worse...

[What Angie Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars for this book. I couldn't follow who was who, not did I care.

I cant wrap my head around cheating couples, and rich bitches.

Also one drunk night and everyone switches spouses?

The groom decided last second he isn't going to marry his fiancee?!

I dont get being in love with someone but still going to their wedding. Then shes maid of honour!

I should have just watched the movie.

[Alyse DiGaetano Byrne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Forced myself to finish this book about a dysfunctional group of friends. A complete shit show leading up to a wedding that you can tell from page one shouldn’t happen. Predictably he doesn’t get married but the most interesting thing would’ve been to read what happens after he makes that decision….of course, the book ends before that shit show.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was something slightly interesting that happened, but as always with books I select, something unlikely and unrealistic happens at the very end. I do want to see the movie now.
I probably would have liked this book more when I bought it 10 years ago.

[Taryl Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay read. I always like the concept of friends from college getting together after years of not seeing each other. This book had your typical love triangles, will they won't they that kept you pulled into the book. Overall, I just didn't really relate to the characters.