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The Bachelor
An incisive, witty, and tender debut novel about love and commitment, celebrity and obsession, poetry and reality TV.
Reeling from a breakup with his almost-fiancée, the narrator of Andrew Palmer's first novel returns to his hometown in Iowa to house-sit for a family friend. There, a chance flick of the TV remote and a new correspondence with an old friend plunge him into unlikely twin obsessions: the reality TV show The Bachelor and the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet John Berryman. As his heart begins to mend, his fascination with each deepens. Somewhere along the way, representations of reality become harder and harder to distinguish from real life. Soon he finds himself corresponding with multiple love interests, participating in an ill-considered group outing, and trying to puzzle through the strange turn his life seems to have taken.
Intellectually ambitious and thought-provoking, The Bachelor is also an absorbing coming-of-age tale that tells the story of finding one's footing in love and art. If salvation can no longer be found in fame, can it still be found in romantic relationships? In an era in which reality TV can make two dozen women fall in love with one man in six weeks, where does entertainment end and reality begin? Why do we, season after season, repeat the same mistakes in love and life?
Reeling from a breakup with his almost-fiancée, the narrator of Andrew Palmer's first novel returns to his hometown in Iowa to house-sit for a family friend. There, a chance flick of the TV remote and a new correspondence with an old friend plunge him into unlikely twin obsessions: the reality TV show The Bachelor and the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet John Berryman. As his heart begins to mend, his fascination with each deepens. Somewhere along the way, representations of reality become harder and harder to distinguish from real life. Soon he finds himself corresponding with multiple love interests, participating in an ill-considered group outing, and trying to puzzle through the strange turn his life seems to have taken.
Intellectually ambitious and thought-provoking, The Bachelor is also an absorbing coming-of-age tale that tells the story of finding one's footing in love and art. If salvation can no longer be found in fame, can it still be found in romantic relationships? In an era in which reality TV can make two dozen women fall in love with one man in six weeks, where does entertainment end and reality begin? Why do we, season after season, repeat the same mistakes in love and life?
273 pages, Hardcover
First published July 20, 2021
50 people are currently reading
4375 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Palmer
1 book35 followersAndrew Palmer's writing has appeared in Slate, The Times Literary Supplement, The Paris Review Daily, The New Yorker online, and McSweeney's. He has been a fiction fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and a resident at Ucross, the Anderson Center, and Yaddo. He grew up in Iowa and lives in Seattle with his partner and their dog. The Bachelor is his first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
June 16, 2021
3 stars
Containing nuggets of heartfelt clarity within its disjointed narrative, the rom-com styled cover art will certainly add to the confusion and false expectation. The Bachelor is an unique, albeit not always enjoyable, literary fiction on modern day romantic relationship, juxtaposing the protagonist's personal experience with the perceived 'reality' of dating shows and authored biographies. While I appreciate the ambitious concept and thorough research, this will likely have a tough time finding an audience.
The incorporation of both highbrow (the life of American poet John Berryman) and lowbrow (The Bachelor Season 15) is both the novel's strength, as well as its Achilles' heel; while the armchair philosophizing on the reality show yields thought-provoking observation, the John Berryman portion feels like a lengthy Wikipedia entry, halting the narrative momentum every time it makes an appearance. Even though I understand its thematic relevance—these dry, monotonous sections lack the crackling commentary that makes the reality TV portion compelling.
At its core, The Bachelor is a candid musing on unconventional love, and there are some exceptional character studies and plot developments that remain highlighter-worthy. However, the heavy-handed reference to a specific The Bachelor season and John Berryman means this will be enjoyed only by an extremely niche audience, who is already equally interested/invested by both subjects.
***This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!***
Containing nuggets of heartfelt clarity within its disjointed narrative, the rom-com styled cover art will certainly add to the confusion and false expectation. The Bachelor is an unique, albeit not always enjoyable, literary fiction on modern day romantic relationship, juxtaposing the protagonist's personal experience with the perceived 'reality' of dating shows and authored biographies. While I appreciate the ambitious concept and thorough research, this will likely have a tough time finding an audience.
The incorporation of both highbrow (the life of American poet John Berryman) and lowbrow (The Bachelor Season 15) is both the novel's strength, as well as its Achilles' heel; while the armchair philosophizing on the reality show yields thought-provoking observation, the John Berryman portion feels like a lengthy Wikipedia entry, halting the narrative momentum every time it makes an appearance. Even though I understand its thematic relevance—these dry, monotonous sections lack the crackling commentary that makes the reality TV portion compelling.
At its core, The Bachelor is a candid musing on unconventional love, and there are some exceptional character studies and plot developments that remain highlighter-worthy. However, the heavy-handed reference to a specific The Bachelor season and John Berryman means this will be enjoyed only by an extremely niche audience, who is already equally interested/invested by both subjects.
***This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!***
May 24, 2021
Sorry, but I hated this book. There's no plot, just a lot of musings on reality TV, poetry, art, basketball, and memory. I have never watched The Bachelor, so I didn't care at all about the very frequent and very long passages recapping the show. I had to read John Berryman in college and have never done so for pleasure, so I didn't care at all about the even more frequent and even longer passages about Berryman's life and writing process.
Despite some very nice writing, this was a huge bore.
Despite some very nice writing, this was a huge bore.
May 7, 2022
The extremely low average rating of this debut novel is due to a mismatch with readers. Many reviewers thought, perhaps based on the title and the cover, they were getting a Romance, a "rom-com," "chick-lit." Something lite. But this is literary fiction. Its unnamed narrator discovers "The Bachelor" tv show while he's housesitting and watches it obsessively, recapping its relationships, dialogue, and plot points, deadpan. (Sample: "The next episode was the most emotional two-hour finale in Bachelor history.") If you watch the show, which has created its own ecosystem of absurd clichés repeated like mantras every season by every cast member, this is highly amusing. Beyond the show descriptions, the novel is very ruminative, although I wouldn't call it "stream of consciousness," as some reviewers do.
I hardly think "coming of age" is a good descriptor either, since the narrator is 29, dipping in and out of relationships with five women, including one with a friend of his mother who is 46. I always enjoyed coming back to the novel after putting it down. Its style is agreeable. I'm rating it 3.68.
May 15, 2021
Okay, I LOVED this book.. I’m an unapologetic fan of The Bachelor, I I run a pretty large Bachelor/bachelorette group on facebook, So when I saw this on NetGalley I knew I had to request this book.. Thank you NetGalley for allowing to read this before it comes out!
The Bachelor is a very unique concept, And I was surprised because I thought the book would be about the main character wanting to go on a reality show after watching The Bachelor, instead, the book is basically styled like a memoir, and the main character's life is paralleled with his reflections of watching the Bachelor. I'm so glad that it wasn't about someone wanting to go on the bachelor, We have a few of those type of novels and they are vapid and boring.
I have Been watching the bachelor since 2002, We used to VHS and watch them the next day with my friends after Elementary school..
The only thing that I was confused about was when Andrew Palmer wrote this book,because the season the author used was Brad Womack's second season and that was in 2011 and I remember watching when I was a senior in High school! Oh Emily and Brad...
The Bachelor is a very unique concept, And I was surprised because I thought the book would be about the main character wanting to go on a reality show after watching The Bachelor, instead, the book is basically styled like a memoir, and the main character's life is paralleled with his reflections of watching the Bachelor. I'm so glad that it wasn't about someone wanting to go on the bachelor, We have a few of those type of novels and they are vapid and boring.
I have Been watching the bachelor since 2002, We used to VHS and watch them the next day with my friends after Elementary school..
The only thing that I was confused about was when Andrew Palmer wrote this book,because the season the author used was Brad Womack's second season and that was in 2011 and I remember watching when I was a senior in High school! Oh Emily and Brad...
August 24, 2021
This is a really bad book that starts with one of the worst first sentences and first paragraphs ever written, continues to be a mess throughout chapters that jump all over the place to make no sense, and draws to a close with no real conclusion other than telling us the ending of a TV show that we already know. It's a total waste of time to read and whatever editor approved this being published should be fired.
While the title comes from the TV show that the fictional lead character comes to like (stumbling upon the 2011 version of The Bachelor with Brad Womack and Emily), there is actually very little about the reality series in the book. Instead it's a bizarre mixture of an open-marriage, being in love with three women, and the life of poet John Berryman. None of it makes any sense.
The only thing Palmer gets right are details about Des Moines, which I know well. For some reason he found it important to give specific facts about streets he was driving in town and he was correct in what he wrote but it seemed silly minutiae. However, his liberal bent skewed the feeling of the people of Des Moines--he states a number of times how no one is ever walking or streets are empty downtown, which is just simply not always true, and he over-emphasizes liberal politics, which misses out on the fact that it's actually a pretty politically balanced suburban area with a lot of conservatives.
Some will think the book is edgy because the 29-year-old lead character falls for a much older woman who is his mother's friend, the same woman who has an open marriage with her husband. But it's all very silly because there's no depth to any of it.
It is also very poorly written. The opening pages are an immediate turn-off due to the poor punctuation, rambling sentences, and incoherent prose. The entire book is rambling, like an exercise in a creative writing class, and Andrew Palmer needs to go take some basic fiction courses to simplify his style and his narrative approach.
If you think you want to read the book because you like The Bachelor TV show, you'll find it incredibly boring and disappointing, simply rehashing a few Womack plot points in an apparent attempt at drawing parallels to the lead character's own life. Like most Bachelor relationships this novel is a failure, just as shallow as a fake reality television series.
While the title comes from the TV show that the fictional lead character comes to like (stumbling upon the 2011 version of The Bachelor with Brad Womack and Emily), there is actually very little about the reality series in the book. Instead it's a bizarre mixture of an open-marriage, being in love with three women, and the life of poet John Berryman. None of it makes any sense.
The only thing Palmer gets right are details about Des Moines, which I know well. For some reason he found it important to give specific facts about streets he was driving in town and he was correct in what he wrote but it seemed silly minutiae. However, his liberal bent skewed the feeling of the people of Des Moines--he states a number of times how no one is ever walking or streets are empty downtown, which is just simply not always true, and he over-emphasizes liberal politics, which misses out on the fact that it's actually a pretty politically balanced suburban area with a lot of conservatives.
Some will think the book is edgy because the 29-year-old lead character falls for a much older woman who is his mother's friend, the same woman who has an open marriage with her husband. But it's all very silly because there's no depth to any of it.
It is also very poorly written. The opening pages are an immediate turn-off due to the poor punctuation, rambling sentences, and incoherent prose. The entire book is rambling, like an exercise in a creative writing class, and Andrew Palmer needs to go take some basic fiction courses to simplify his style and his narrative approach.
If you think you want to read the book because you like The Bachelor TV show, you'll find it incredibly boring and disappointing, simply rehashing a few Womack plot points in an apparent attempt at drawing parallels to the lead character's own life. Like most Bachelor relationships this novel is a failure, just as shallow as a fake reality television series.
April 15, 2021
I loved this book despite myself. Funny, brilliant, navel-gazing, and profoundly humane, The Bachelor is a book about growing up and growing into a culture of desperate consumption. Palmer succeeds in blending laugh-out-loud satire with gut-twisting confessional realism. By the end of this novel, every single character--and reader--is left on the hook. Before picking up The Bachelor, I could never have imagined caring this much about an account of fictional characters watching a real-life TV show. I can't explain it, but I can't deny it, either. The Bachelor is not to be missed. Buy this ridiculous, heartbreaking book today!
August 14, 2021
There’s no plot to this book. It’s just a celebration of freeloading, elitist mediocrity.
October 5, 2021
Sigh. No one loves a plotless book quite like me and this one delivers it straight to the heart in the most gloriously satisfying ways.
I love Palmer’s use of nuance and depth of control. I especially found his ability to bring the reader into the narrator’s confidence, knowing full well we were getting a one-sided story, so profound.
This novel is an amalgamation of many aspects of literature that I find immersive and enthralling. I also found it just to be fun - and funny.
I adore a book that educates me along with me teaching me, and this one did that in folds. I loved learning more about Berryman (and Beryl) and have spent hours since reading online about their love (and unlove) of one another.
**After reading some other reviews (I am well aware this was a mistake), I feel I need to add an aside and some clarification. So, here’s my lesson for the day: THE PROTAGONIST IS THE BACHELOR 🤦🏻♀️ This was never meant to be about the show, but used the show to further depict the character’s story - and ours - by illuminating that we are all seeking the love we believe will cleanse and define us. So, for those repeatedly stating that “this barely even had anything to do with The Bachelor,” you’re welcome. I’m sorry you missed an opportunity to further your intelligence as it seems likely that it was desperately needed.
I love Palmer’s use of nuance and depth of control. I especially found his ability to bring the reader into the narrator’s confidence, knowing full well we were getting a one-sided story, so profound.
This novel is an amalgamation of many aspects of literature that I find immersive and enthralling. I also found it just to be fun - and funny.
I adore a book that educates me along with me teaching me, and this one did that in folds. I loved learning more about Berryman (and Beryl) and have spent hours since reading online about their love (and unlove) of one another.
**After reading some other reviews (I am well aware this was a mistake), I feel I need to add an aside and some clarification. So, here’s my lesson for the day: THE PROTAGONIST IS THE BACHELOR 🤦🏻♀️ This was never meant to be about the show, but used the show to further depict the character’s story - and ours - by illuminating that we are all seeking the love we believe will cleanse and define us. So, for those repeatedly stating that “this barely even had anything to do with The Bachelor,” you’re welcome. I’m sorry you missed an opportunity to further your intelligence as it seems likely that it was desperately needed.
March 26, 2021
I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Very unique concept, I thought the book would be about the main character wanting to go on a reality show after watching The Bachelor, instead, the book is styled like a memoir, and the main character's life is paralleled with his reflections of watching the Bachelor. I wonder when the book was first drafted, because the season the author used was Brad Womack's second season!
Very unique concept, I thought the book would be about the main character wanting to go on a reality show after watching The Bachelor, instead, the book is styled like a memoir, and the main character's life is paralleled with his reflections of watching the Bachelor. I wonder when the book was first drafted, because the season the author used was Brad Womack's second season!
June 17, 2021
I wish I had enjoyed this book more than I did. It seemed more of a rambling of the narrators thoughts than anything else. Nothing happens at all, and I wasn't a fan of the lengthy descriptions of John Berryman - I really didn't find the point in those parts. This book just wasn't for me. Thank you NetGalley and Random House for a digital arc of this title.
January 28, 2022
DNF after 45 pages. I truly couldn’t read another page it was so bad. I totally judged this book by its cover and picked it up because it looks like a fun, lighthearted romance for fans of The Bachelor. This was NOTHING like what I thought it would be and I was very disappointed.
September 4, 2021
I was reading the reviews and a lot of people are upset because they thought this book would have more to do with “The Bachelor” on tv haha. I couldn’t tell if this book was meant to be funny, but for some reason I was laughing out loud.
May 11, 2021
Pleasant, a unique take on a broken=hearted soul. Not a fan of The Bachelor but this portrayal by Andrew Palmer of a man looking for answers make it a smashing read.
November 24, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for my gifted review copy. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I will never forget when The Bachelor aired for the first time. As a college student in the early 2000s, I still have very vivid memories of gathering in our dorm lounge to watch each week's episode.
It was still in the time when you watched it when it aired, and I loved the community feeling of watching and then discussing it all week long...until the next episode came out!
This was when the contestants still seemed just like us, because there wasn't the celebrity/social media stuff at play yet. It felt weirdly wholesome, and getting a lot behind the scenes felt scandalous and also strangely cathartic.
Although I am no longer a Bachelor fan (and the problematic issues that have arose over the last few years certainly wouldn't have helped that cause...) I do have nostalgia for the early years of the show. This book ended up being the perfect weekend read that surprised me...in a good way!
Although the cover is a bit cutesy and maybe a bit misleading... the narrative is quite different. At first glance I thought this might be about someone wanting to be on the show, but in actuality, it is more of a memoir style that shares about life and the parallels of growing up during the reality show era.
It's more of a coming of age book with cultural critique and social commentary woven within. It's kind of random, and mirrors the show but isn't exactly about The Bachelor, if that makes sense. For some that will be a huge disappointment, but I actually think that is why I liked it?
The reviews for this one on Goodreads are all over the place, but I think that's because many readers were confused and thought the premise would be ABOUT The Bachelor, which is understandable. 3.5/5 stars for me.
I will never forget when The Bachelor aired for the first time. As a college student in the early 2000s, I still have very vivid memories of gathering in our dorm lounge to watch each week's episode.
It was still in the time when you watched it when it aired, and I loved the community feeling of watching and then discussing it all week long...until the next episode came out!
This was when the contestants still seemed just like us, because there wasn't the celebrity/social media stuff at play yet. It felt weirdly wholesome, and getting a lot behind the scenes felt scandalous and also strangely cathartic.
Although I am no longer a Bachelor fan (and the problematic issues that have arose over the last few years certainly wouldn't have helped that cause...) I do have nostalgia for the early years of the show. This book ended up being the perfect weekend read that surprised me...in a good way!
Although the cover is a bit cutesy and maybe a bit misleading... the narrative is quite different. At first glance I thought this might be about someone wanting to be on the show, but in actuality, it is more of a memoir style that shares about life and the parallels of growing up during the reality show era.
It's more of a coming of age book with cultural critique and social commentary woven within. It's kind of random, and mirrors the show but isn't exactly about The Bachelor, if that makes sense. For some that will be a huge disappointment, but I actually think that is why I liked it?
The reviews for this one on Goodreads are all over the place, but I think that's because many readers were confused and thought the premise would be ABOUT The Bachelor, which is understandable. 3.5/5 stars for me.
November 5, 2021
I have not been this irritated by a book in a long time. Is it a coming of age story (for a privileged 30yo white dude)? Is it a cultural critique? Is it a biography? I'm all for books that do more than one thing, but a writer has to be able to do each thing well, clearly and with style, and tie them together in some sort of way. Palmer accomplishes none of those things. That it took me this long to read this rather slim book is telling; every time I picked it up, I wanted to put it down.
Also: Why are all these women attracted to this sad sack?
I'll add half a star for the sake of a handful of moments when I smiled or thought, yes, that's a true statment.
Also: Why are all these women attracted to this sad sack?
I'll add half a star for the sake of a handful of moments when I smiled or thought, yes, that's a true statment.
March 28, 2021
As much as I was looking forward to reading this book (huge fan of the bachelor franchise), I was, unfortunately, and, quite honestly, bored. The main character did not hold my interest whatsoever, and the comparisons to his life and the life of “the bachelor” were disengaging and uninteresting. I also found the third character, John Berryman’s poetry, to add very little to the storyline. All in all, this book was not what I expected and I wasn’t interested nor entertained. Thank you, nonetheless, for the chance to read an advanced copy.
March 30, 2021
By far my favorite novel of the past couple of years. Palmer is the most observant, the funniest, the most honest writer I know of working today. If you’re not familiar with his work, start here.
August 2, 2021
The Bachelor tells the story of an unnamed 29-year old novelist who retreats to his hometown of Des Moines following the end of an almost-engagement. While staying in the mostly empty house of a friend of his mother’s, he develops an absorbing interest in the TV show The Bachelor and the American poet John Berryman. Through this juxtaposition, and a collage of the protagonist’s past and present romantic relationships, author Andrew Palmer explores the question of reality—how it’s created and recreated, manipulated and misinterpreted. The stream of consciousness, character-driven narrative shifts from confusing and pedantic to breathtakingly beautiful. While the characters sometimes come across as aggressively pretentious, there is also an authenticity to them that I found very compelling. As other have said, this book is not what I thought it would be (a light, mindless read), but in this case that is a very good thing.
Read
April 2, 2024There was something very charming and comforting about reading Andrew Palmer's debut novel. It's a book I've had on my shelf for a few years now but just never got around to reading. I can now say it's a cleverly written book that gathers more of an observational perspective than a plot-focused narrative. For this reason alone I have a strong feeling that this novel will definitely repel a lot of readers especially after reading the synopsis because I assure you this book is not what you think it would be and seems to read outside the normative novel presupposition. However, given the chance, The Bachelor will allure you with its wittiness, compelling characters, its narrator's genuine voice, and that great old tale of the coming of age, this time closer to thirty.
I want to return to this novel one day when I am a bit older and have exposed myself more to John Berryman and maybe even some sappy episodes of The Bachelor. I just feel there were too many pragmatic remarks and analytical snippets on human thoughts and needs that a book like this can't be read only once.
I want to return to this novel one day when I am a bit older and have exposed myself more to John Berryman and maybe even some sappy episodes of The Bachelor. I just feel there were too many pragmatic remarks and analytical snippets on human thoughts and needs that a book like this can't be read only once.
May 17, 2021
I went into this book with high hopes as I'm a fan of The Bachelor series (although I'm way too old to be; it makes me glad I'm not in my 20's)! I liked it but found it was hard to go from this bachelor's ramblings about the show, his obsession with the poet, and his own life after breaking up with his almost-fiancee. There was little in the way of plot as he moved from place to place--as I guess young people do--but I was so hoping he'd find his true place (but that just me)! I did enjoy Palmer's writing as it's crisp and humorous so I would read more from him in the future. It's actually pretty impressive as a debut novel so if you love the show (or not) it's worth a read!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
May 11, 2021
This book was not what I expected. Slightly based on the reality show The Bachelor, in the sense that the narrator was searching for the love he thought he wanted to find. He was dating many women he thought was the one he seemed to want, at the same time with each one. He was an author of sorts and was working on a biography of Berryman which took up much of the narrative of this book in his research. He confides in a friend Laura, about each love but doesn't heed her advice since he is not honest. He lies to each one giving advice to make himself look like what he is not. I felt this book could have been written with far less details and descriptions of events and exhausting facts that seemed to go on forever and lose the theme of what was definitely reality TV trying to figure out what is reality.
May 30, 2021
Confession, while I haven’t watched every season of The Bachelor, I still on occasion tune in, so how could I resist this title? And it’s as fun as the best couple storylines which taps into the heart of why millions still watch. No I’m not confusing this fictionalized story for a show breakdown but it makes you feel as if you are behind the scenes of one person’s journey and has you rooting for true love. So in a way this story mirrors the actual show. Fiction vs “reality”.
May 30, 2021
The Bachelor was a humorous and insightful expose on the Now Generation and will be enjoyed by many.
I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
August 1, 2021
The narrator is a bachelor because he is indeed single. He is not The Bachelor in terms of the hit ABC show. The cover art of this book and the book description led me to believe the story would steer closer to the ABC show side of things, however this was not the case. I liked the bachelor's growth journey but I had a very hard time with the ramblings (pages at a time) about his favorite poet and his favorite basketball team. I really liked the characters of Sadie and Laura who were both confident women and it was when they entered into the plot that I finally found a good reading pace with this book. At the end the rambling started in again and I had a very hard time wanting to finish the book.
As a native Iowan and a lover of road trips, the descriptions of Iowa, Des Moines, and Nebraska felt very familiar and gave this book a very nostalgic feel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
As a native Iowan and a lover of road trips, the descriptions of Iowa, Des Moines, and Nebraska felt very familiar and gave this book a very nostalgic feel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
May 10, 2021
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
All opinions are my own.
This one was really not for me. I'm probably one of the only women in America who have never seen The Bachelor (in my defense, Monday Night Football is usually on at the same time), so the comparison between the narrator and the Bachelor episodes was completely lost on me. I also needed to Google John Berryman.
I thought the first half of the book was incredibly boring, and I nearly gave up. I finished the book, but meh. It got kind of better, but not really. I didn't connect with any of the characters, and I didn't like the stream of consciousness-esque paragraphs.
I would not recommend this to others.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC!
All opinions are my own.
This one was really not for me. I'm probably one of the only women in America who have never seen The Bachelor (in my defense, Monday Night Football is usually on at the same time), so the comparison between the narrator and the Bachelor episodes was completely lost on me. I also needed to Google John Berryman.
I thought the first half of the book was incredibly boring, and I nearly gave up. I finished the book, but meh. It got kind of better, but not really. I didn't connect with any of the characters, and I didn't like the stream of consciousness-esque paragraphs.
I would not recommend this to others.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC!
August 20, 2021
By far the worst book I’ve read this year. It was totally misrepresented as having anything to do with the ABC show, The Bachelor! It was about a guy, who happened to watch 1 season of The Bachelor.
The name dropping was cringe, I hated this book.
The name dropping was cringe, I hated this book.
September 16, 2021
Truly a bad book. Disjointed— A mash up of an aspirational literary novel and a recap of Brad Womack’s second season. Cannot recommend
July 1, 2021
“The Bachelor” starts off with an unnamed narrator beginning a stint as a housesitter for a friend of his mother’s. He has ended up in his hometown of Des Moines, Iowa, in an attempt to process a breakup with his almost fiance, Ashwini. With not much to keep him entertained—he barely knows anyone in Des Moines anymore—the narrator quickly becomes infatuated by two contrasting interests: the reality show “The Bachelor” and the Pulitzer Prize–winning poet John Berryman. These juxtaposing preoccupations end up serving two points. One, to distract him from writing, an expectation that fills him with anxiety and pressure since the release of his debut novel only a few months prior. And two, to allow the narrator to become removed from his current reality, blurring the lines of what’s fact and fiction. It is this shift of perception that becomes a significant driving theme throughout the novel.
Not much happens in the overall storyline (readers who enjoy fast-paced novels will have a hard time with this book). Most of the story takes place in De Moines, with a short stretch at a new housesitting gig in a Bachelor-esque mountaintop California mansion. The driving plot of “The Bachelor” is what is happening to the main character’s mentality. “How did I spend those first few days back in Des Moines?” writes Palmer. “To an observer, it might have appeared like nothing was happening.” The novel is a mediation on the inner workings of someone who’s lost themselves, and reads like a journal or stream of consciousness memoir. “I don’t remember most of what I said in response,” writes Palmer. “I didnt react well, I think.”
In a sense, “The Bachelor” is akin to Ottessa Moshfegh’s 2018 “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” (minus the constant Ambien induced haze) and “The Idiot” by Elif Batuman. Palmer’s novel features a quirky, aimless protagonist, with smart insights, dry humor, and a character-driven narrative. But it’s all anchored in poignant, amusing, relatable observations of “The Bachelor” and John Berryman, many of which make excellent pull quotes.
“Strange that the reality we’re given isn’t enough,” writes Palmer. “Continents, oceans, antelopes, skyscrapers, neutrinos, Melville, sex, the Internet, our Chicago Bulls—not enough. For Berryman, in any case, nothing sufficed.” “The Bachelor” is a story of the mundane that’s a slow rumination on the self. Or selves.
As the narrator reflects on love, “The Bachelor,” John Berryman, reality, and relationships, he begins to rebuild the semblance of a new sense of life via platonic and romantic relationships with a series of women, including the house’s owner. The way Palmer portrays this, however, can be seen as the book strength, or weakness. The stories of these women, and a few others, are told through pages long monologues, conversations, and biography-like writing (what makes a biography good or not is another topic of discussion in the novel) that can be either thrilling or meandering—a story of many stories.
The focus is the people in his life, and perhaps that’s why the narrator doesn’t have a name. Not that he doesn’t matter, he just not the novel’s focal point—contrary to the reality show. These are women who live out loud, and he’s learning to live again, through them
Not much happens in the overall storyline (readers who enjoy fast-paced novels will have a hard time with this book). Most of the story takes place in De Moines, with a short stretch at a new housesitting gig in a Bachelor-esque mountaintop California mansion. The driving plot of “The Bachelor” is what is happening to the main character’s mentality. “How did I spend those first few days back in Des Moines?” writes Palmer. “To an observer, it might have appeared like nothing was happening.” The novel is a mediation on the inner workings of someone who’s lost themselves, and reads like a journal or stream of consciousness memoir. “I don’t remember most of what I said in response,” writes Palmer. “I didnt react well, I think.”
In a sense, “The Bachelor” is akin to Ottessa Moshfegh’s 2018 “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” (minus the constant Ambien induced haze) and “The Idiot” by Elif Batuman. Palmer’s novel features a quirky, aimless protagonist, with smart insights, dry humor, and a character-driven narrative. But it’s all anchored in poignant, amusing, relatable observations of “The Bachelor” and John Berryman, many of which make excellent pull quotes.
“Strange that the reality we’re given isn’t enough,” writes Palmer. “Continents, oceans, antelopes, skyscrapers, neutrinos, Melville, sex, the Internet, our Chicago Bulls—not enough. For Berryman, in any case, nothing sufficed.” “The Bachelor” is a story of the mundane that’s a slow rumination on the self. Or selves.
As the narrator reflects on love, “The Bachelor,” John Berryman, reality, and relationships, he begins to rebuild the semblance of a new sense of life via platonic and romantic relationships with a series of women, including the house’s owner. The way Palmer portrays this, however, can be seen as the book strength, or weakness. The stories of these women, and a few others, are told through pages long monologues, conversations, and biography-like writing (what makes a biography good or not is another topic of discussion in the novel) that can be either thrilling or meandering—a story of many stories.
The focus is the people in his life, and perhaps that’s why the narrator doesn’t have a name. Not that he doesn’t matter, he just not the novel’s focal point—contrary to the reality show. These are women who live out loud, and he’s learning to live again, through them
May 31, 2021
I'm a die hard Bachelor franchise fan! I've been watching since Desiree's season and that show got me through the chaos of college and life in general. It's a show that you can easily get lost and hooked on because of the fantastical world of riches, the desire of falling in love and the feeling of empathy towards those getting their heart broken. When I saw Andrew Palmer's "The Bachelor" on #NetGalley I had to get my hands on it (I mean what's a better way to get in the mood for the new season next Monday, eeee get your wine ready!)
🌹🌹🌹
Synopsis: "Reeling from a breakup with his almost fiancée, the narrator of Andrew Palmer’s debut novel returns to his hometown in Iowa to house-sit for a family friend. There, a chance flick of the TV remote and a new correspondence with an old friend plunge him into unlikely twin obsessions: the reality show The Bachelor and the Pulitzer Prize–winning poet John Berryman. As his heart begins to mend, his fascination with each deepens. Somewhere along the way, representations of reality become harder and harder to distinguish from real life. Soon he finds himself corresponding with multiple love interests, participating in an ill-considered group outing, and trying to puzzle through the strange turn his life seems to have taken."
I went into this book blind, immediately thinking this book would be a man's fictional journey as Bachelor but I was wrong (yet in a sense I was right) Its a character driven book with our narrator living the hardships of a "real life" or "normal" Bachelor (and might I add he's experiencing these things right alongside the perfect and charming star of the show) Palmer shows us through our protagonist how hard falling in and out of love truly is which many moments of comedic satire and heart break. Love and marriage is more than the rich commodities that reality TV depicts with its mansions, cars, hot tubs, helicopters and vacations, its about the raw human emotion, truths and moments we go through on a daily basis.
As stated by Berryman, a poet our protagonist becomes enthralled with during his journey, "Neither of us is primarily interested in how long it will last-for each the present is rich and valuable when we are together and would be intolerable if we were not- that is the point." I think that Palmer shows us that love is fragile, it takes time and patience because love can be found at peculiar times in our lives. The book is very deep and shows the reader the rawness of love in its earliest and hardest points. It's about love in a relationship, love we find when we're dedicated to our craft and love that we find in ourselves.
Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing, Hogarth Press and Andrew Palmer for early access to this wonderful book. If you're a fan of The Bachelor or want a deep look into love, this book is available everywhere on July 20th!
#QOTD: Who's your favorite Bachelor/Bachelorette/Contestant??? Are you excited for the new season?
#AOTD: There's too many greats to count but I love Jojo, Kaitlyn Bristowe and Wells. You bet I'm excited for next Monday, I'm already prepping wine and dinner night with Morgan
🌹🌹🌹
Synopsis: "Reeling from a breakup with his almost fiancée, the narrator of Andrew Palmer’s debut novel returns to his hometown in Iowa to house-sit for a family friend. There, a chance flick of the TV remote and a new correspondence with an old friend plunge him into unlikely twin obsessions: the reality show The Bachelor and the Pulitzer Prize–winning poet John Berryman. As his heart begins to mend, his fascination with each deepens. Somewhere along the way, representations of reality become harder and harder to distinguish from real life. Soon he finds himself corresponding with multiple love interests, participating in an ill-considered group outing, and trying to puzzle through the strange turn his life seems to have taken."
I went into this book blind, immediately thinking this book would be a man's fictional journey as Bachelor but I was wrong (yet in a sense I was right) Its a character driven book with our narrator living the hardships of a "real life" or "normal" Bachelor (and might I add he's experiencing these things right alongside the perfect and charming star of the show) Palmer shows us through our protagonist how hard falling in and out of love truly is which many moments of comedic satire and heart break. Love and marriage is more than the rich commodities that reality TV depicts with its mansions, cars, hot tubs, helicopters and vacations, its about the raw human emotion, truths and moments we go through on a daily basis.
As stated by Berryman, a poet our protagonist becomes enthralled with during his journey, "Neither of us is primarily interested in how long it will last-for each the present is rich and valuable when we are together and would be intolerable if we were not- that is the point." I think that Palmer shows us that love is fragile, it takes time and patience because love can be found at peculiar times in our lives. The book is very deep and shows the reader the rawness of love in its earliest and hardest points. It's about love in a relationship, love we find when we're dedicated to our craft and love that we find in ourselves.
Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing, Hogarth Press and Andrew Palmer for early access to this wonderful book. If you're a fan of The Bachelor or want a deep look into love, this book is available everywhere on July 20th!
#QOTD: Who's your favorite Bachelor/Bachelorette/Contestant??? Are you excited for the new season?
#AOTD: There's too many greats to count but I love Jojo, Kaitlyn Bristowe and Wells. You bet I'm excited for next Monday, I'm already prepping wine and dinner night with Morgan
September 20, 2021
This recently published debut novel by Andrew Palmer has not received brilliant reviews, yet I very much enjoyed it.
This literary novel is set in the contemporary USA. It’s protagonist is a man in his late 20s who has recent split from his “almost-fiancée” and returned to his home town, housesitting for a friend of his mother. The main plot of the book concerns the protagonist’s love life.
Alongside the main plot, the protagonist becomes caught up in watching the reality television series The Bachelor, and also in researching the life of the noted American poet John Berryman. Through these, the book becomes an exploration of the degree to which our own perception of the world is real, and—separately—how much of it we believe. For example: is a well-researched biography any more or less ‘true’ than reality TV? And what is it about some aspects of art which allow us to suspend our disbelief and to be constantly questioning others? And why is it that those decisions are rarely rational: we can often end up questioning things we know to be meticulously researched and balanced more than those things which we consciously know to be manipulated.
I have never watched an episode of The Bachelor, though I’m sort of culturally aware of it, and I’m not familiar with the life and work of John Berryman. I can, however, completely relate to getting drawn into reality TV and to becoming deeply interested in a person’s biography. I think that this was perhaps helpful in that I appreciated the context but didn’t get too caught up in the specifics, and allowed me to enjoy the wider points.
Palmer integrates much broader examples into his discussion, including a very interesting bit on the truth of classical music, and the degree to which the composer’s score and the players’ interpretation are in opposition as the ‘reality’ of the music. Having said that, the metaphors do feel occasionally forced, such as the time the protagonist spends living in a house with (literal) glass walls.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed this. It was both gentle in tone and plot, but also clever in the ideas it explored and occasional profound in its expression of those ideas. But I appreciate that this isn’t how many others who have read it feel: perhaps it just happened to be right up my street.
This literary novel is set in the contemporary USA. It’s protagonist is a man in his late 20s who has recent split from his “almost-fiancée” and returned to his home town, housesitting for a friend of his mother. The main plot of the book concerns the protagonist’s love life.
Alongside the main plot, the protagonist becomes caught up in watching the reality television series The Bachelor, and also in researching the life of the noted American poet John Berryman. Through these, the book becomes an exploration of the degree to which our own perception of the world is real, and—separately—how much of it we believe. For example: is a well-researched biography any more or less ‘true’ than reality TV? And what is it about some aspects of art which allow us to suspend our disbelief and to be constantly questioning others? And why is it that those decisions are rarely rational: we can often end up questioning things we know to be meticulously researched and balanced more than those things which we consciously know to be manipulated.
I have never watched an episode of The Bachelor, though I’m sort of culturally aware of it, and I’m not familiar with the life and work of John Berryman. I can, however, completely relate to getting drawn into reality TV and to becoming deeply interested in a person’s biography. I think that this was perhaps helpful in that I appreciated the context but didn’t get too caught up in the specifics, and allowed me to enjoy the wider points.
Palmer integrates much broader examples into his discussion, including a very interesting bit on the truth of classical music, and the degree to which the composer’s score and the players’ interpretation are in opposition as the ‘reality’ of the music. Having said that, the metaphors do feel occasionally forced, such as the time the protagonist spends living in a house with (literal) glass walls.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed this. It was both gentle in tone and plot, but also clever in the ideas it explored and occasional profound in its expression of those ideas. But I appreciate that this isn’t how many others who have read it feel: perhaps it just happened to be right up my street.
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