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Either/Or
- Narrated by: Elif Batuman
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
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Either/Or
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Publisher's Summary
An instant New York Times bestseller!
A New York Times Notable Book of 2022
“Batuman has a gift for making the universe seem, somehow, like the benevolent and witty literary seminar you wish it were . . .This novel wins you over in a million micro-observations.” —The New York Times
“Batuman is a genius, rendering human folly at its most colorful and borderline surreal.” —Vogue
From the acclaimed and bestselling author of The Idiot, the continuation of beloved protagonist Selin’s quest for self-knowledge, as she travels abroad and tests the limits of her newfound adulthood
Selin is the luckiest person in her family: the only one who was born in America and got to go to Harvard. Now it’s sophomore year, 1996, and Selin knows she has to make it count. The first order of business: to figure out the meaning of everything that happened over the summer. Why did Selin’s elusive crush, Ivan, find her that job in the Hungarian countryside? What was up with all those other people in the Hungarian countryside? Why is Ivan’s weird ex-girlfriend now trying to get in touch with Selin? On the plus side, it feels like the plot of an exciting novel. On the other hand, why do so many novels have crazy abandoned women in them? How does one live a life as interesting as a novel—a life worthy of becoming a novel—without becoming a crazy abandoned woman oneself?
Guided by her literature syllabus and by her more worldly and confident peers, Selin reaches certain conclusions about the universal importance of parties, alcohol, and sex, and resolves to execute them in practice—no matter what the cost. Next on the list: international travel.
Unfolding with the propulsive logic and intensity of youth, Either/Or is a landmark novel by one of our most brilliant writers. Hilarious, revelatory, and unforgettable, its gripping narrative will confront you with searching questions that persist long after the last page.
What the critics say
One of The New Yorker’s Best Books of 2022
“Selin’s back for her sophomore year, and I’m happy to report that it’s even better. Batuman’s masterful at making fun of self-serious academics and, somehow, Selin’s become so relatable, she seemed to merge with myself. I can’t wait for junior year.”—NPR, “Books We Love”
“[Either/Or is] more vigorous, and Selin has become a stronger and more definite character. When she chooses to veil her emotions, it is only to make the inevitable unveiling all the more devastating.”—Vox
“Batuman has produced another page-turning delight, a morsel of Ivy League realism . . . Perhaps Batuman’s genius lies in her eagerness to endow the small dramas of campus life with the same importance as the big existential questions.”—Harvard Review
What listeners say about Either/Or
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- ashley
- 2023-09-02
enticing
a book of fleeting thoughts you wish you could muster and naive musings you forgot you had
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 2022-10-09
Unbearable
I'll keep this short and sweet (or maybe bitter): This book is a trip. In essence, it follows a college-age girl attending Cambridge, though you would be forgiven for thinking she is younger than that. Much of the content of the book is composed of pseudo-intellectual musings and mad philosophical ramblings, much of which had me asking, out loud, just how old this protagonist is supposed to be. She is extremely, frustratingly naive, with views or beliefs on commonly-known subjects that had me scratching my head.
On a technical level, the prose is perfectly fine. It is mostly easy to follow, and Batuman transitions well from story beat to story beat. Personally, I wish there was more physical description, as I had a hard time imagining characters or settings. Her narration, however, is very wooden, which caused a lot of the humour to go over my head. In fact, what, in retrospect, seem to be jokes, seemed instead to be earnest (and insane) statements at the time. The story itself often feels meanindering--aimless--and it made it difficult for me to keep focused.
Overall, I found this book painful to get through--even in audiobook form--and found myself consistently annoyed by the protagonists often-moronic statements. I frequently wished to be able to step into the world of the book and give her the answers to the obvious questions she keeps asking, which only made things more annoying for me.
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