Publisher - Picador
Publish Date - 7/16/13
Genre - Fiction
Buy on Amazon
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My Rating:
I managed to read 2 ½ books on our Dominican vacation and
this was the second one. I love to read on the beach (well really, I like to
read pretty much anywhere) but I tend to want a bit lighter reads than I might
typically gravitate towards. I had heard about this book from various sources
and was eager to pick it up and read it and thought it would be the perfect
beach companion. While I loved the book, it was really not the best beach read.
It takes a bit more concentration than I like to give when I'm soaking up the sun and sand.
Nathaniel Piven is an up and coming writer in New York’s
literary scene. He now has his pick of writing assignments and a book deal that
any author would be envious of. Not only is his writing career thriving, so is
his love life. He also seems to have his pick of women from Juliet, a savvy
business woman, Elisa, his beautiful ex-girlfriend and Hannah, who is "almost
universally regarded as nice and smart, or smart and nice."
While conversation among Nate and his circle of friends is
still lively and full of wit, his ability to conquer romance with the same
success seems to be lacking. Nate is incredibly self-assured, a bit arrogant
and truly believes that he “gets it”. Obviously, he doesn’t. Waldman takes you
deep into the psyche of the modern man during his struggle to find happiness in
a world that, as much as he doesn’t want to admit it, does not understand. He
loves women but always seems to let them down and is fairly oblivious to the
way he treats them. In other words – he can be a bit of a dog.
I have to say that every woman, single or attached, needs to
read this book. It was an incredible journey into the minds of modern women through
the perspective of a man. Waldman does a fabulous job of focusing in on some of
the more absurd parts of the New York young professionals scene and weaving
them into hilarious conversation. She also really takes a lot of time to make
sure that all of the dialogue and eventual conversational ends are well thought
out and realistic. As a reader, you can easily place yourself into the middle
of this circle of characters and believe their bantering is real.
All throughout this novel, I felt myself torn over really
hating Nate and his degrading opinions and outlooks, but at the same time rooting for him to
wake up and figure his shit out. The story is full of quotable lines and laugh
out loud moments. It will leave you wanting to go back and read it again
because you can’t possibly pick up on all the smart, clever details the first time around.
PAIR THIS WITH – Dreaming Tree Crush Red Blend
If you want to sip on something delicious while reading this
novel, Dreaming Tree Crush Red Blend is perfect. A blend of the North Coast's
finest varieties, this wine has some great caramel oak and mixed berry
characters on the nose, juicy raspberry flavors, and full-but-soft and
approachable tannins. It’s full of flavor and body but not distracting enough
to make you lose focus on Waldman’s story. Another interesting fact - Dave Matthews collaborates on Dreaming Tree wines and the corks all have different lyrics from Dave Matthews songs on them!
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