*Quick note: I really don't think this is the kind of book you can spoil, but if you have high sensitivity to that kind of thing, tread carefully(ish) from 11:15-13:40!
Claire love this video it’s amazing and fantastic and I totally agree with you 100 percent about you not being able to spoil it please stay safe and enjoy your reading love your family friend John xxx
Hope you’re doing well Claire! Was just thinking how detailed and lovely your reviews are. If you decide to make another video I would be so happy, but if not I totally understand! They’re a lot of work. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us in these 😊
I'm literally so obsessed with you!!!! Truly the creme de la creme of Booktube. Anyway, the fact this novel is such an upgrade from The Idiot regardless of its unwieldiness and willingness to contain fragments and experiences that would otherwise be elided for the sake of a clean narrative is so inspiring. Bring back successfully messy novels! So many, if not all, Selin's thoughts on what she reads are so insightful and joyous and revel in the power of literature as entertainment, as teaching, as a perpetual method toward self-actualization. Her ruminations on Breton's Nadja and Kazuo Ishiguro especially struck me among other things. In reference to the latter, Selin's inability to create distance between the author and the narrator/the narrative was so true (as someone that periodically tries to write) and also points to so many meta questions of the novel itself. Obviously, we will never really know how much of Selin is similar/different to Batuman herself, but it doesn't matter, because, regardless, Selin as a narrator/fictional entity is functioning on a basic literary level that allows Batuman to not have to justify her work through the distance other "novelists" achieve. Super interesting stuff. I want two more novels in the Selin series now.
YES!! 100% agree with you - more successfully messy novels, please! But only if they're as good as this one, haha. Your point about the insight/power/joy of Selin's ruminations is a good one because I do think this is a book where, in the hands of a lesser writer, the content really would not justify the form (in fact, I feel like we've seen that in plenty of lit fic of the last few years), but in this case, it absolutely does. One of the things I'm loving, too, in discussions of the novel, is seeing which references and fragments people pull out / find memorable...the whole book really does feel like a scrapbook of a young writer's development and influences! Anyway, when I first read Either/Or I found it less satisfying than The Idiot, but over time it's given me a lot more to think about...here's hoping we get *some* other Selin book at some point in the future!
Hey Claire Happy New Year! Was just wondering what kinds of books you're reading these days/your reading goals for this year etc :) Hope everything is well!
Claire, this review was so good I had to watch it twice! I really appreciated the quote you read from Batuman at the end. This book made me think a lot about using literature as tool to understand life and that quote echoes that. A part of this book that really made my head spin was when Selin was taking her literature class and read a quote from Walter Benjamin where he says he can get so excited reading that he is unable to read more than a few words without having to put the book down. Which Selin then recognizes as something that occurs when she reads and she gets so excited she has to leave class. Then, I the reader had to put Either/Or down because it was having the same effect on me which made me feel all: 🤯
Thank you, Stephanie!! And ahh, yes, that is such a great moment! This is definitely the kind of book I had to put down several times because I found it so unsettling in ways I couldn't pinpoint, hahah...but unsettling in the best kind of way!
Toward the end there I heard a sound I thought must have been an airplane. I have no complaints of course, and I actually think the noise matched the swell of emotion your conclusions on Batuman's (sophomore?) novel evoked for me. Thank you, Claire! I won't say specifically what, but I realized maybe for the first time in a while that the me who was an undergraduate was still someone I could love.
Missing your channel, please come back! I'd love to know your thoughts on some recent big hits like Yellowface (and Babel), and to just get to know your recent reads during your break!
What a perfect review for this book! I had the startling realization that I use books, movies and music in the same way as Selin. In fact I used to often try and recontextualize my life, or rewrite my life experiences as if I was certain characters, pretending and even taking on their persona's for a few weeks at a time. These two books honestly gave me so much as a 19 year old, who is constantly considering how I am changing, what all the little things mean for who I am becoming, and of course if it will be enough. It made me see how unserious this time is. I was laughing at Selin like she was my roomate standing in my kitchen recounting the same crush, same situation ( only now with more questions and more theoritcal ideas to apply). I slowly realized I was just listening to her be ridiculous waiting for my turn. :) I love how Batuman writes in jokes almost that go over Selin's head from her stream of consciousness- also love how I miss half of them.
The meta discussion in the book about writing was brilliant, in the sea of (for me at least) slightly difficult uneasiness, it made me sort of laugh! It pulled me away from my broody early-20s-angst (and all of the angst of feeling left behind in The Idiot as I watched the Selin I so related to grow away from me) and made me just laugh and remember that I was reading a very deliberately produced text (much like any novel). The erudite nature of Batuman's writing is incredible (and never pretentious), and actually I am now reading Either/Or by Kierkegaard, something I would've never picked up, just because she sold it to me so incredibly. I love books that do that for you, and send you on that thrilling treasure hunt. She encourages us to go on that hunt, and has in many ways, sent me off on it, many times now between The Idiot and Either/Or. Few other books/characters get me so excited to explore other books like Selin/Elif do. That being said, I can't pretend I wasn't in a constant state of slight unease for my own strong sense of 'wrongness' that was set at ease by Selin in The Idiot, but brought back to the forefront of my mind by this wonderful novel (and once again put at ease by your ever soothing reminder that no one knows anything at 19, or in my case 21). I am surprised to see that people criticised The Idiot for it's sexlessness, when I loved that about it (giving away a little more about my personal life than I should there, lmfao), and I was struck by the difference. When it rains, it pours, and it definitely poured for Selin! My mind is so scattered after that book, I barely know what to think. I laughed a lot, I enjoyed it at times, felt unable to keep reading at times, I don't know really... But you need books like that, right? Thanks for the review, it has given me some relief, as the book I had so been looking forward to had left my mind spinning and feeling lost somewhat...
Ahh, this is so interesting! I actually felt a lot of uneasiness while reading, too (that's a great way to describe it!), in part because of the ways that Selin's experiences diverged from my own as a 19-year-old, but also because it just kicked up a lot of complicated feelings about everything that time of life was and wasn't for me. But I do think, in letting the book settle with me a bit, I've also found some relief, and ultimately this book feels like a real gift (even though I found it disturbing at times haha)
I adored The Idiot when I read it back in 2017, so was thrilled to dive into Either/Or. It did not disappoint. I really enjoyed Selin as a character: her earnest grappling, her moments of obtuseness and profundity, and even though I am a very different person from a very different place, I related to her feeling like life was somewhere out there, waiting to be found, and lived. I disagree slightly that the only thing that gives this novel shape is the framing of the semester, though. Recurring ideas and motifs serve this purpose as well, and when Selin revisits them as the novel progresses, her reappraisals are testaments to growth, and a sort of momentum that belies the beautifully meandering story. I did enjoy this review, though, and you made excellent points about Selin and her world, and how the two novels relate to one another. I have to admit I missed Svetlana especially, and some of the other colorful characters that meant so much to her initially, but I understand that in order for Selin to find herself she had to go on this odyssey, shorn of their presence. Great book, great review.
Omg loved this❗️📣 Such a precisely packaged review of a book full of love and how much you loved it! Your framing of thinking of your own college years in a sense of thinking of a do-over is that same nagging feeling I got reading this too, I guess unbeknownst to me, but you explained it so well (as expected! Haha)! 😭Fingers crossed we can bully Batuman into more Selin stories to some capacity! 😂
Fantastic review. Great job. I've not read either of these books but you've certainly sold them to me. I do have a copy of her book 'The Possessed: Adventures with Russian books and the people who read them' which is on my TBR list. Recent events in the U.S. have diverted me to reading 'Scarlet A: The Ethics, Law & Politics of ordinary abortion' by Katie Watson which is superb and highly recommended. A very thoughtful, nuanced and readable discussion.
Thanks, Phil! I actually read The Possessed recently, and although I found a couple of the essays a bit hard to parse, some of them do have big proto-Selin vibes (especially the ones where she's in Samarkand for the summer)
Great review Claire! I haven't read either book but I am interesting even more after this video. I am glad you found some compassion for your younger self. I know for me, I didn't know anything at 19 !
@@ClaireReadsBooks So, I finished Either/or and really enjoyed it! I also read the Adrienne Rich essay from her notes. I just read The Lying Life of Adults for women in translation (and just to keep working through Ferrante's stand alone books)...that one was good too but I've officially had my fill of reading about awkward/disturbing teenage sexual experiences, hopefully I can read about more grown up characters for the next couple months, lol!
I wonder if you'd like The Rosie Project. Personally, I read it b/c I got it for $3, but I didn't love it. I mean, it was okay and I'm glad it was a hit for the writer, who spent a lot of time on it. I just found it kind of "blah" in comparison to other books.
Amazing as always, but I was in a humorous mood when I clicked on your video and when I saw your intro and how “subtle” it was, I started cackling. Lmao!
Great video Claire. I have not read either book and while you have peaked my interest I don't expect I will. I am in my 70's and read a lot of contemporary lit to better understand today's youth (have read all of Rooney's). Yet what occurs to me most having spent my youth in California and my 30's in NYC and currently divide my time between the two coasts is the difference between the sensibilities of the East vs West. While the East is much more apt to examine life in books, the West often blindly believes it is inventing it without trying to understand the influences around them. So the character in this book feels to be a product of that East coast examination, not so much naval gazing as using literature in an attempt to understanding of how and where it can/will take her. Just my thoughts. Thanks for getting me thinking. Am I way off base?
That is so interesting! I think you're right, in a broad sense. I only lived in CA for 3 years and have only been back on the East Coast for about 3 years, too, but I think that dynamic does exist (at least in the Bay Area, I noticed that if people read books, they were mostly reading tech/self-help/business/optimization type books). I also think Selin feels very much like the product of an academic environment (you just know she's going to grad school after undergrad!), and interestingly, Elif Batuman actually did her PhD at Stanford...so I guess some people in CA are thinking in those terms, but maybe only the ones in grad school, ha
"anti-novelistic" - I love it. I never thought about that even though Flaubert wrote Madame Bovary (back in the 19th century specifically against a new trend IN HIS TIME already) specifically to warn young women against learning about life from "useless" romance novels. As Emma imagines she's a wife of someone rich she ends up living a fake life which at one point ends and she can't face the actually reality. I didn't actually understand Madame Bovary when I was 19. I didn't understand it until I was 30. I love French writers (even if they're male, I still find them good).
Ah I've been waiting for this review! I loved The Idiot but I didn't find myself longing for a sequel at the end. I'll still certainly read this one but I'm not in a huge hurry. I'm hoping though that your comments around 9:30 mean we're at least done with Ivan. (I mean he was an amazing character in The Idiot but, we've had enough of him there.) Nice what you said towards the end too. I think the general mood of The Idiot felt more true to my own college experience than most stuff I've read on those years, even though Selin's experiences were mostly different from mine on the surface. Curious to see what else Either/Or might bring to the table there.
Ivan is, fortunately, well and truly away in California in Either/Or. Selin has some residual angst about him, but otherwise he's much, much less of a presence in this book. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on this one if you do pick it up!
*Quick note: I really don't think this is the kind of book you can spoil, but if you have high sensitivity to that kind of thing, tread carefully(ish) from 11:15-13:40!
Claire love this video it’s amazing and fantastic and I totally agree with you 100 percent about you not being able to spoil it please stay safe and enjoy your reading love your family friend John xxx
Missing Claire…❤❤❤.
Claire, we MISS you
❤❤❤
Hope you’re doing well Claire! Was just thinking how detailed and lovely your reviews are. If you decide to make another video I would be so happy, but if not I totally understand! They’re a lot of work. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us in these 😊
Hi Claire! I miss your videos! You are that little ray of morning sun which uplifts everyone’s mood, including mine !
I'm literally so obsessed with you!!!! Truly the creme de la creme of Booktube. Anyway, the fact this novel is such an upgrade from The Idiot regardless of its unwieldiness and willingness to contain fragments and experiences that would otherwise be elided for the sake of a clean narrative is so inspiring. Bring back successfully messy novels! So many, if not all, Selin's thoughts on what she reads are so insightful and joyous and revel in the power of literature as entertainment, as teaching, as a perpetual method toward self-actualization. Her ruminations on Breton's Nadja and Kazuo Ishiguro especially struck me among other things. In reference to the latter, Selin's inability to create distance between the author and the narrator/the narrative was so true (as someone that periodically tries to write) and also points to so many meta questions of the novel itself. Obviously, we will never really know how much of Selin is similar/different to Batuman herself, but it doesn't matter, because, regardless, Selin as a narrator/fictional entity is functioning on a basic literary level that allows Batuman to not have to justify her work through the distance other "novelists" achieve. Super interesting stuff. I want two more novels in the Selin series now.
YES!! 100% agree with you - more successfully messy novels, please! But only if they're as good as this one, haha. Your point about the insight/power/joy of Selin's ruminations is a good one because I do think this is a book where, in the hands of a lesser writer, the content really would not justify the form (in fact, I feel like we've seen that in plenty of lit fic of the last few years), but in this case, it absolutely does. One of the things I'm loving, too, in discussions of the novel, is seeing which references and fragments people pull out / find memorable...the whole book really does feel like a scrapbook of a young writer's development and influences! Anyway, when I first read Either/Or I found it less satisfying than The Idiot, but over time it's given me a lot more to think about...here's hoping we get *some* other Selin book at some point in the future!
Hey Claire Happy New Year! Was just wondering what kinds of books you're reading these days/your reading goals for this year etc :) Hope everything is well!
The review we needed but do not deserve 🥰🥰🥰
🥰
Claire, could you publish something? I miss your channel! you are just a BREATH OF FRESH AIR!!!
Wow this review slash rumination on this book is really useful. I treasure every insight you've uttered in this video, thank you
THIS video continues to bring me to tears
Claire, this review was so good I had to watch it twice! I really appreciated the quote you read from Batuman at the end. This book made me think a lot about using literature as tool to understand life and that quote echoes that.
A part of this book that really made my head spin was when Selin was taking her literature class and read a quote from Walter Benjamin where he says he can get so excited reading that he is unable to read more than a few words without having to put the book down. Which Selin then recognizes as something that occurs when she reads and she gets so excited she has to leave class. Then, I the reader had to put Either/Or down because it was having the same effect on me which made me feel all: 🤯
Thank you, Stephanie!! And ahh, yes, that is such a great moment! This is definitely the kind of book I had to put down several times because I found it so unsettling in ways I couldn't pinpoint, hahah...but unsettling in the best kind of way!
miss you!
Toward the end there I heard a sound I thought must have been an airplane. I have no complaints of course, and I actually think the noise matched the swell of emotion your conclusions on Batuman's (sophomore?) novel evoked for me.
Thank you, Claire! I won't say specifically what, but I realized maybe for the first time in a while that the me who was an undergraduate was still someone I could love.
🥺❤️🥺❤️🥺❤️
please come back!
Missing your channel, please come back! I'd love to know your thoughts on some recent big hits like Yellowface (and Babel), and to just get to know your recent reads during your break!
What a perfect review for this book! I had the startling realization that I use books, movies and music in the same way as Selin. In fact I used to often try and recontextualize my life, or rewrite my life experiences as if I was certain characters, pretending and even taking on their persona's for a few weeks at a time. These two books honestly gave me so much as a 19 year old, who is constantly considering how I am changing, what all the little things mean for who I am becoming, and of course if it will be enough. It made me see how unserious this time is. I was laughing at Selin like she was my roomate standing in my kitchen recounting the same crush, same situation ( only now with more questions and more theoritcal ideas to apply). I slowly realized I was just listening to her be ridiculous waiting for my turn. :) I love how Batuman writes in jokes almost that go over Selin's head from her stream of consciousness- also love how I miss half of them.
I love this! (and I love Batuman’s humor, too, it’s soooo dry it kills me 😂)
The meta discussion in the book about writing was brilliant, in the sea of (for me at least) slightly difficult uneasiness, it made me sort of laugh! It pulled me away from my broody early-20s-angst (and all of the angst of feeling left behind in The Idiot as I watched the Selin I so related to grow away from me) and made me just laugh and remember that I was reading a very deliberately produced text (much like any novel).
The erudite nature of Batuman's writing is incredible (and never pretentious), and actually I am now reading Either/Or by Kierkegaard, something I would've never picked up, just because she sold it to me so incredibly. I love books that do that for you, and send you on that thrilling treasure hunt. She encourages us to go on that hunt, and has in many ways, sent me off on it, many times now between The Idiot and Either/Or. Few other books/characters get me so excited to explore other books like Selin/Elif do.
That being said, I can't pretend I wasn't in a constant state of slight unease for my own strong sense of 'wrongness' that was set at ease by Selin in The Idiot, but brought back to the forefront of my mind by this wonderful novel (and once again put at ease by your ever soothing reminder that no one knows anything at 19, or in my case 21). I am surprised to see that people criticised The Idiot for it's sexlessness, when I loved that about it (giving away a little more about my personal life than I should there, lmfao), and I was struck by the difference. When it rains, it pours, and it definitely poured for Selin!
My mind is so scattered after that book, I barely know what to think. I laughed a lot, I enjoyed it at times, felt unable to keep reading at times, I don't know really... But you need books like that, right?
Thanks for the review, it has given me some relief, as the book I had so been looking forward to had left my mind spinning and feeling lost somewhat...
Ahh, this is so interesting! I actually felt a lot of uneasiness while reading, too (that's a great way to describe it!), in part because of the ways that Selin's experiences diverged from my own as a 19-year-old, but also because it just kicked up a lot of complicated feelings about everything that time of life was and wasn't for me. But I do think, in letting the book settle with me a bit, I've also found some relief, and ultimately this book feels like a real gift (even though I found it disturbing at times haha)
Again, riveting listening Claire. Top book tuber by far!
Great review. Glad you're back. I have not read either of these, but plan to. Thanks
Thank you!
I adored The Idiot when I read it back in 2017, so was thrilled to dive into Either/Or. It did not disappoint. I really enjoyed Selin as a character: her earnest grappling, her moments of obtuseness and profundity, and even though I am a very different person from a very different place, I related to her feeling like life was somewhere out there, waiting to be found, and lived.
I disagree slightly that the only thing that gives this novel shape is the framing of the semester, though. Recurring ideas and motifs serve this purpose as well, and when Selin revisits them as the novel progresses, her reappraisals are testaments to growth, and a sort of momentum that belies the beautifully meandering story.
I did enjoy this review, though, and you made excellent points about Selin and her world, and how the two novels relate to one another. I have to admit I missed Svetlana especially, and some of the other colorful characters that meant so much to her initially, but I understand that in order for Selin to find herself she had to go on this odyssey, shorn of their presence. Great book, great review.
Omg loved this❗️📣 Such a precisely packaged review of a book full of love and how much you loved it! Your framing of thinking of your own college years in a sense of thinking of a do-over is that same nagging feeling I got reading this too, I guess unbeknownst to me, but you explained it so well (as expected! Haha)! 😭Fingers crossed we can bully Batuman into more Selin stories to some capacity! 😂
I loved your discussion last night!! And agreed, I need more Selin at some point, regardless of what time of life we might find her in :)
We miss claire! Does anyone know if she has an instagram tgat she posts to?
you are such a talented reviewer!
thank you :’)
Fantastic review. Great job. I've not read either of these books but you've certainly sold them to me. I do have a copy of her book 'The Possessed: Adventures with Russian books and the people who read them' which is on my TBR list. Recent events in the U.S. have diverted me to reading 'Scarlet A: The Ethics, Law & Politics of ordinary abortion' by Katie Watson which is superb and highly recommended. A very thoughtful, nuanced and readable discussion.
Thanks, Phil! I actually read The Possessed recently, and although I found a couple of the essays a bit hard to parse, some of them do have big proto-Selin vibes (especially the ones where she's in Samarkand for the summer)
Great review Claire! I haven't read either book but I am interesting even more after this video. I am glad you found some compassion for your younger self. I know for me, I didn't know anything at 19 !
Thank you! :)
Excellent review
I recently read The Idiot and Selin's sort of deadpan humor killed me - so many laugh out loud moments. Looking forward to either/or.
She's so funny 😂 honestly her sense of humor alone makes Either/Or worth the read
@@ClaireReadsBooks So, I finished Either/or and really enjoyed it! I also read the Adrienne Rich essay from her notes. I just read The Lying Life of Adults for women in translation (and just to keep working through Ferrante's stand alone books)...that one was good too but I've officially had my fill of reading about awkward/disturbing teenage sexual experiences, hopefully I can read about more grown up characters for the next couple months, lol!
We need more book reviews!😁
I wonder if you'd like The Rosie Project. Personally, I read it b/c I got it for $3, but I didn't love it. I mean, it was okay and I'm glad it was a hit for the writer, who spent a lot of time on it. I just found it kind of "blah" in comparison to other books.
Amazing as always, but I was in a humorous mood when I clicked on your video and when I saw your intro and how “subtle” it was, I started cackling. Lmao!
😁
Insightful as always Claire! I loved Either/Or - completely devoured it as I did with The Idiot.
I'm so glad to hear it! :D
Great video Claire. I have not read either book and while you have peaked my interest I don't expect I will. I am in my 70's and read a lot of contemporary lit to better understand today's youth (have read all of Rooney's). Yet what occurs to me most having spent my youth in California and my 30's in NYC and currently divide my time between the two coasts is the difference between the sensibilities of the East vs West. While the East is much more apt to examine life in books, the West often blindly believes it is inventing it without trying to understand the influences around them. So the character in this book feels to be a product of that East coast examination, not so much naval gazing as using literature in an attempt to understanding of how and where it can/will take her. Just my thoughts. Thanks for getting me thinking. Am I way off base?
That is so interesting! I think you're right, in a broad sense. I only lived in CA for 3 years and have only been back on the East Coast for about 3 years, too, but I think that dynamic does exist (at least in the Bay Area, I noticed that if people read books, they were mostly reading tech/self-help/business/optimization type books). I also think Selin feels very much like the product of an academic environment (you just know she's going to grad school after undergrad!), and interestingly, Elif Batuman actually did her PhD at Stanford...so I guess some people in CA are thinking in those terms, but maybe only the ones in grad school, ha
@@ClaireReadsBooks Ah excellent reply. Thanks
"anti-novelistic" - I love it. I never thought about that even though Flaubert wrote Madame Bovary (back in the 19th century specifically against a new trend IN HIS TIME already) specifically to warn young women against learning about life from "useless" romance novels. As Emma imagines she's a wife of someone rich she ends up living a fake life which at one point ends and she can't face the actually reality. I didn't actually understand Madame Bovary when I was 19. I didn't understand it until I was 30. I love French writers (even if they're male, I still find them good).
Ah I've been waiting for this review! I loved The Idiot but I didn't find myself longing for a sequel at the end. I'll still certainly read this one but I'm not in a huge hurry. I'm hoping though that your comments around 9:30 mean we're at least done with Ivan. (I mean he was an amazing character in The Idiot but, we've had enough of him there.)
Nice what you said towards the end too. I think the general mood of The Idiot felt more true to my own college experience than most stuff I've read on those years, even though Selin's experiences were mostly different from mine on the surface. Curious to see what else Either/Or might bring to the table there.
Ivan is, fortunately, well and truly away in California in Either/Or. Selin has some residual angst about him, but otherwise he's much, much less of a presence in this book. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on this one if you do pick it up!
The Idiot is one of those books I keep wanting to read whenever someone mentions it, but never think of when buying books.
I highly recommend it! but I also think you can technically read Either/Or on its own if that’s of interest
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
FIRST COMMENT 😎💃
I have my notifications set for your discussion tomorrow!
Dear Claire, do you have an email address? Let us know:)