There are some books that are a little too close to home, that hit you right in the feels when you least expect it and put you in a bad mood because you relate a little too closely, and they're a little too sad to fully enjoy. WANT, the latest by the wonderful novelist Lynn Steger Strong, was one of those books. With the exception of not being a Mom, the character of Elizabeth (who narrates this story) is dealing with many of the same things I, and many of us, are experiencing now: economic anxiety, unhappiness in their career and life goals, and the questioning of NYC as a viable place to live. And this is all before the global pandemic! The title here could not be more apt -- in a world where we want things more than ever, how do we have comprehend that we actually can't have everything we want, not even get close? It's heartbreaking and soul crushing and at the same time, we probably have things that we take for granted that others want and would kill to have.

The writing is what really stands out in this book, as it doesn't have a standard plot structure and there isn't a truly satisfying conclusion (but hey, that's life.) It rolls off the page as a confession, or often as a stream of consciousness. It's often hard to be in her head though, because a lot of the time you want to slap some sense into her and then, quickly, you can relate to her neediness and it can stop you in your tracks. WANT is a complicated book, that asked complicated questions, and will probably leave many people with a bad taste in their mouths. This doesn't mean it doesn't need to be read though, it is a very interesting book for this specific moment in time.

Shelf Awareness for Readers Starred Review: In Lynn Steger Strong's Want, a deep sense of need and desire thrums beneath perfectly concise, staccato prose that tells the story of a woman caught in the frustrations (and fury) of living a life she never imagined for herself.

Elizabeth and her husband have several degrees, two children and a mountain of debt. On the brink of declaring bankruptcy, the two cobble together jobs to try to make ends meet. But keeping up appearances is starting to push Elizabeth over the edge. She leaves work to walk the city for hours on end. She texts her best friend from high school, with whom she has a fractured, nearly non-existent relationship as an adult. She contemplates asking her wealthy but eternally disappointed parents for money. Most importantly, she wants. She wants to understand the world, and her place in it. She wants to have a dream, a vision, hope. "I want to not be someone who says no all the time to every impulse," she says to herself, to no one, to anyone who will listen. "I want to not make every choice because it is my only choice."

The word "want" appears in the text more than 200 times in Strong's aptly titled novel, taking on every possible nuance and definition associated with it. The pages crackle with a sense of desire, of need, of desperation and hope and longing in this smart story of a woman who wants--no, needs--to find herself, rather than acquiescing to what others want for and from her. Want is a novel of modern womanhood that is not to be missed.

I have no doubt that if you read a series of reviews on Want you will find a wide variety of opinions, It’s definitely not a book for everyone, but I loved it! Want is exactly what works for me: a character-driven story and a woman a little lost in her own world. In this case Elizabeth, a Phd in Literature, cannot seem to find work that fulfills her. She and her husband are on the brink of bankruptcy and they have two little girls who Elizabeth often feels like she’s failing. Elizabeth tells her own story in which Steger Strong cleverly chose not to name many of the characters. Instead, they were referred to as The Chilean author, the quadrilingual friend, the infertile couple, etc. Even her daughters were never named. I think this all added to the sense of depression, confusion and longing for change that permeated Elizabeth’s life. While the action is small in this story, the emotion is big and you know I always love those angst-ridden women!

Note: I received a copy of this book from Henry Holt and Co. (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest thoughts.

It was interesting to see how the author touches upon so many important issues within the plot and the fluid writing was really worth mentioning. Some issues I did feel could have been more dwelled upon to get the readers understand better. It does leave you with a lot of thought-provoking questions in your own life.

Somehow the plot could have been even better if there was more detail available for the reader but worth reading for sure!

In Lynn Steger Strong's "Want", Elizabeth lives in New York with her husband and two young girls. She is well-educated with a PhD, but is holding down two jobs, and her and her husband are filing for bankruptcy. She comes from a wealthy family but has complicated relationships with her parents. Elizabeth spends most of the book trying to tread above water, using some healthy and unhealthy tactics. She grew up a runner and continues to get up early and run long distances as a way to cope with the uncertainty in her life. She teaches high schoolers, and hates the job, but also advocates for her students. She walks out of work frequently, making excuses, knowing because she has an Ivy-league Ph.D., she is privileged unlike the other teachers who work harder, because the school would never let someone like her go. She reads all the time as a break from reality. She also spends an inordinate amount of time tracking the online status of one of her friends from young adulthood.

In this book, Strong highlights a generation of young adults who struggle with student debt, medical bills, and just trying to keep their lives together in uncertain economic times. Using the daily drudgery of Elizabeth's schedule illuminates this well. There are some areas of this book that are touched on (e.g., side plots about sexual harassment) that are not fully developed enough to keep the reader engaged in. And because of Elizabeth's privilege, even though she's struggling financially and unhappy, at times she can be unsympathetic with some of the things she does throughout the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for this advance e-book for review.

The author is, obviously, so talented and her words capture the feelings evoked. It was so timely and the author incorporated so many reflections on today's society. However, I had difficulty getting into the story and never quite connected with its message.

I’ll be honest: It took me a little while to get into this book, though I’m not sure why. For perhaps the first fourth of the book, I didn’t necessarily dislike the book, but I definitely felt like I had to push myself to pick it up and found my mind wandering while reading it. It simply didn’t engage me in the way I wanted it to, but I’m the kind of person who finishes every book they start, so I forged through nonetheless.
This book proved to me why I’m so resistant to putting a book down before giving it a full chance.
Partway through reading, something just clicked for me. I can’t remember exactly what line it was, but I remember thinking, “Holy shit, I have definitely felt this way but never found a way to verbalize it.” This is what worked best for me about ‘Want’—there was something so relatable about the unnamed main character’s desires and experiences, from her conflicted relationship with her husband to her codependent friendship with Sasha. The main character was so many things—a daughter, a mother, a wife, a friend, a mentor, a pupil—and through each of these roles, we see so many conflicting emotions and wants that feel, above all else, human. I'd say it's worth a read for that alone.

I did not finish this book - I didn't post the review as to not negatively affect future reader's opinions. I was nearly 1/3 of the way in and there had not been even an inkling of a climax coming. I found myself struggling to pick up the book. The writing was nice, but it was not for me.

A taut, well written novel that explores "wants" in many forms and variations. Stenger Strong's novel follows Elizabeth as she navigates her under fulfilled life in New York. A reengagement with a former friend brings Elizabeth's life to a head. While the writing is very strong in the novel, Elizabeth is a character that comes from high-privilege, and this made it sometimes difficult to fully connect with some of the difficulties in her life, as they felt, at times manufactured. However, this novel still provides an insightful and poignant investigation into female desire and needs and investigates many important questions, including the existential ones about seeming to have so much, yet wanting so much more, or, something different, something beyond grasp.

This book pulled me in early and did not let me go until long after I finished the last page. It felt like a long conversation with a very trusted friend. Weaving in ideas about dreams and hopes, reality and stability, anxiety, mental health and motherhood. The book raised questions for me about what it means to follow a dream, to be a 'good parent' to be financially responsible. As I would in a conversation with a friend, I found myself rooting for and empathizing with the main characters she and her husband navigate adulthood.

2.5 Stars

This is a well-written story, but there was just something about it that I couldn’t connect to. It felt like there was so much internalization and many things felt unresolved. I really, really struggled with the writing style on this one. Some great books come from this publisher, so I didn’t hesitate to check out this new-to-me author, but the extremely internalized, subdued writing felt forced. That combined with a lackluster plot and a couple of frustrating elements have me dropping this rating lower than I normally go. There were parts of it that I liked, but they were far outweighed by the things I took issue with. This story has a lot of potential, but I feel like it only scratched the surface.

That cover is absolutely stunning!

An amazing look into the life of a married thirtysomething in today's day and age, coping with the stresses of city life with a husband, kids, and financial burdens while trying to keep her head above water and find the light at the end of the tunnel in healthy and unhealthy ways. Truly amazing.

The main character of Want hold a PhD in English Lit, but is struggling to cobble together jobs outside of the tenure track, while taking care of two small children, wading through a difficult relationship with her parents, and longing for a friendship that has fizzled away. The style of the writing took me a little bit to get into- it's different than I've encountered before. For example, most of the characters don't have names. Once I got used to it though, I was hooked. As an academic myself, I've sat across from this character in seminar rooms and I read their Facebook statuses now. I really loved how messy the whole story was too. I felt like it really captured the reality of so many millennials.

I loved this radical novel of empathy, seeing, and disappearing. WANT is a close look at privilege, family, whiteness, boundaries, class, work --the big things seen through an intimate gaze. I read this in a single sitting. The clarity of WANT is what sets it apart from the dreary books coming out right now. A true gem. Everyone should read it.

The cover alone is enough to entice a reader into this book. Although the narrator remains nameless, it’s a powerful story of a teacher who struggles with helping her students at an underfunded charter school and the students are all of color and economically struggling. Our narrator, herself lives in a tiny Brooklyn apartment with her husband and two daughters. Surrounded by the struggle to survive and be a good parent, she feels isolated and alone. I feel the author is trying to shed light on privilege, white liberalism, and social problems. While interesting, I had trouble connecting with the story line.

Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Lynn Steger Strong for an advance copy of Want in return for my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I really appreciate it when an author is bold enough to not just write a happy ending story or even a cheerful story at all! Readers needing a happy ending to the books they select may not be please with the journey this story takes them on. This is an honest tale that shows the reality that everything in life will not always turn out in the end.

I found the main character Elizabeth very relatable and engaging as I read her very personal saga. After completing the novel I found myself reflecting on relationships/friendships of my own that have been neglected and how I have to take responsibility for not striving harder to keep them intact.

A very thought-provoking read!

Elizabeth’s life is a mess, but then again, isn’t everyone’s right now? There were multiple times throughout the story when I felt similarly in my own life’s experiences. While I have an advanced degree myself and have never found myself struggling to keep a job, there have been a few occasions in which I don’t feel as if I am allowed to do my job, rather I’m slogging away for the system. Elizabeth offers glimpses into the complicated world of motherhood too; the mundane chaos that threatens to strip away your very soul.

I didn’t always love her character...skipping out on your job certainly isn’t the best way to improve a financial situation. She also carried on friendships with strange dynamics, however, upon further thought, these may have been replacements for her troubled parental relationships.

At times, I found the chapter structure distracting, as time jumped between present and future without much warning, forcing me to often reread sections.

Thank you Netgalley and Henry Holt & Co for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

“I want to tell her that I’m scared I’m too wore out, worn down, that this constant anxious ache that I have now isn’t about my job or kids or all the ways life isn’t what it should be, that maybe it’s just me, it’s most of who I am.”

Imagine, if you will, the most extreme case of stream of consciousness you could possibly imagine, and that will give you some idea what it's like to read Want. Oddly though, I didn't hate it. In fact, it almost felt like a guilty pleasure as I flew through this story about a woman's inner turmoil in the face of a dead-end job, bankruptcy, a strained parental relationship, anxiety and depression, motherhood, and an old friendship which brings feelings of guilt to the forefront.

Narrated entirely by Elizabeth, we're given a glimpse into the lives of so many families today (particularly in the summer of 2020, when unemployment rates have skyrocketed), who have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet.
“We were eighties babies,” Elizabeth explains, “born of plenty, cloistered by our whiteness and the places we were raised … we were both brought up to think that if we checked off certain boxes we’d be fine.”

Lynn Steger Strong unapologetically gives readers an unflinching, first-hand look at womanhood in the twenty-first century, in addition to the workings of the so-called middle class America.

Recommend for those who enjoy literary, artsy-type novels.

3.5 stars
Available for purchase now!

**My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for my review copy.

In Want, I got to around the 11% mark and thought to myself, "Goodness, what is this dreadful monotony, and how long will it go on?" I flipped a few pages to see that the chapter had no end in immediate sight and decided to leave alone. While I understand that Strong was likely trying to make a point about the monotony, it didn't hit the mark. People have their own monotonous lives to lead and we didn't need hers, particular wrapped so tightly in her whiteness which, in today's climate particularly, was also off-putting and annoying in a narrator.

This one just wasn’t for me. There was very little dialogue so it felt more like observations of Elizabeth’s life which I had a hard time engaging with. The time line was also a bit fluid which threw me off a few times. It was an interesting and timely view of privilege, marriage, motherhood and friendship but I prefer a more uplifting story and this one was heavy and dark for my liking. I found the style similar to that found in "Writers & Lovers" by Lily King so if you enjoyed that book you will probably love this one as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co for allowing me to read a pre-release of this novel in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.