So, THE BOOK OF GEORGE. I didn’t actually find it funny but I must admit, I know George, or a few Georges, and yes, the book is very realistic. It’s something akin to a birdwatching exercise; it’s amazing to realize that everything I thought was idiosyncratic was apparently not. They are character traits that author Kate Greathead has pulled together and presented in a series of decadal snapshots that vary little over the course of time. George is someone who isn’t emerging into adulthood; he is permanently in a state of becoming …. What he already is. And that lack of development, that failure to launch in spite of so much potential creates the tension in his life and for everyone who cares for him. This well written book is fast and entertaining. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

What a train wreck. I am convinced this book was only written to make boomers feel better about raising mediocre millennial white dudes. If this was a commentary on the fragility of millennial masculinity, it made me hate privileged white guys even more. Pass!

Thanks to Henry Holt & Co., and NetGalley for the audiobook, ebook, and physical ARC of this title. It published today, October 8, 2024.

I didn't like The Book of George at first, as I thought it was going to deal heavily with themes I find triggering. I do not like stories about unavailable and uninvested parents and the damage they do to their children, especially if the text gives this kind of parenting a pass. Only a few pages into this one, and already I didn't think I would like it or finish it. By the time he and Cressida were teenagers, Ellen seemed to view them as fully formed people who were going to do what they were going to do. She supported their endeavors and applauded their successes, but their accomplishments were not a particular source of pride for her. Nor was she inclined to interpret their struggles as a referendum on her mothering. p7 But clearly the writing is good, and I tend to give books at least 50 pages.

But, I was very wrong about where this story places its energy. It's still about crappy parenting, if you read between the lines. I actually love the way the suthor writes the MMC's mother, omnipresent while never there, her mark left on him long into his adulthood.

If you need a book about somewhat crappy people who were produced by truly crappy parenting, you will probably love this book. As it turns out, I do love this book, despite an ambiguous ending and a lack of resolution. Sometimes those elements are the *right* way to end a book!

Reading Notes

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. I like the expressions Greathead uses. They are not idioms but they feel familiar like idioms do. He had a sad, Sunday feeling, though it was still Saturday. p96

2. These characters make me sad! George is just like my M (whose middle name is actually George). It hurts me so much how the author and all the other characters disapproves of him. They always want to be something morw than what he is. But the secret to Georges is to show them acceptance. Love of the unconditional sort, since they probably have never experienced it. Some people just end up...affected...by their parents' shortcomings and other traumas they dealt with in childhood. I feel like I love George more than I'm supposed to, more than the author meant me to, more even than the author is maybe capable of loving a George. It's a very weird reading experience.

3. Like many mentally ill people are, George is very aware of how his symptoms affect the people around him, and he cares about it. “I just want to make sure you know how much I appreciate you. And how supportive you are. You’re the wind in my sails.” Jenny made a sound that was like a laugh. “I mean it,” George said. “I know I’m a lot. I don’t know how you put up with me sometimes.” p180

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. "...make things that look like things." The worst kind of redundancy – the intentional and unclever kind.

2. Ellen, George's mom, is such an unreliable character. I'm not sure what to make of it yet. *edit The development of this character (?) turns out quite cleverly. Best thing about the end has to do with this character. It's the only resolution the book offers.

Rating: ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹 /5 insensitive characters.
Recommend? Yes
Finished: Oct 20 '24
Format: Digital arc, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
❤️‍🩹 dysfunctional love
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 family stories, family drama
🧑 boy's coming of age
🔥 slow burn

Thank you to the author Kate Greathead, publishers Henry Holt & Co., and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of The Book of George. All views are mine.

I recommend this book on audio so that you get the style and tone the narration offers, I felt it was more engaging to listen to this one as compared to sitting and reading the book.

Thank you Henry Holt and MacMillan audio for The Book of George. I loved Blair Baker's narration, I valued that it was a female voice telling the story because Jenny, oh Jenny, she deserved to have the book narrated by a woman who could offer the wryly astute tone needed to appreciate Greathead's story. I 100% know a George, I might even have taught a few and be related to a few..., so I loved the way Greathead captures the meandering lack of focus that George has, his oblivious white maleness that somehow ensures he seems to kind of land of his feet/not have to take responsibility for himself (ouch, that might be a personal issue I have with a George I know...). I felt for Jenny, how she was strung along, but I felt Greathead did a good job helping us see Jenny as her own person even as I felt for her and the Jenny's I know (if we know George's then we also know Jenny's). this is a resonant story that did remind me of the early 2000s when I was finishing college and starting grad school, of the odd detachment that often pervades that time in development, and what arrested development (psychoanalytically speaking) can look like.

A well written character study of our man George in little vignettes. Thoroughly enjoyable and as thoughtless and selfish as he can be , highly relatable.

I was an early reader of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P back in 2013 so I jumped at the chance to read The Book of George when I saw the blurb comparing the too. While interconnected stories are not usually my thing, I thought the Book of George was a good fit for the style choices. George is a clueless, listless young man who can't quite commit and relies on his mom a bit much. Through a series of stories, Greathead paints George's life, forcing the reader to grudgingly sympathize with George, in spite of his many failings.

This book is definitely not for everyone. George is an entitled, unlikeable man with a lot of privilege and a lack of self-awareness. I think Greathead was successful and if the book finds the right reader it will be a solid read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

That said, this book was not for me. While there were a few humorous scenes, overall it was just meh. Boring, and unremarkable.

I would not recommend this book.

Fawning, Servile, Struggling Young Man

In fourteen linked stories, Kate Greathead seizes the essence of a young man who does not capture opportunities. Because he cannot zero in and make a decision regarding the use of his intellect and talent, he can continue to flounder. The main character, George does not thrive, has difficulty making decisions. The author is ready. In her epigraph she refers to a letter written by his mother over two hundred years ago to Arthur Schopenhauer who she finds “irritating and unbearable”.

Two hundred years later, the present day reader is confronted with Greathead’s George in fourteen linked stories. George is intellectually capable but his constant indecisiveness restricts him from picking a major in college. Later he wonders why employers are not interested in him and ends up as an incompetent waiter .

The stories move George through the years but not to any success in the great world of making a living or impressing important people with any original ideas. When his uncle gets him a job at a hedge fund, George feels he is better than those financial people and doesn’t belong there either. He does have a relationship with a worthy woman, Jenny, but he needs to apologize to her for so many things. He is good at pleading, but terrible on following through on his promises.

The strongest element in this book is candor. George has been unsuccessful with colleagues and women. George does not understand why he is not getting all these good things. After all, he is a privileged white guy, and he is smart.

My gratitude to NetGalley and Holt publishing for this pre-published book. All opinions expressed are my own

Everyone knows a George, but you probably don’t want to hang out with a George. He’s self-righteous without having the ability to actuate anything, he needs someone to take care of him but doesn’t have the ability to reciprocate in a meaningful way, and well, he’s just annoying. George is not a bad person, he’s just George.

I went against my better judgement and read/listened to this novel even though I didn’t like the books it’s compared to. I’m not mad about it, I’ve thought the book a bit since I finished it and the writing is very good (plus it has my alma mater in it so that was fun). My personal issue is that I can’t read about such an annoying self righteous character for an entire novel. I get that’s the point of this novel so I do not fault the author, I fault the reader and that is me. If you like this sort of pompous annoying guy and you can tolerate a novel about him - this is a very well written one. I thought the choice of a female narrator for the audio was clever and made the character a much more tolerable person and I did enjoy her reading of the novel.

3.5 stars

thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt

The book of George by Kate Greathead is a book about George we meet as a teenager in piggyback his life until the age of 38. With his on again off again relationship with Jenny to his superior notions about the simple things that make us civil to all the contradictions that make a persons life especially and uninspired mail in the 21st-century that is the book of George. For men like George who have the luck of a Jenny, nepotism and enough family connections to call being unemployed you writing a book that never materializes a credible event then put it down to someone who hasn’t yet found his way but lower the economic tear and take away all the advantages George had and it’s called something completely different. I found a book at first entertaining but each chapter was more of the same I thought maybe it would end in some type of redemption or seeing his way through but I was sadly disappointed by this book although there were parts that were really funny. I don’t think this is a book I will read again in the future as I only marginally found it entertaining but to each his own and some one else may enjoy it. #NetGalley, #HenryHoltAndCompany, #KateGreathead, #TheBookOfGeorge,

Inexplicably, George was the perfect name for this frustrating character. Kate Greathead cleverly painted a vivid picture of George – stubborn, narcissistic, inconsiderate towards others, self-deprecating, & pessimistic. He is someone we have all welcomed in our lives out of pity and painfully parted with from utter exhaustion and failure to reach. Although we see glimpses of his self-realization in spurts, our hope is thwarted by George’s inability to shift. Ironically, the author is speaking to the nature of humans in general – they rarely transform, even throughout a lifetime.
The author excelled in writing a compelling character like George but struggled to weave a cohesive storyline that wasn't centered entirely on him. Putting aside a very uninspiring, yet very Geroge-esque ending, the characters I desperately wanted to know more about were the females in his life; Jenny, his long-time on-and-off girlfriend, Ellen, his mother, and Cressida, his sister. Maybe there could be a follow-up, “The Book of Not-George”
As a whole, this book was a pleasure to read. Kate Greathead’s writing style is top-notch and paints the perfect tapestry for us as readers to understand the intricacies of George, as frustrating and painful as they might be.

This is like the origin story for someone’s terrible boyfriend. George is not a monster, but he’s not particularly attentive or empathetic. He leaves the chores—and the breadwinning—to his girlfriend while he spends years half-heartedly working on his unpublished novel. While he thinks he has the potential for achieve his goals, he hasn’t actually gotten around to pursuing them yet. This book follows George from his childhood to his late thirties, watching those around him mature while he remains stagnant.

This is an odd little novel, but I enjoyed it. It sticks close to George’s perspective, so there’s some satisfying dramatic irony when he can’t see how maddening he’s being, but we, the reader, can. If anyone else has read the Adrian Mole books, think of this as their modern American cousin. There were some moments that were genuinely laugh-out-loud funny. I’m still not sure how I felt about the ending, but the more I sit with it, the more I’ve come to appreciate it.

I’ve been fortunate enough not to date a George, but I recognized some friends’ exes in his behaviour. Even more alarming, I recognized the ugliest parts of myself. While no one should be a lifelong, full-time George, we all have our moments of entitlement, hard-headedness and laziness. This book is a reminder to work hard and treat people well…because there’s a bit of George in each of us.

I really enjoyed reading this book! I thought it was fun and thoughtful. George will frustrate you, but he can also be funny. I enjoyed this one a lot!

This story was intriguing, with complex characters, but George's insufferable tendencies grew with each page. While I kept an open mind while reading, my dislike for the main character made it difficult to connect with the rest of the story. I loved Kate Greathead's writing and the ability to make an unlikable character so unlikable is skill on her end. He is extremely self-centered and occasionally funny in a self-deprecating way. I think there will be many people who can see aspects of themselves in George, allowing them to resonate and take away morals from this book.

Thank you, Henry Holt for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Book of George by Kate Greathead is a funny and interesting novel.
I thought the wrong some was super engaging and kept me turning the pages.
The characters are relatable, complex and interesting.
I really enjoyed this story Sam’s found it to be a great and intriguing story.

Thank You NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Told in vignettes of George’s life from age 12 to nearly 40, The Book of George is a thoughtful examination of the ennui of millennial masculinity. George is, to put it simply, insufferable. He relies on his charm and privilege to skate through life, enabled by the women around him. He’s depressed and accomplishing little but also exerting the minimum amount of effort, seeming to expect that things will be handed to him. He’s selfish, self-centered, occasionally funny, and sometimes cruel. Despite George being nearly completely unlikable, the prose is compelling and Kate Greathead is a gifted storyteller.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for providing me an advance copy of this book.

In 14 linked vignettes, Kate Greathead traces the “maturation” of George, a man who epitomizes the phrase “arrested development,” from the ages of 12 to 38. George’s misdeeds, such as neglecting to do homework in the tenth grade but being surprised when he is not accepted to a single Ivy, and his indisciveness in picking a college major because he believed that he was exceptional and never felt the need to hone a particular skill set or talent, could be initially dismissed as immature, egocentric or awkward (rather than callous).

But his actions as George ages, like his neglect of his father, whose love of expensive clothes caused an irreconcilable rupture in George’s parents’ marriage, cannot be so blithely ignored. George’s career as a waiter is cut short by a panic attack, his cushy internship at his godfather’s hedge fund could not quell his depression, nor could his off the books job as a dog walker for rich dog owners. His aspirations of becoming an author suffered from what his long-suffering, but perpetually sunny girlfriend, Jenny, referred to as his “George-problem.” She told him, “It might benefit your writing if you weren’t so wrapped up in yourself.” As Jenny gently critiques him, and as George reflects on Jenny’s criticisms, he becomes a character who we can’t help but root for. Thank you Henry Holt & Company and Net Galley for this wry view of George and, well, men.

I tried, really tried to get through this book. I kept asking what the point was. If it was to introduce a rather unlikeable character and go through his life in stages, then it is. Everything else about the book is not anything I wanted to know.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Oh, George. In The Book of George, we follow George’s life from adolescence through early adulthood. He’s a fascinating character—self-centered, cynical, kind, funny, gloomy, often stumbling through life, hesitant to take control. There's something deeply familiar about his journey.

Most of the book is told through the lens of his relationships with the women in his life—his mom, his sister, and his on-again, off-again girlfriend—who each challenge and enable him in different ways.

There were times when I was really rooting for George, charmed by his sweetness, and just hoping things would work out for him. But just as often, I found myself exasperated by his selfishness and lack of awareness. Despite his flaws, the writing was so smooth and compelling. I enjoyed the way the chapters were divided into different phases of his life, effectively marking the passage of time.

Surprisingly funny and ultimately hopeful, The Book of George left a lasting impression on me. I can’t wait to recommend it to my friends.

The Book of George tells the story of George’s life, from ages 12 to 38, via chapter vignettes. It’s a deep dive character study about a guy bumbling through life wondering when his life will happen and if he’ll ever grow up. The problem is George’s superior, self-important attitude. It’s a hinderance to his everyday life and limits his ability to truly connect to other people.

My takeaway from The Book of George is that, as a society, we are on the brink of creating a generation of Georges by constantly enabling bad behavior and praising mediocre achievements ... if we haven’t already. George, while quite unlikeable, is also weirdly relatable which is why I think The Book of George will resonate with a lot of people. It would also be perfect for book clubs as there is a lot to discuss and it’s a quick, easy read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Hold and Company for the digital ARC of The Book of George.