Oh, George.

Kate Greathead’s THE BOOK OF GEORGE (publishes October 8, 2024) features … wait for it … George, a white man who is given all the structural advantages in life and still seems to underachieve. The commentary on mediocre child-like white men in this book is fascinating.

The reader does see where George learned to not be accountable: his family. His mother Ellen, notably, let him get away with things as his only boy and his youngest and didn’t take her mothering seriously, particularly after Denis left. It’s not like George came out of the womb entitled.

George is not wholly unlikeable. Sure, he’s inconsiderate when he wants to be. He’s lazy a lot of the time. You just want to give him a kick in the butt. And you want his on again-off again girlfriend Jenny to realize that she is too good for George and put his sorry self behind her.

There are a vast number of scenes in this book to pick from as the most “George.” The scene that pisses me off the most when Jenny comes over to pack his crap while he plays video games.

There are a lot of small vignettes in this novel that really show off George’s immaturity. The author is a very deft writer down to the sentence because I could take so much from even a paragraph. I suppose it comes down to how I questioned spending my reading time on this underachieving white man when I could have been reading about more interesting and motivated characters who engage with the world in other books.

I genuinely enjoy stories that follow a small handful of characters over a large chunk of time. I love when an author is able to pull this off with the character development. I think the overall plot of this redeemed this book for me as almost all of the characters made me irrationally angry and didn’t seem to develop much. I kept waiting for George to grow up. I kept waiting for Jenny to STAND up. I’m glad Jenny finally left him to do her own thing but it should have happened much sooner. The ending made me concerned for her but thankfully George walked away. Idk. I still enjoyed this a lot but it definitely frustrated me often lol

George is an ordinary chap with flickers of extraordinary talent that flitter in and out of his life at the most unpredictable moments. Despite George's completely unremarkable upbringing, general intelligence, and above average wit, he just can't seem to find a rhythm in life. Things, for whatever reason, don't have a way of working out for George. But whether this is because of life's unpredictability or because of George's tendency to allow the smallest inconvenience to upturn his day, it's hard to say. George is particular, you see. George also gets blue; not just the fleeting, everybody-feels-it type of blue, but the kind that settles over his days, weeks, and months like a cloak of quiet despair. And when George gets blue, you see, all momentum in his life comes to a screeching halt.

George tries, he really does. He just can't get it together.

"The Book of George" is a simple, endearing-in-moments, offbeat story that follows George across four decades of his life. Through childhood, his school years, a painfully on-and-off again relationship with the well-intentioned Jenny, and into his career years, "The Book of George" follows George through ordinary days and ordinary decisions that ultimately weave tapestry of his ordinary life.

Why the three stars then? Simply put, this book could have been so, so much more had it spanned a longer time (George's entire life, perhaps?) and gone deeper when it had so much opportunity to do so. This still-enjoyable, still laugh-out-loud-funny novel's mistake was sitting in the ordinary too long and coasting on it right until the (rather forgettable) end to the story. In an age where character-driven fiction is seemingly everywhere, "The Book of George" needed more of a compelling emotional quality to pull me all the way in.

Between a 3 and 3.5? This book was totally not what I thought it would be! This was a character study of a George -- a George who just can't seem to get it together. An "Eeyore" schtick. The entirety of the novel is told from his point of view until brilliantly brought back to his ex-girlfriend Jenny. The story was understated but smart in observation.

George leads a charmed and cursed life -- cursed, most often, by his inability to commit to a course or a person. He is sure he could be and do more, but he seems incapable of taking the steps to do so, whether that is committing to his long-suffering girlfriend, Jenny, or committing to a lasting career. As we see George's life in pieces over twenty years, we observe the promise and heartbreak of George for Jenny, his mother, his friends and, most of all, himself.

This is a touching and perceptive novel. George is a complicated character in the best way, and the author portrays how the greatest obstacle in so many people's lives is themselves.

Highly recommended!

George, hey, dude, get your sh*t together. Here’s a privileged white dude who is good looking and pretty smart and glides along and even has some pretty great successes. Yet he’s so non committal, always getting in his own way. He’s frustrating, funny, probably needs a good therapist and I’m sure you know someone or someone’s brother like him. I really enjoyed the writing and the character study but know it won’t be for everyone. If you like Adelaide and all it’s sturm and drang as well as the movie Boyhood pick this one up.
4.25

The Book of George is a novel that follows George, obviously, as he goes from being a slightly misguided teenager to being an awfully misguided adult. George seems like the very definition of ‘unreliable narrator’ and he struggles. The trouble is that because the novel spans twenty-plus years, it never really gives the struggle and trouble quite enough detail and reason. It’s more of a passing glance because there’s so much more time to cover.

The main plot seems to be how George is affected by the series of events that mark and mar the first twenty years of the 21st century. George blames a lot of his struggles on those outside events, never quite reaching his potential as he has a ‘reason’ for everything that he doesn’t quite do. And, in a sense, that’s a normal human life.

But it doesn’t make for the sort of novel that most appeals to me. Not at this point in my life - which sounds like a George-sort of answer, I know.

While I appreciate the journey George goes on, wayward and rambling and odd though it is, I think it’s just too soon for me to read novels that use 9/11, MAGA and Trumpism, and COVID as plot points. I read for escapism. Especially those second two are every day reality and I can’t escape or relax with them. I will try reading it again one day.

I really liked this book! We read about George for about 40 years of his life with its ups and downs. Kate Greathead really conjures up a realistic story of a guy who basically wanders around his life and of how to be a millennial. I liked it way more than I thought I would.

I am not sure why the blurb keeps bringing up The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P which neither was a good book nor remarkable.

Thank you for the ARC!

The Book of George by Kate Greathead
thank you to Henry Holt for the chance to read this novel early by sending me an advanced copy. on bookshelves October 8.
Overview: George is a genius. Then he's a man-child. A predictable tragedy that befalls many precocious children. George's life fails to launch after college. He meets a girl that would give him her entire world but he squanders it one careless, dirty dish at a time. He's incapable of caring for himself, of doing for himself, of making things happen for himself. Or maybe incapable is the wrong word. George simply refuses to do it. The Book of George is hilarious, but it's also a quiet tragedy of every day life. Overall: 4.5

Characters: 5 If An Abundance of Katherines grew up, it would become The Book of George, and I find that uniquely delicious. George is a brainy, awkward child. Then he's an average college student, paralyzed by perfectionism and indecision. He's unable to choose a path, doesn't devote himself to a career–even when his girlfriend takes on supporting him to allow him to write full time, an unproven voice. George spends the entire novel depending on others because he can. Largely, he lives with his mother or with his girlfriend, in what is essentially her apartment. George fails to launch because he fails to try, and he is enabled in this pursuit. George is infuriating, but there's just enough to keep you hoping he'll get his shit together as the decades go on.
George's world is mostly filled by his family and Jenny. George and Jenny date various times over the course of the novel. They love each other, but as the book observes at one point, there's a certain doom in their original dynamic. Meeting so young, being so impressionable settled bad patterns into the bones of their relationship. It's fascinating to watch the problems develop from this original symptom. Jenny is framed as maybe not the brightest, overly well intentioned, but a large part of that seems to be George simplifying who she is in the service of his own narrative. This creates an interesting layer to the characterization in the novel. His sister is the biggest advocate for their breakup, from her firm belief that Jenny believes more. This says horrible things about me, but George's older sister Cressida might be the character I relate to most. His mother struggles with enabling George out of love and being incredibly frustrated with the way he lives his life. It is all so painfully realistic.

Plot: 4 The book takes place almost as a series of vignettes scattered across the decades of George's life. Sometimes, they come from a single year, sometimes a span of a few that run together. For each chunk of life there's a few scenes paired together that exemplify where George is at in life. You never know who George is going to have in his life, where he's going to live, or how he's going to make money when you get dropped down in a new phase. This allowed Greathead to take a very slice of life approach while keeping the pacing up.

Writing: 5 Greathead has a command of voice that truly blew me away. Especially in a third person novel, there's a rarity in books achieving characters that fully explode off the page like George does. This is somewhat ironic considering that the whole concept of George is that he's any millennial man. He's an animated archetype. The start of the flap copy literally reads, "If you haven't had the misfortune of dating a George, you know someone who has." She does a fantastic job of building out a world and progressing through it in a way that reveals all of George's foibles while making him compelling.
It's funny that there seems to be a trend this year in books written by women about lost, child-like millennial men fumbling their light in the tunnel relationships and their careers and everything else in life. Dolly Alderton's latest novel, Good Material, also comes to mind. Perhaps, this is because the final chapter gives the girlfriend the final word.

I adored this author’s debut novel “Laura & Emma” so was thrilled to get an advance of her new book from NetGalley. Love him, hate him, cringe at him - George is a fully drawn character that I won’t forget (maybe I even dated him in college?). I was entertained throughout as the life of George unfolds from childhood to mid-life - I love books that tell the story of a life. This book is big on character, light on plot - the perfect balance for this reader. I can’t wait until other readers get to meet George.

This was good! George is now the new descriptor for the white, clueless, self centered millennial man. I shout to the heavens, KAREN! And the masses instantly understand the reference and recoil. This character study is absolute perfection. I know soooo many Georges - hell, my brother is GEORGE!!! And yet you still like George, you can't help yourself, even though George is downright intolerable and you just FEEL for everyone surrounding him. The writing was simply fantastic, I was never bored and just sat back for the ride.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed the author's writing style and appreciated the format of seeing the MC, George, at various points of his life, I think this is a book that just wasn't for me. I had little interest in George as a character - maybe he reminded me of an ex-boyfriend or two - and found myself rolling my eyes by his antics and interactions with others. He was truly an unlikable character, which I know is kind of the point, but I kept reading in hopes that he would have more character development and felt like by the end of the book, there was actually very little, which had me feeling disappointed.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

4.5 Stars

This was a very interesting character study of "George". We follow him as he boards at college and navigates life into his late thirties. A drug that is given for anxiety and depression is mentioned a few times in the book, so we get a glimpse into the fact that he "has issues". He can't seem to focus on a plan of any sort and execute whether it's meaningful employment, romantic relationships, or even to box up his childhood bedroom when the house is being sold and the movers are coming tomorrow. He'd most likely get caught up in playing a game on the GameBoy device he unearthed until he passed all the levels, or taking a long nap. He takes people for granted, makes snarky jokes/comments rather than give kudos to people who deserve it, and has philosophical insights- albeit often cynical. He can also be thoughtless and selfish. While this all sounds negative, this realistic composite of a man with psychological issues was very thought-provoking, as these unattractive traits can be found in many people we know, and even inside ourselves. His long-suffering girlfriend Jenny played a great counterpoint to George's personality, as well as his mother Ellen, who both held George to account for his failings. It was possible to sympathize with George's character because he received the criticism, understood his imperfections, was apologetic...although he was apt to fail again. Many of his cynicisms rang true and were humorous. This was a book that exceeded my expectations.

Thank you to the publisher Henry Holt & Company who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

I tried multiple times to get into this book, and I couldn’t get farther than page 50. It felt like the story dragged and I couldn’t find something interesting to latch onto in order to continue reading. The story follows George in different stages of his life.

Thank you for sending me an ARC in exchange for a review.

loved this… laughed out loud several times which is rare for me! george is not “likeable” but he is a little lovable

An incredibly well-written book spanning almost four decades. It was so interesting to see how real life events unfolded in George's personal life. The characters are all wonderfully crafted. I look forward to Greathead's next book.

Thank you to the publisher for my e-copy.

Ooof this book hit close to home in all the worst best ways. George was a complete asshole who couldn’t find happiness no matter what he did. George is my ex, down to the places he and Jenny lived. Wow.

I will post on 8/1/24
Thanks to @netgalley and @henryholtbooks for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Millennial George has parents and a sister that care about him. He graduated from college, but can’t settle on a career. He seems to be a free spirit riddled with anxiety. He is likable, and we all know someone like him. George will never be homeless or hungry, because someone is always there to help him. He even had a long-term girlfriend he could not commit to when she declared she wanted to have a child.
I was rooting for George to get his act together, and enjoyed reading a very realistic tale of a good person during two decades of their life. He was in college during 911 and the story ended with COVID.

What a strange novel this one is! Glad I read it thru NetGalley, characters are interesting but also frustrating. But I guess that is the point

The Book of George is a portrait of an uninspired man of millennial heritage. George is the protagonist in this novel. He moves in and out of a series of blundering romantic episodes with Jenny, his long suffering girlfriend, while he also searches haphazardly for a professional identity. For anyone other than a millennial, George would be a tragic hero. But George doesn’t try hard enough to be tragic. He haplessly treads water as he watches the collapse of the twin towers, a great recession, and COVID stream past him. George’s well developed character in Greathead’s novel is nuanced, not pigeonholed into a generational milieu by gender or situation. He is brilliantly designed to present a portrait of his position in the world that a reader can experience without an accompanying lecture. Great novels about generations do this with their characters. For examples, one need only think about Fitzgerald’s Gatsby or Hemingway’s Jake Barnes, both of them flawed, haunted by inner turmoil, and trapped in their lost generation. Greathead’s prose beautifully paints a portrait of George, focusing on his individual strengths and weaknesses, as opposed to his social circumstances. A reader of any generation can easily identify with George’s skirmishes with anger and Jenny’s deep irrational love for George. In the end, the reader wants to go back to the first page and read the entire novel again in order to soak up all the delicate images hiding in Greathead’s words about the millennial ennui that George and Jenny experience.