This is an example of great writing and character development carrying a book along. Not much "happens" in the book of George and he's often an unlikeable person, but Kate Greathead's writing kept me compelled to keep reading and find out how things worked out--or not--for George. I was a bit disappointed by the end of the novel, both in that it switches point of view (for only this one chapter) and that the chapter felt a bit unsatisfying. Overall, a good read and I'm looking forward to seeing what Greathead does next.

The Book of George is an intensive study into George, a guy limping his way through life. Sometimes witty, often depressing, following this man throughout his life is nostalgic in many ways, we all knew a George, but mostly cringe inducing and frustrating. While realistic, it was hard to not see beyond his unlikability.

In The Book of George, you’re never going to believe this, but we follow George. From his birth to about present day. We sit with George, experiencing things with him, making choices with him, and dealing with the consequences of those choices. And boy are there consequences. George is a second child born in the mid 80s to an upper middle class suburban family. Immediately dealing with the strained relationship between his parents, George kicks off his life with a level of anxiety and depression. Awkward in youth, he seems to find his footing a bit more with an active social life during his college years, despite the tumultuous state of the world in the early 2000s. He then loses that footing post-college as he struggles with relationships, mental health, ambition, and finding his place in the world.

Technically, this was a well executed book. The writing is simple, but still interesting, never boring. I liked the chapter structure with each one being a new age somewhere in the future. There isn’t a strong overarching narrative, just a sequence of life events, but I don’t think that was a negative here. As you might expect, the characters were extremely well fleshed out, and I appreciated how distinct many of them were. Aside from George who we would expect to know the most, Jenny, Ellen, Cressida, and even Carrie all had distinct voices and very well developed personalities that complemented George’s.

I’ll be honest, based on the description of this book, I was expecting it to be funny. Like a comically cringe guy, landing himself into awkward situations that he has to dig himself out of, but through charm and ineptitude, we the reader can’t help but to root for him.

This was not that book. This was a book following an extremely unlikable main character as we get front row seats to his questionable life choices. We do get a seemingly never-ending sequence of supremely awkward social encounters which George seems to fumble and make worse time after time, but never with charm or humor. Just a deeply sad guy who can’t get a handle on his life.

I know that George isn’t supposed to be likable. I don’t need my protagonists or even side characters to be likable. But I do need something compelling to keep me interested in the story, and cringing chapter by chapter at the unfortunate circumstances George gets himself into was not an enjoyable experience. But again, I don’t necessarily need the reading experience to be enjoyable as long as it is compelling or thought provoking in some way. But there really was none of that here, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to reflect on or take away from this book.

I actually found the last chapter to be the most interesting and well executed. Being able to see George from another’s perspective and the complicated feelings one has after a life of knowing him I found to be rather emotional. Despite this sad guy constantly trying to find his way, there was still a level of love and appreciation for him by those around him. I can’t help but to feel like the whole book would have been stronger if we actually viewed George from others’ perspectives throughout. It wouldn’t have made him more likable, but I think we would have felt more deeply his impact on others in his life despite his never ending questionable decisions.

This book isn’t what I expected, and I didn’t find it to be an enjoyable reading experience. But I certainly wouldn’t say that it is bad. But while the execution is good, I found myself just not caring about it. Without a compelling narrative, I just found this to be, frankly, a pathetic slog through sad life events of a sad man. If that’s the kind of book you enjoy, pick this up, but I need a bit more substance than a series of cringe events.

I did not really like The Book of George. The characters were not likeable and very into themselves. Nothing really happened. To me, George seemed to suffer from depression and came off as pretentious. I kept waiting for him to get help or seek therapy but he never did. A lot of the book took place in Brooklyn and New York City so perhaps if I lived in that area I would have appreciated it more.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the advance reader copy of The Book of George.

I haven’t dated a George but I have parented one. Oh the frustration of it all! Kate Greathead nailed it with her portrayal of this young man from age 12 to almost 40. George is smart, handsome, witty yet he can’t seem to propel his life forward. So much potential but going nowhere. He is at times intolerable and its very easy to dislike him, but one can’t quite give up on him. George lives off the kindness of others, especially his mother and long suffering girlfriend Jenny. He is selfish, disregards the feelings of others and self-absorbed, but then in moments of clarity he recognizes these things about himself and is deeply ashamed. When opportunities came his way I rooted for him to grab them and make something of his life. Why can’t he get out of his own way?! I think we may all have a George in our life…maybe a son, a brother, a boyfriend. Kate Greathead doesn’t tell us what to do with George or how to “fix” him, but she presents him true to life with humor and honesty and it allows us to have a little more compassion for our own “George”. This is a five star read! Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company for the ARC.

3.25 ⭐️

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley!
Kate Greathead did an amazing job at writing a character I had 0 tolerance for but deeply cared for the outcome of. George is intolerable and a “failure” by conventional standards of society. It was a written like a contemporary classic, and was deeply intriguing. Points off purely for how it dragged at points, but an excellent read if you’re craving something just a tad off beat.

Oh, George! This was wonderful. The writing is sharp, compelling, and equally critical and fond of George.

George is easy to dislike and yet the author skillfully builds a character you can’t help but emphasize with to some extent (though every time he slights Jenny or takes her for granted, you go back to disliking him once more).

An easy five stars for this entertaining, hilarious, and touching read.

Thank you very much to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

George is insufferable and at the same time so depressingly relatable!
I really enjoyed The Book of George, it's cringy, it's funny, it's dark and I didn't want it to end.
We've all known or dated a George...but so many of us, 40 somethings, could be George!
Thank you, Netgalley, publisher, and author for the ARC.