The novel presents an intriguing and humorous exploration of the life of a woman named Hana. Set against a backdrop of both mundane and extraordinary scenarios, the story unfolds with a comical irreverence that captures the reader's attention from the very first page. It deftly weaves together themes that are often considered serious and heavy, such as the quest for freedom, the complexities of desire, the weight of domestic expectations, and the profound issues surrounding family dynamics, monogamy, and even suicide.

Hana is portrayed with a strikingly relatable charm, navigating through life with a mix of wit and vulnerability. Her journey reflects the absurdities and contradictions of modern existence, often leaving readers in stitches while simultaneously provoking thought. The author cleverly juxtaposes Hana's everyday encounters with existential musings, allowing for a unique blend of comedy and introspection.

The humor is woven into the fabric of the narrative—whether it's through Hana's quirky interactions with friends and family or the absurd situations she finds herself in. Yet, despite the lightheartedness, the book never shies away from addressing the deeper, often painful truths that lie beneath the surface. It challenges societal norms and expectations, prompting readers to reflect on their own lives and beliefs.

Through Hana’s eyes, we explore the delicate balance between personal desires and societal pressures. Strengthened by her unique perspective, the novel becomes a spirited commentary on the choices women face today, encouraging a dialogue about autonomy and the struggle to find one's voice amid the cacophony of external influences.

In essence, this novel is a thought-provoking tapestry of life that celebrates the human spirit. It reminds us that even in the darkest moments, humor and joy can coexist, illuminating the path toward self-discovery and acceptance. As Hana embarks on her journey, readers are invited to laugh, ponder, and perhaps even find solace in her story—a testament to the complexity of life itself.

I could not put this book down and I was bereft when it ended. I could listen to Hana, the character for days, and Hannah, the author, for many more pages. If you read the author's memoir, WE ARE TOO MANY, you will love this. If you haven't, you will love this. It is a beautiful, thoughtful, insightful, very funny, sad, fascinating look inside a woman's mind, who's painfully honest, as she struggles with her ex-husband's soon-to-be-published novel that is sure to paint her in a bad light. She lives in Kentucky with her loving long-term boyfriend and his young daughter, is surrounded by family (her father, I love his character), her darling best friend. This is the kind of book you’ll want to read again to catch the things you might’ve forgotten. What a treat to be inside Hana’s head.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt for this ARC.

Thanks to Henry Holt and Co. and NetGalley for this ARC of 'If You Love It, Let It Kill You' by Hannah Pittard.

A meta-autofiction novel where the central character, Hana - a college professor - spins the story of her life past, present, future (and possible futures) amid much hilarity and out-there characters within her family, friends, workmates, and students.

It's very writerly, knowing, and self-aware and I found it a little hard not to be aware of all of that artifice when I was reading it so it became a challenge to ignore the writerly art and the meta references and try to enjoy it as a work of humorous fiction.

Good fun, though, and well written, even if you could spot the writer on most pages.

I really didn't know what to expect going in here, but I think I can safely say it wasn't what I found. This was all over the place. I am not a big fan of the stream of consciousness/nontraditional narrative and that is definitely what is on display here. It felt very disjointed and all over the place to me. I was confused from the opening pages, and not in a good way that inspired me to want to figure out what was going on... This one wasn't at all for me.

Everyone’s comparing Hannah Pittard’s If You Love it Let it Kill You to All Fours by Miranda July. And I get it, really, having now read both of these novels. But if you are inclined to dive into the neuroses of woman’s life crisis, Pittard’s is the better bet. I found this book fascinating and wild, kind of like driving by a car accident: you just can’t look away no matter how uncomfortable it might make you feel. It’s depressing at times for sure, and it’s also peppered with lots of triggering situations. But Pittard isn’t as heavy handed as July, and when it came to the end, I was left with a sense of hope. Isn’t that what we all need right now?

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy.

This book felt so honest, and relatable, I did not put it down until I was done with the whole thing. Hana is by all means happy until she finds out that her ex-husband is going to write a book and she is going to be in it! This kind of leads her to spiral, but she continues to work, show up for her students and boyfriend, and his 11-yr old daughter.
This book will engage you from beginning to end, because you want to know what is going to happen with the book, what is she going to do about it, how is she going move forward?
The timeline goes from her first marriage to present time and explores her feelings, her worries, and her strength. Her journey from beginning to end is very entertaining. If you love a strong FMC set in her ways, you will love Hana.

This was an interesting book about bodies, shame, and the medical industrial complex. I appreciated its use of humor which is entwined with the narrative and its strong voice. It's a fascinating take on gender and bodies as well.

I did not know what to expect going into this and was surprised by the stream of consciousness writing mixed with old memories from Hana’s life. Because of this it kind of felt all over the place yet still flowed and made sense. The conversations with the cat were a little too much for me but the writing was good. It was definitely a little monotonous but the inner dialogue was fun and made for an interesting read.

Thank you to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for the ARC!

"If You Love It, Let It Kill You" by Hannah Pittard is a thought-provoking and at times hilariously chaotic exploration of midlife crisis, relationships, and identity. The protagonist, Hana, a Kentucky professor and author, is grappling with her past marriage, current life choices, and unexpected family dynamics. Pittard's unique writing style blends humor with deep introspection, taking the reader on an unpredictable ride through Hana's messy, existential musings. While the surreal moments—like conversations with a talking cat—add intrigue, it’s the raw, unfiltered portrayal of her emotional turmoil that makes this book so compelling. It's a fascinating, if occasionally frustrating, journey.

Wow. This book was incredibly well done. I read it in a single day. The book focuses on Hana’s life in Kentucky and thoughtfully explores her friendships and relationships, past and present. Her decision to remain childless (and yet have a partner with a child) is discussed often. Her ex husband’s portrayal of her in his book is also reflected on continuously. I think I was surprised by how quickly her story pulled me in and how playfully and uniquely it was told.

One of the parts that sticks with me the most is when her father Bruce is giving her advice and says; “Nobody in this world is as important as you are. Never allow yourself to get brought into a relationship that’s all-important or means the world to you. The world is what matters.” Beautiful.

If You Love It, Let It Kill You by Hannah Pittard is an engaging work of autofiction. For readers who have read Pittard's prior work (or who know of her prior relationship, which was much discussed in literary circles), this book feels like a response to all of those conversations from the literary zeitgeist.

It's brutally self aware and allows the reader to act as a voyeur with a wink. It's the written equivalent of analyzing all of your flaws and all of your assets and all of your relationships and then posting them for public consumption. Is there an air of self indulgence in that act? Yes. But, is it compelling? Also yes.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

I am not a huge fan of stream of consciousness novels and this was no exception. I found the plot weak and I really didn’t like the characters.
I felt myself plodding through this book which had too many characters and never really got me involved.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Thank you, NetGalley, Henry Holt & Co, and Hannah Pittard for this ARC.

I struggled with this book. I think it was just because I wasn't comfortable with the writing style of this author. It was just difficult for me to focus on it and get into it. From what I understand, it was an interesting read.

Hannah Pittard has such a unique humorous and well drawn visual writing voice. A little bit the Lorrie Moore of autofiction crossed with the angry at their ex genre of literary writers. I wouldn’t really like her
professorial style but I’d love to be her Jane, sister, stepdaughter or best of all cat....it would be confessional, witty, entertaining.. the best dialogue ever.. and make the days fly fast..A play on life. Not sure what happened in the wrap up pages but I’d be a fan of editing out from the various ending choices to the end
and replacing it with something quotidian. first book I’ve finished in awhile which is a bit of a refrain and leads to fewer reviews.

At a certain point, the world will have no more room for autofictional narratives about creative writing professors juggling academia with their uncertain personal lives, but I can't say I didn't find it compelling. The narrator has a distinct voice that paints the people around her with interesting variations in clarity and realism: While the novel strikes an absurd tone, the interactions between characters call out that this is real life and that the absurdism comes from within. There's enough humor and surrealism to avoid stagnating into doom, and "Hana P" (not to be confused with the author, Hannah P) is just sympathetic enough for her aggravating decision making (or lack thereof -- she spends a lot of time just not taking action) to not sink the book. Nothing is really consequential by the end of the novel (maybe there's the slightest acquisition of raised self awareness), which I suppose is understandable if it's meant to be read as autofiction. Still, it could have ended with more than a whimper. It rushes a bit to the finish line.

The era of the “unhinged” narrator is still going strong and while I chuckle at the term, it is often used in place of “mentally struggling” and that's what is happening in this book. We essentially get an internal monologue from Hana, a middle aged woman, as she struggles to cope with the mundanity of life despite having success in her career as an author and college professor and being in a stable relationship after a previous divorce.

The following short quotes succinctly describe this book, and in going through my annotations it struck me that this is likely a work of autofiction: “The tone is all over the place. At times it is a dark and brooding meditation on girlhood interrupted; in other places it’s pure comedy.” “Smug. Narcissistic. Vaguely unhinged.”

There were many character elements that I could relate to, but I also found other aspects insufferable and selfish. I won’t spoil anything but one particular side quest involving a cat had me fuming and writhing. To me, it added nothing to the story except emphasizing her selfishness.

That said, certain parts of her inner monologue I found myself nodding along and feeling seen. Obviously, I don’t have to agree with everything for me to enjoy reading a book and the perspective it shares. If you enjoyed All Fours by Miranda July, this book comes pretty close to that with a greater emphasis on internal strings of thought on the tedium of life. I enjoyed some parts more than others, but going back on my highlighted quotes I find myself liking it even more in retrospect.

Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Hannah Pittard for a digital advance copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

The story goes in parts sounding like memoir along with fiction. Hana is on a journey with interesting characters, family and non-family, that keeps the story's pace strong. Kentucky is enough of a character to be a driving factor for the story. Then, the ending completely fell apart as Hana becomes lost in her story.

Thank you, NetGalley and Holt for an advanced copy of this book

I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would, given the brouhaha around the author and her friends in New York Magazine earlier in 2024. I enjoy literary gossip, but the ins and outs of this group's breakups and affairs left everyone looking worse for wear. Still, I had read We Are Too Many without knowing the backstory, and had enjoyed it, so I was eager to read Pittard again.

If You Love It, Let It Kill You is a fascinating work of autofiction wherein the author holds very little back. The writing is clear, concise, propulsive, and FUNNY; Pittard does not shy away from situations and descriptions that leave her looking unsympathetic or self-serving, especially when her behavior or meandering thoughts create the punchline to the joke. Instead, she wades straight into the cloudy waters of middle-aged life post-(very public) divorce--questions of fidelity and procreation and friendships and what the hell one is supposed to do with their birth family as everyone ages.

Although this is definitely written from a place of privilege (Chamonix, anyone?), it doesn't pretend not to be, unlike a lot of the deeply self-serious and pretentious entries into the autofiction canon. I found the book, in many ways, to be a more accurate picture of this weird, chaotic (read: perimenopausal) time in American women's lives than Miranda July's All Fours, to which it is compared. And one has to wonder if the author didn't walk into this comparison with open eyes; the talking cat, while an odd device, is a direct parallel to plot points in July's movie The Future. Regardless, I loved reading this, I saw myself (a white, unmarried-but-partnered-by-choice, middle-aged, southern-by-birth, divorced American woman with literary pretensions) in it, deeply empathized with it, and enjoyed that it offered lots of wacky situations--and lengthy musings on these situations--but very few answers.

Thank you NetGalley and Holt for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am a mega-Hannah Pittard fan and this one was no exception. I loved this auto-fiction novel.... super inventive. Huge fan.

Ok, so. Hannah Pittard. I've been a fan of her work for a decade now and have read all her books. Her early work blew me away, but the her two recent books are... curious. A pioneer of autofiction (which I didn't realize until recently, but looking back makes sense), Pittard not so delicately balances her fictional life and her real life. She was married to a musician and author that she met at UVA and moved to Kentucky with in the mid 2010s. He ends up cheating on her with her best friend. Pittard writes a memoir about it, New York Magazine writes an article about it, the ex-husband writes a novel about it, and now we have this novel which is about her ex-husband writing a novel about it. It's a lot of content for a failed marriage but I guess that's what happens when you get a bunch of authors being dramatic with each other.

I just don't know what to say about this book. The opening seemed SO familiar to me, I even had to double-check that this indeed was being published this July. I don't know if it reminds me of her other work, or if it just reminded me of similar books I've read in the past by other authors. Pittard's voice is unique, but depressing. It can also be... annoying (truly can't think of a better word, perhaps whiny?) Her thingy veiled character makes bonkers decisions and isn't very kind to the people in her life. She is going through a midlife crisis, I think? She has a lovely boyfriend who she lives with, and helps to raise his 11 year old daughter. Her family all moved to be closer to her, her Dad is mentally unwell and her mom and sister are peripheral characters but play into her sadness. It's a lot for autofiction, and I'm ready for Pittard to delve into new territory. If you've also read this and her work, please chat with me about it because I need someone to help me figure all this out!