Fake Accounts
- Downloads：8355
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-02-04 04:18:54
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Lauren Oyler
- ISBN：9781948226929
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Editor Reviews
★ 10/26/2020
In Oyler’s bold debut， a blogger discovers her boyfriend is an influential online conspiracy theorist。 A suspicion that the unnamed narrator’s withdrawn boyfriend， Felix， might be cheating leads her to find his anonymous social media accounts， which stoke alt-right sentiments as Donald Trump’s inauguration looms。 The narrative flashes back to show the couple’s meet-cute in Berlin—he’s a tour guide， she’s a tourist—and their burgeoning long-distance relationship， which changes for the worse after he joins her in New York。 Felix is a habitual liar， prone to inventing alter egos for himself and the narrator when meeting strangers， and initially she plays along， but soon longs for the real Felix。 She resolves to break up with him， but first she travels to the Women’s March in Washington， D。C。， where she gets a phone call informing her Felix has died in a bike accident。 Feeling adrift， she quits her job and moves to Berlin， where she leans into a lying life of her own—with the men she meets on dating apps， the mother of twins whom she nannies， even the German government。 Oyler experiments with various forms along the way: there is a lengthy parody of fragmented novels， copious analysis of millennial internet habits， literary references from Dickens to Ashbery to Ben Lerner， a Greek chorus of ex-boyfriends， and direct address to the reader。 Oyler wields all these devices freely， creating a unique， ferociously modern voice。 This incisive， funny work brilliantly captures the claustrophobia of lives led online and personae tested in the real world。 Agent: Alia Habib， the Gernert Company。 （Feb。）
Reviews
writerwriter95302520
，
From the start， this novel has a wry， dark humor and is intentionally playful with the reader。 If you're someone who is Very Online， you'll likely appreciate all of the social media references， dating apps， and so on。 A lot of the book is delightfully relatable in terms of its commentaries on dating， friendships， and every day mild depression。 It's definitely a book about people who live in cities （in this case， New York and Berlin）， who are young and sort of aimless。 On the other hand， the dry， sarcastic tone sometimes felt too easy。。。 when mocking the Women's March， for example， or the NYC subway; who doesn't agree that those are obvious， easy things to dig at？ Who doesn't find D。C。 boring？ Etc。 A wry voice is really engaging when it's fresh， but some of the blows felt too easy and expected， which made the book an uneven read for me。 I also at first felt amused when the novel changed to a fragmented structure， but it went on a touch too long， to the point that the misogyny just dripped。 I liked the twist （and had seen it coming， but pleasantly） though I wish it had actually happened earlier in the book， and that we got to see a bit more of a fallout。 Overall， I would recommend this book to people who are intrigued by its premise; it's sure to be a five star for a lot of readers who are into the book's vibe and voice。 But it was uneven for me personally。 I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review。
Izabela
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I’m not smart enough for this book。 C’est la vie。
Katy Chessum-Rice
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This was an interesting premise for a novel and this uncovering of a secret side of a partner is what made me request Fake Accounts from Netgalley。 I did enjoy the format of this book， which felt like a series of blog posts （I think was intentional， as the unnamed narrator is a content producer for a website） although it did slide a bit too much into Carrie Brawshaw-esque inner monologue at times， which I found distracting from the story and a bit boring。 I liked her decision to move to Berlin a This was an interesting premise for a novel and this uncovering of a secret side of a partner is what made me request Fake Accounts from Netgalley。 I did enjoy the format of this book， which felt like a series of blog posts （I think was intentional， as the unnamed narrator is a content producer for a website） although it did slide a bit too much into Carrie Brawshaw-esque inner monologue at times， which I found distracting from the story and a bit boring。 I liked her decision to move to Berlin and take on different personalities when she went on dates with men that she met via a dating app， imitating her boyfriend's duplicitous nature and making a point of "you can be whoever you want to be on the internet"。 I found some of the wry observations of people quite well-drawn and in some parts the writing is humorous。 The narrator is hard to warm to as she doesn't give away much information about herself: friends are seldom named and she doesn't seem to be that close to her family （I would definitely mention it to my mum if I was going to move to another country！） but she has an interesting voice that is compelling and I liked reading from her perspective。 The ending had a good twist （I won't spoil it here！） and overall I would recommend this as a good book club read， as it will be one that gets everyone talking！ 。。。more
Moses Martha Julian
，
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M。 （Inside My Library Mind）
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RTC！ But this book is gonna cause a lot of discourse， and I am excited to see how it pans out。 But I personally really enjoyed it， despite it making my brain hurt sometimes。
Michelle Curie
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A smart and funny novel full of zeitgeist， that is – in its essence – pointless。 It was a mix of the cover and the title that drew me to this。 Fake Accounts？ Sounds juicy， sounds political， sounds socially engaging。 And while it provided all these feelings， it did so in predictable ways。 Fake Accounts has a misleading blurb， too。 It claims it's about a woman finding out that her boyfriend is an anonymous online conspiracy theorist。 Ultimately this is where we do start off， but it turns out it's A smart and funny novel full of zeitgeist， that is – in its essence – pointless。 It was a mix of the cover and the title that drew me to this。 Fake Accounts？ Sounds juicy， sounds political， sounds socially engaging。 And while it provided all these feelings， it did so in predictable ways。 Fake Accounts has a misleading blurb， too。 It claims it's about a woman finding out that her boyfriend is an anonymous online conspiracy theorist。 Ultimately this is where we do start off， but it turns out it's just the catapult for a series of more or less mundane events that are to happen in its wake。 It's social commentary that we've probably all have played out in our heads already。 We follow our protagonist around as she spontaneously moves to Berlin， without really knowing either people nor the language。 She does what many do: explores dating apps。 We witness her as she shows behaviour that is entertaining because it's so relatable。 It's the little things: Not clicking on WhatsApp messages in order to not show the other person that （of course） you've read the message。 Scrolling through feeds wondering what we're hoping to find that we didn't five minutes prior。 "Why would I want to make my book like Twitter？ If I wanted a book that resembled Twitter， I wouldn't write a book; I would just spend even more time on Twitter。 You'd be surprised how much time you can spend on Twitter and still have some left over to write a book。"Oyler writes with wit， and that's what made this more pleasant than its story should have allowed。 There are loads of little quirks about the way this is structured and told。 There's a chorus of ex-boyfriends that comments on everything our protagonist does， you can also never be quite sure whether she's talking to you or if you've just ended up inside her head。 Ultimately， this is more an attempt at capturing a moment in time than a well-rounded presentation of a story。 It ensures you'll have a good time， as this is easy to read and not preachy in its implications， but at the same time it's one to forget as quickly as you've read it。 Enjoy it while it lasts。 。。。more
Lou
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Fake Accounts is an acutely observed examination of our online identities， the emotional dissonance of online life and the part the internet plays in our daily lives。 It follows an unnamed narrator， a New York-based blogger for a feminist website， who， in the run-up to Donald Trump’s 2016 inauguration， discovers that the boyfriend she met during a Berlin pub crawl is secretly a very popular， influential and anonymous social-media conspiracy theorist。 She finds this disturbing discovery by sneaki Fake Accounts is an acutely observed examination of our online identities， the emotional dissonance of online life and the part the internet plays in our daily lives。 It follows an unnamed narrator， a New York-based blogger for a feminist website， who， in the run-up to Donald Trump’s 2016 inauguration， discovers that the boyfriend she met during a Berlin pub crawl is secretly a very popular， influential and anonymous social-media conspiracy theorist。 She finds this disturbing discovery by sneaking a look at his mobile phone one evening while he's sleeping soundly beside her。 Felix has always been reserved and distant as though his mind was elsewhere and now she knows why。 From his secret Instagram account in which he posts alt-right conspiracy theories and memes of Barack Obama， George W Bush， Bill Clinton and Jacob Rothschild she realises that the man she thought she knew is actually a complete stranger。 She begins to consider the most appropriate way to dump him; she had been considering it long before she discovered his dirty online dealings but that was effectively the nail in the coffin with regard to their romance。 She travels， as planned for some time， to the Women’s March in Washington， D。C。 but before she can end their relationship she is informed a by phone call that Felix has been killed in a bike accident。 Taking away the satisfaction she would've felt while ending it with a man espousing such disgusting views。Feeling lost she resigns from her job and moves to Berlin where she begins creating a fabricated life where she lies to men on dating sites， the mother of the twins who she nannies for and even the German government。 This is compulsive and captivating ripped-from-the-headlines story and is both incisive and prescient。 It highlights the issues of identity and the role truth and lies play in understanding a person but ultimately this is a book that explores how online identities and real-life ones interact; in some people， they can be almost identical， in others they can be so different that it comes across as two different people altogether。 The anonymity of online interaction is what makes an individual feel they can lie about themselves and who they are， and we can have two distinct personalities - one for the real world and another for online without much issue。 In a stream of consciousness style， Oyler pens a timely and richly woven story that's written in an often snarky manner。 I do think that about 100 pages could've been cut out without impacting the plot at all as Oyler tends to go off on irrelevant tangents， and it does sometimes get tedious due to this; it could've been much tauter and more tightly plotted with the filler kicked to the curb。 That said， I found this a quick， entertaining and interesting read with plenty of twists and misdirection and enough going on to keep you turning the pages well into the night。 It authentically captures the claustrophobia of online lives and the dilemmas of online interaction。 。。。more
Paula Lyle
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This isn't really a novel as much as an extremely long monologue by the most self-absorbed person ever。 Sometimes funny， but more often just annoying， it is a critique on writing your life， instead of actually living it。 It made me feel old and also glad that I'm not young now。I received an eARC through NetGalley。 This isn't really a novel as much as an extremely long monologue by the most self-absorbed person ever。 Sometimes funny， but more often just annoying， it is a critique on writing your life， instead of actually living it。 It made me feel old and also glad that I'm not young now。I received an eARC through NetGalley。 。。。more
Courtney Landis
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Reading this book had the same effect on me as getting lost in an Instagram spiral， where you look up somebody that you met in passing or even just heard of， and feel ambivalent about or just mildly dislike， and then get so caught up in sketching out this person based on their own social media performance even though you know social media isn’t real， and you emerge minutes or hours later in a dissatisfied， self-loathing fugue。 You never feel like you’re inside the narrator’s mind， despite the fi Reading this book had the same effect on me as getting lost in an Instagram spiral， where you look up somebody that you met in passing or even just heard of， and feel ambivalent about or just mildly dislike， and then get so caught up in sketching out this person based on their own social media performance even though you know social media isn’t real， and you emerge minutes or hours later in a dissatisfied， self-loathing fugue。 You never feel like you’re inside the narrator’s mind， despite the first-person perspective; rather， as this narrator is conscious of her own narration， you’re aware that this is a performance or narrative done for your benefit， with the dizzyingly layered shadow-play of this person who is pretending to be authentic， and you know they aren’t being authentic， and maybe they know you know they’re not being authentic， but the performance itself is the key to the understanding of that person。 If you’re still with me after that sentence， my point is: I love messy， unreliable characterization， if it feels deliberate。 Overall， this does。 Less forgivable is the pacing， what may be intended to be a send-up of postmodernism or post-postmodernism but instead is transparently self-satisfied and more tedious than thoughtful。Thanks to Catapult and Netgalley for providing this e-arc for review。Full review: http://www。courtneymlandis。com/blog/b。。。 。。。more
Dorrit
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pining for this
shilpa
，
no ❤️
Jill
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I created a Twitter account once。 I was 16 and tweeted， "So much homework tonight but at least we're going out for hibachi dinner！" The post-tweet shame came quickly。 I deleted the tweet and my account less than 3 minutes later。In Fake Accounts Oyler nails the intoxication and isolation borne by the neverending deluge of social media posts。 Her unnamed protagonist pulls us through a tumultuous year in her life in a stream of consciousness narration。 The result is a book that reads just how socia I created a Twitter account once。 I was 16 and tweeted， "So much homework tonight but at least we're going out for hibachi dinner！" The post-tweet shame came quickly。 I deleted the tweet and my account less than 3 minutes later。In Fake Accounts Oyler nails the intoxication and isolation borne by the neverending deluge of social media posts。 Her unnamed protagonist pulls us through a tumultuous year in her life in a stream of consciousness narration。 The result is a book that reads just how social media can feel: exciting and breathless as we get to live inside someone’s mind and suffocating and lethal as we realize we can’t escape it。 I grew to enjoy our protagonist， who moves to Berlin during a devastating quarter-life crisis after her boyfriend unexpectedly dies while she’s at the post-2016 election Women’s March in DC， but I also wanted to never hear her voice again。 Oyler is a playful writer: a chorus of ex-boyfriends cheers and shames the protagonist; an astrological interstitial leads to several dates where our narrator bases her persona on zodiac signs; and time is topsy turvy， jumping backwards and forward and back again。 Beneath these amusing experiments is an impressive intelligence。 I am not entirely sure what to make of everything in Fake Accounts。 Unlike its dominant subject of interest--social media， the words need time to marinate， promising delayed rather than instant gratification。I was bored at moments， but I could never quit it entirely （kinda how I feel when I’m infinite scrolling on Instagram）。 Oyler and her protagonist are ultimately ambivalent about social media。 Reading Fake Accounts I felt that two contradictory things had to be true: in some ways social media is the purest form of ourselves， our thoughts and good hair days and aesthetically pleasing homemade cookies streaming endlessly from a fount that cannot be capped。 Yet it’s difficult to be a person on social media， a person in the sense of a collection of traits， thoughts， beliefs， and feelings that are specific to your pile of cells。 We think we’re being unique but we’re stealing from others: protesting in DC not because we care but because everyone else replied yes to the Facebook event; going to Berlin to suffer a quarter-life crisis because that’s where other artsy wannabe expats go， or so say Instagram algorithms。Clever， funny， and exhausting。 I’m glad I read it！ 。。。more
Areeb Ahmad （Bankrupt_Bookworm）
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The cynicism， the quirk， the ease with which it makes fun of itself， and its at once both jaded and naive protagonist， is very interesting。 RTC。
Eirene
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I adored the first 120 pages and found the writing beyond clever， witty， sarcastic and unlike any structure I had read before。 In these pages I found myself scoffing， giggling and retelling segments to my family and friends。 Oyler touches on contemporary themes that focus on millennial identity， social media usage and gaslighting。 It felt timely and relevant and absolutely what I could relate to。 At about halfway through the novel I started struggling a little bit。 Although I loved parts of the I adored the first 120 pages and found the writing beyond clever， witty， sarcastic and unlike any structure I had read before。 In these pages I found myself scoffing， giggling and retelling segments to my family and friends。 Oyler touches on contemporary themes that focus on millennial identity， social media usage and gaslighting。 It felt timely and relevant and absolutely what I could relate to。 At about halfway through the novel I started struggling a little bit。 Although I loved parts of the protagonists’ internal dialogue and ramblings， I craved more from either the storyline or from her character arc。 In these parts I found myself skim reading and thought that were a little overwritten。 。。。more
Risha
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Thank you harper collins for this review copy！ Fake Accounts is coming out on the 2nd of Feb 2021This book wasnt necessarily “bad”， but wasn’t anything special either in my opinion。 My first annoyance with the book was that it has no real plot line？ Just a very loose series of events and half of them dont even make sense as to why they are grouped together。 It sort of reads like a big long diary entry， and you are made to feel like you’re in the writer’s head， but most of the stuff shes saying i Thank you harper collins for this review copy！ Fake Accounts is coming out on the 2nd of Feb 2021This book wasnt necessarily “bad”， but wasn’t anything special either in my opinion。 My first annoyance with the book was that it has no real plot line？ Just a very loose series of events and half of them dont even make sense as to why they are grouped together。 It sort of reads like a big long diary entry， and you are made to feel like you’re in the writer’s head， but most of the stuff shes saying is not relevant， I found myself saying “okay cool but I dont really care” A LOT。 The book seems to go off on a lot of tangents， sort of like a person who always gets sidetracked by a bunch of things when telling a story。 I did end up doing a lot of skim reading after the halfway mark but it was enjoyable skim reading。 The book was funny and witty but clearly gave off the vibe that it was trying waaaayy too hard to be funny and witty if that makes sense？The main character is quite interesting though and does seem like someone I would love to be friends with， she had some very funny things happen to her！ I will also say that the writing is very beautiful！ Lauren Oyler can definitely write well， I just dont particularly enjoy what shes writing about。 Overall， a bit scattered and all over the place， with no real plot。 Some interesting bits here and there but not entirely worth reading in my opinion。 Think of Oyler as a poor man’s Dolly Alderton。 。。。more
Kelly
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thank you netgalley。 I stopped reading about 20 pages into this book。
Elyse Walters
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Am I the only person who has seen “Fake Accounts”， by Lauren Oyler popping up everywhere lately？— —the bright ‘kelly-green’ book cover with a sentence quoted at the top by Zadie Smith —that dares to be read only once？ “THIS NOVEL MADE ME WANT TO RETIRE FROM CONTEMPORARY REALITY， I LOVED IT”。。。。zadie smith I started this book with my own inner conversation with Zadie Smith。。。。 “ok， Zadie。。。。l’ll contemplate your words， ‘retire from contemporary life’， huh？ Have you been on house arrest —due to ou Am I the only person who has seen “Fake Accounts”， by Lauren Oyler popping up everywhere lately？— —the bright ‘kelly-green’ book cover with a sentence quoted at the top by Zadie Smith —that dares to be read only once？ “THIS NOVEL MADE ME WANT TO RETIRE FROM CONTEMPORARY REALITY， I LOVED IT”。。。。zadie smith I started this book with my own inner conversation with Zadie Smith。。。。 “ok， Zadie。。。。l’ll contemplate your words， ‘retire from contemporary life’， huh？ Have you been on house arrest —due to our pandemic—since March 2020， as I have？”。。。。 （ but， yes， I kinda see Zadie’s point: time spent on the internet and social media ‘is’ our reality — it couldn’t be more clear during our Covid-19 lifestyles）。Still chuckling quietly inside 。。。。hoping I’d love this novel half as much as Zadie Smith。。。。 。。。。a generous surprise gift in the mail， from Catapult Publishing/ thank you。。。。。[this smooth ‘silky&metallic’ feeling book cover really is quite spiffy eye-catching]。。。I opened the book for that first peek。 This novel — literally and figuratively starts with BEGINNING。FIRST SENTENCE: “Consensus was that the world was ending， or would begin to end soon”。 I thought to myself。。。。”yep， you’re singing to the choir here”。。。。It’s bad enough I have to hear lengthy conversations from my husband about “We are beginning the end of the end”。。。。and now YOU， TOO？”Ok。。。I read on。。。。（ just a few more pages I said to myself。。。。doesn’t Lauren Oyler realize I’m reading a 1，071 page novel？ The Eight Life”， by NinoHaratischvili if anyone cares to know。 （juicy-saga-epic if you must know more）。。。。But ok。。。。I’d read just a few more pages for now （curiosity fun was getting the better part of me）。。。。But。。。。It was too late。。。。I was hooked。。。。and read all 265 pages， MIDDLE。。。。（ something happens） and the last part: ENDING。。。 in one sitting — barely coming up for air。 （ sorry， Nino Haratischvili）Agree， Zadie。。。LOVED IT！！！ Turns out “FAKE ACCOUNTS” *is* HEADLINE WORTHY！ If this is a buzz book —I’m ok with that。 It was the ‘contemporary’ irresistible tantalizing voice from theunnamed narrator that I loved best about FAKE ACCOUNTS。。。。（never ending shameless chatter on every page） 。。。。。I， as the reader， felt like I was her partner in crime side kick。 I found it very alluring being inside unnamed’s head。I swear I was either laughing or giggling inside to myself on every page。 “My skincare regimen is more extensive than I am proud of。 I recently learned it was important to let each product ‘fully’ absorb before applying the next， and while I did not spend forty-five minutes each night sitting in the bathroom awaiting transcendence， the layering approach I couldn’t unlearn did give me plenty of time to consider my options。 After a swipe of special water supposedly popular in France， I thought， I won’t do it。 After I cleansed a second time， with cleanser， per the recommendation of Korea， I was pretty sure I wouldn’t。 After I used a dropper designed to look scientific to apply serum to my nose to decrease redness and ‘purify’， I thought， Great social revolutions are impossible without feminine ferment。 After a pat of stinging， very expensive foam， the effects of which I was not convinced， I thought， Ha， that’s funny。 By the stroke as moisturizer I was dewy and resolved: I had nothing to lose but my chains”。 Yep。。。 ‘noname’ cracked me up！Moving along 。。。 with more ‘noname’ good times—who was snooping into her boyfriend， Felix’s email account。 “Searching @ THIS_ACCOUNT_IS_BUGGED_from my own phone， I got a sense for how popular he was: tens of thousands of followers， hundreds of comments on each post， immense gratitude for his being one of the rare few to not only admit the truth but also strive to expose it for the benefit of others。 Instead of out rage or hurt feelings I was suddenly， magically free。 I wanted the relationship to end。 I didn’t want things with Felix to be significantly different， as in better， than they had been for sometime， or for the uneasy not-niceness of our relationship to transform through no effort on my part into copacetic peace， I wanted riddance and finality， a cessation of concern。 I may have gruesomely hoped he had been cheating on me， but this was more conclusive:operating a popular Instagram account that promoted （and maybe devised） conspiracy theories meant he was no mere betrayer of trust or casual manipulator， but rather a person of impossible complexity who’s motivations I was now liberated from trying to untangle”。 Whew！。。。。。This book is deliciously addictive — equally as much as much of a bag of ‘Beanfields’ nacho bean chips”。 Don’t knock the ‘bean chips’ until you try them: 4 grams of protein- 4 grams of fiber - FULL ON FLAVOR。。。。。（ just as the red bag says） *Noname* knew she wanted to express an alluringly evasive personalityon OkCupid。 （a dating app）In order to determine her personality trait， Noname had to answer some questions—-the purpose was for other users to calculate matches， measured in percentages and compatibility。 Noname felt betrayed。 “Percentages！ I thought this was supposed to be the wholesome dating app， pure， simple， devised by people like （the real） me， unwilling to rely totally on insipid technology just because it’s there。 I wanted to abandon my project and go out drinking， but I had come so far already。 I left my computer glowing in the now-dark bedroom and went to the kitchen to get a beer”。 Noname rushed back to her computer— “This was no longer a personal project， a dalliance with earnest dating-app usage， but a purposeful critique of the system。 I could be anyone I wanted （or did not want， as the case may be）， and my deception would not be selfish， cruelly manipulative of innocence looking for love， but a rebellion against an entire mode of thinking， which was not really thinking at all， just excepting whatever was advised to you。 Dare I say: it was political？If I ever wrote again， I would write about it。 People who took themselves very seriously would get mad at me”。 This book really does question our contemporary realities — our relationship with the Internet age。。。。 our voice， others voice， truth？ or dare？— what would ‘you’ do if you uncovered a double life of your boyfriend？ Don’t answer too quickly。。。。Scary Good！ 。。。more
Libby
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I saw an intriguing review of this in EW。
Caroline
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What initially stands out in Oyler’s debut novel is its funny， often affable first-person voice。 While the opening scene finds the narrator looking through her boyfriend’s phone to discover he is secretly a popular far right conspiracy theorist， this shocking realization is tempered somewhat by the backstory of how she met Felix on a pub-crawl in Berlin。 Here， the narrator’s many witty remarks， insecurities， and strategy for connecting with her tour guide and future boyfriend come to the forefro What initially stands out in Oyler’s debut novel is its funny， often affable first-person voice。 While the opening scene finds the narrator looking through her boyfriend’s phone to discover he is secretly a popular far right conspiracy theorist， this shocking realization is tempered somewhat by the backstory of how she met Felix on a pub-crawl in Berlin。 Here， the narrator’s many witty remarks， insecurities， and strategy for connecting with her tour guide and future boyfriend come to the forefront。 Oyler’s narrator adopts the familiar tone of mid 2000s Internet writing in the use of frequent direct address riddled with whimsical asides and over-justification of her decisions， as if anticipating the criticism of an anonymous comment section。 The effect of the narrator’s frequent breaking of the fourth wall is often overwhelming; her sentences are roped into one another， commenting on the plot as it unravels， its main points muddled by frequent asides and responses to a Greek chorus of ex boyfriends。 Certainly， the narrator is virtuosic， especially in her over-examination of social dynamics， and the inner-workings of an anxious， self-conscious mind; she’s trapped her in head， and we’re right there with her。 After her boyfriend’s death and its subsequent fallout， the story stagnates somewhat; the narrator returns to Berlin， but the excitement and romance of the earlier section is lost to practicalities and the mundane。 We follow the narrator as she creates a dating profile， gets a casual job babysitting， and attempts to secure a tourist visa。 The most fascinating part of the book is a 40-page section in which the narrator replicates the fragmented structure of many contemporary novels， the most recognizable being Jenny Offil。 However， this section falls flat as Oyler can’t resist meta-commentary， which prevents her from fully committing to the bit。 She fails to replicate the charm and curiosity of the forms she seeks to criticize， but this may be due in part to her narrator’s polarizing voice: some will no doubt love the whimsical tone of Internet first person while for others the quirks become grating。 A surprise ending briefly recaptures our attention， and the ramifications of this might have been worth seeing more fully play out， but as an experiment in voice FAKE ACCOUNTS is nonetheless a worthwhile read。 。。。more
Mary Robinson
，
I guess this book wasn't targeted at me - but my complaints would be that it didn't actually discuss it's blurb （a boyfriend who was a secret spreader of conspiracy lies on social media）; the unnamed narrator was completely unlikeable and unapproachable; the actions were fantastical; the writing was awful and the vocabulary pompous （making the narrator even less likeable）; generally just not enjoyable。 Like I said， I'm not the target audience， but I surely don't know who is。 Hard pass， do not re I guess this book wasn't targeted at me - but my complaints would be that it didn't actually discuss it's blurb （a boyfriend who was a secret spreader of conspiracy lies on social media）; the unnamed narrator was completely unlikeable and unapproachable; the actions were fantastical; the writing was awful and the vocabulary pompous （making the narrator even less likeable）; generally just not enjoyable。 Like I said， I'm not the target audience， but I surely don't know who is。 Hard pass， do not recommend。 。。。more
Emma
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I thought that this book sounded great。 What an intriguing and topical story， the brain washing of your partner by secret online conspiracies。 However， I am sorry to say that this was not a very good book。 Whole swathes of it are dedicated to navel gazing， recollections of past conversations and musings on what this or that hipster thing means or doesn’t mean， plus long diatribes of trite political observations。 None of this pontification is particularly related to the plot。 In fact the plot mov I thought that this book sounded great。 What an intriguing and topical story， the brain washing of your partner by secret online conspiracies。 However， I am sorry to say that this was not a very good book。 Whole swathes of it are dedicated to navel gazing， recollections of past conversations and musings on what this or that hipster thing means or doesn’t mean， plus long diatribes of trite political observations。 None of this pontification is particularly related to the plot。 In fact the plot moves painfully slowly。 When something does happen it is is usually the main character just going somewhere （to the shop， to yoga， to a restaurant， to a different city）， then checking her phone， and then very （very） occasionally a major plot point is revealed， after that it’s back to the musing。 The language is flowery at best and bizarre （also pretentious） at worst。 Sometimes using simpler language is better。 For example， ‘protonostalgic fantasies’， ‘The hilarious unlikelihood of our meet-cute。。。’， ‘straphangers’， the way the email account ‘constantly generated’ （it doesn’t generate emails！ It is itself generating？ Ugh！）。 I hate to write negative reviews of books， and I’m so grateful to the publishers and NetGalley for the free copy， but I couldn’t get along with it。 If you’re a fan of whiny narrators （just FYI I also didn’t like the much loved Normal People so perhaps I’m the wrong audience） then you will like this。 Something nice， I like the cover and I learned what straphangers means。 。。。more
Barbara
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I'm baffled about what this book was trying to be。 It rambles here， there and everywhere。 It invests WAY too many pages in talking about nothing in particular。 It starts a story and then doesn't really finish it off。 It reads like somebody had too many ideas and couldn't be bothered to structure them in a way that would enable the reader to get the point。The unnamed narrator delivers the whole book in the first person and honestly， there were times that I wondered if this was really fiction or j I'm baffled about what this book was trying to be。 It rambles here， there and everywhere。 It invests WAY too many pages in talking about nothing in particular。 It starts a story and then doesn't really finish it off。 It reads like somebody had too many ideas and couldn't be bothered to structure them in a way that would enable the reader to get the point。The unnamed narrator delivers the whole book in the first person and honestly， there were times that I wondered if this was really fiction or just a really poorly edited memoir。 There are moments that made me laugh and had me highlighting quotes， but sadly， they were so few and far between。 The book started with an interesting premise - that a girl finds out her seemingly 'normal' pleasant boyfriend is an undercover conspiracy theorist。 She's going to dump him but fate gets in the way。 I had imagined some interesting experiments that could have been done with his accounts but they didn't come through。 We get a fun detour to the post-Inauguration Trump protest rally with all the women in cat hats which I quite enjoyed but I was sick of her Berlin perambulations after the first visit and losing the will to keep going during the second。There was nothing about the protagonist that made me feel even a tiny connection to her。 I didn't understand/sympathise/empathise with any of her actions。 I didn't get the point of the book at all。 I'm sorry - I wish I could have seen the good in this because I gave it several hours of my attention but I will remember just about nothing about it a week from now。 It's shallow and instantly forgettable。Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC。 。。。more
K✨
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The ending of this book is among the most idiotic things I’ve ever read。
Ophelia Sings
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I was drawn in by the intriguing and timely premise （woman discovers her other half is an online conspiracy theorist nut） but sadly， I was beaten back by the impenetrable， self-consciously wordy writing style。 There are some witty， sparky moments in among it all， but these could do little to alter my opinion of the unnamed narrator。 Her voice is so stilted and lacking in credibility it's impossible to engage or empathise with her， beyond the initial horror of discovering her partner's online act I was drawn in by the intriguing and timely premise （woman discovers her other half is an online conspiracy theorist nut） but sadly， I was beaten back by the impenetrable， self-consciously wordy writing style。 There are some witty， sparky moments in among it all， but these could do little to alter my opinion of the unnamed narrator。 Her voice is so stilted and lacking in credibility it's impossible to engage or empathise with her， beyond the initial horror of discovering her partner's online activities and her realisation that she doesn't know him at all。 I found my attention wandering， and I had to re-read passages on more than one occasion - the nub and grist is often buried so deep in a mountain of extraneous words that it's easy to miss entirely。There are many for whom this writing style will appeal， but unfortunately， I'm not one of them。 Not necessarily a reflection on the author， but this wasn't for me。My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Helen French
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I don't think I was quite the right audience for this book， which possibly makes this review a little unfair。The premise is great - on the eve of Trump's inauguration， our main character discovers her boyfriend is a conspiracy theory nut。Unfortunately， it just didn't draw me in。 To my eyes， the initial pages were mostly impenetrable walls of text， with a character I didn't connect to or even like。 However it's probably fair to say that in a literary read you should expect to be challenged somewh I don't think I was quite the right audience for this book， which possibly makes this review a little unfair。The premise is great - on the eve of Trump's inauguration， our main character discovers her boyfriend is a conspiracy theory nut。Unfortunately， it just didn't draw me in。 To my eyes， the initial pages were mostly impenetrable walls of text， with a character I didn't connect to or even like。 However it's probably fair to say that in a literary read you should expect to be challenged somewhat， and perhaps I failed on that front。 The author plays with style and wit - it just wasn't for me。 I'm sure it's smart and clever， but it didn't pull me into the story。 。。。more
Linz
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DNF at 55%。 The narrator drones on and on， is supercilious with no reason to be。 There are long， tedious descriptions of things the audience already understands without bringing any new insights or perspectives。 The hilarious part is when I thought "this reminds me of A Separation and why I hated it" and sure enough it absolutely got referenced a few pages later。Thank you to NetGalley and Fourth Estate for the opportunity to read and review。 DNF at 55%。 The narrator drones on and on， is supercilious with no reason to be。 There are long， tedious descriptions of things the audience already understands without bringing any new insights or perspectives。 The hilarious part is when I thought "this reminds me of A Separation and why I hated it" and sure enough it absolutely got referenced a few pages later。Thank you to NetGalley and Fourth Estate for the opportunity to read and review。 。。。more
Violette
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A young woman working in media finds out her strange boyfriend has a secret online life， in which he spreads far right conspiracies， and proceeds to untangle her relationship with him and social media at large。I think the author is obviously talented， the book was written with a lot of honesty and wit and intelligence。 There were quite a few parts where I just couldn't get through the dense thought processes of the narrator's mind and I would've liked to see more of it play out in IRL then just A young woman working in media finds out her strange boyfriend has a secret online life， in which he spreads far right conspiracies， and proceeds to untangle her relationship with him and social media at large。I think the author is obviously talented， the book was written with a lot of honesty and wit and intelligence。 There were quite a few parts where I just couldn't get through the dense thought processes of the narrator's mind and I would've liked to see more of it play out in IRL then just her imagination。 Although， I suppose that was probably the point。 I thought the ending was strange， a lot of build up and then a very flat conclusion and not a lot of catharsis。 Should you read it？ Yes。 。。。more
Stella
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Reading this on the last week of Trump's presidency could not have been more perfect timing。 Lauren Oyler has written a very modern story - a woman in a bit of a tailspin post election， does some snooping and realizes her boyfriend participates heavily in conspiracy theory online。 This book encapsulates the last four years of the US and the terror of finding out who people are online versus who they are in real life and when/if the overlap。 It's a smart book， intelligent writing and modern story Reading this on the last week of Trump's presidency could not have been more perfect timing。 Lauren Oyler has written a very modern story - a woman in a bit of a tailspin post election， does some snooping and realizes her boyfriend participates heavily in conspiracy theory online。 This book encapsulates the last four years of the US and the terror of finding out who people are online versus who they are in real life and when/if the overlap。 It's a smart book， intelligent writing and modern storytelling。 With literary references and internet speak， this is a book for a modern reader。 Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book。 。。。more
CJ Alberts
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Incredible。 Subversive， incredibly timely， and super smart。 There is so much sharp critical thinking in this novel it blew me away。 This will not be for everyone， but if you like Lauren Oyler's scathing literary criticism I would give it a shot。 So good。 Incredible。 Subversive， incredibly timely， and super smart。 There is so much sharp critical thinking in this novel it blew me away。 This will not be for everyone， but if you like Lauren Oyler's scathing literary criticism I would give it a shot。 So good。 。。。more
Denver Public Library
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What if you found out your seemingly lefty significant other was the force behind a popular far-right online conspiracy theory account？ What if you found this out by snooping through their phone while they were in the shower？ Would you confront them， or would you just cut your losses， dump them， and move on？BUT THEN: What if the whole paradigm gets upended—again—before you can even make your move？ Obviously you’d jump ship for Berlin to mourn and pick up the pieces， as Oyler's protagonist does h What if you found out your seemingly lefty significant other was the force behind a popular far-right online conspiracy theory account？ What if you found this out by snooping through their phone while they were in the shower？ Would you confront them， or would you just cut your losses， dump them， and move on？BUT THEN: What if the whole paradigm gets upended—again—before you can even make your move？ Obviously you’d jump ship for Berlin to mourn and pick up the pieces， as Oyler's protagonist does here。Fake Accounts is the bitingly funny， dripping-with-satire debut novel from the notoriously sharp critic and culture writer Lauren Oyler set firmly at the crossroads of the Instagram and Trump eras， a book reporting direct from the psyche of a generation raised both pre- and post-widespread internet—a generation that supposedly values authenticity but that also wrought， and continues to buy into， the social media machinery that corrupts the very notion。 Complete with a bit about the warping influence of Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy and an all-knowing Greek chorus of ex-boyfriends。 Pick this one up if you’re a Jia Tolentino fan。 It’s a read that will make you feel smart and edgy。 。。。more
Taylor Griggs
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