Fiction

Want

Want

  • Downloads：8538
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-08-24 08:51:45
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Lynn Steger Strong
  • ISBN：1250801079
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Grappling with motherhood， economic anxiety， rage， and the limits of language， Want is a fiercely personal novel that vibrates with anger， insight， and love。

Elizabeth is tired。 Years after coming to New York to try to build a life， she has found herself with two kids， a husband， two jobs， a PhD—and now they’re filing for bankruptcy。 As she tries to balance her dream and the impossibility of striving toward it while her work and home lives feel poised to fall apart， she wakes at ungodly hours to run miles by the icy river， struggling to quiet her thoughts。

When she reaches out to Sasha， her long-lost childhood friend， it feels almost harmless—one of those innocuous ruptures that exist online， in texts。 But her timing is uncanny。 Sasha is facing a crisis， too， and perhaps after years apart， their shared moments of crux can bring them back into each other’s lives。

In Want， Lynn Steger Strong explores the subtle violences enacted on a certain type of woman when she dares to want things—and all the various violences in which she implicates herself as she tries to survive。

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Reviews

Joe ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book had its bright spots， but much of it fell into the "I'm broken and it's your job to fix me and if you don't fix me I'll direct my anger at you because I'm not going to accept responsibility for my own choices" genre。 The main character is a teacher who claims to love her students， yet she continually ditches school， leaving the students in the hands of， gasp， a 24-year old male！ She claims to love her children but spends her free time roaming through museums and walking through NYC。 Sh This book had its bright spots， but much of it fell into the "I'm broken and it's your job to fix me and if you don't fix me I'll direct my anger at you because I'm not going to accept responsibility for my own choices" genre。 The main character is a teacher who claims to love her students， yet she continually ditches school， leaving the students in the hands of， gasp， a 24-year old male！ She claims to love her children but spends her free time roaming through museums and walking through NYC。 She and her husband file bankruptcy， but she quits her job （discarding the students that she "loves"） and hits up her parents for money。 She yearns to re-connect with her BFF but really isn't there for her in her times of need。 These are just a few examples of a dreadfully irresponsible protagonist。 I elevated this from one star due to occasional bursts of good writing， but， for the most part， this book left me wanting。 。。。more

Lindsey ，

Not an easy read， （but a fairly quick one）， and very thought-provoking。。。

Elaina J ，

The book description doesn’t include the word “power。” However I thought many times while reading this book that the central theme was power—how people use it to get what they want， to try to hurt others， to try to make other people do things， and how you need power to make things ok for people you love。 Also we don’t learn the names of many characters which is so smart—I didn’t realize it until I got about halfway through。 Then I thought “see， the author has the power here and is controlling wh The book description doesn’t include the word “power。” However I thought many times while reading this book that the central theme was power—how people use it to get what they want， to try to hurt others， to try to make other people do things， and how you need power to make things ok for people you love。 Also we don’t learn the names of many characters which is so smart—I didn’t realize it until I got about halfway through。 Then I thought “see， the author has the power here and is controlling what she wants us to know; she’s keeping something from us on purpose。” Hmm！ 。。。more

Alison ，

Amazing， beautifully written， very sad book。 Really loved it。

Rachel ，

Wow。 Best novel I’ve read in a long time。 I stayed up late multiple nights to read this！ （I love sleep so that is saying something。）Being a mother of two young kids myself， I related to the main character as she grappled with her identity and career and her role as mother and wife。 Really appreciated all the themes and nuances about friendship， hopes， dreams， “making it”， etc。 So beautifully done。 Would love to read this author’s other book and hope there are more！

Amanda ，

3。5

Roxanne ，

What a waste of time。I got nothing out of this and can only say I liked the cover。Glad I borrowed from my library and did not purchase this hot mess。

Shaileshwori Sharma ，

I found so much resonance in this book。 It made me feel seen through the accurate portrayal of complicated parent-child relationships， challenges/rewards of new motherhood， the unprecedented financial insecurities of our generation and the loss of childhood friendships as lives drift apart/gaining of unexpected friends who understand the evolved us。 The prose is heartfelt with gems every few pages that I want to revisit at different stages of my life: "There are so many streets like this， where I found so much resonance in this book。 It made me feel seen through the accurate portrayal of complicated parent-child relationships， challenges/rewards of new motherhood， the unprecedented financial insecurities of our generation and the loss of childhood friendships as lives drift apart/gaining of unexpected friends who understand the evolved us。 The prose is heartfelt with gems every few pages that I want to revisit at different stages of my life: "There are so many streets like this， where I have been so many different people。 If anyone were to ask me why I can’t leave even as this city is too hard for not-rich people， I would say it’s because I’m too afraid of what would happen to all these different people somewhere else。 This is the place where I was formed， long after forming should have happened; it’s the place where no one was looking and I felt allowed。" 。。。more

Kelsey Dolby ，

Nothing really happens and the character doesn’t want to do anything with her life。 She’s lost and has no purpose or goals

Yang G ，

DNF。 I found myself not caring and I just don’t want to read it anymore。

Michael Robinson ，

I interpreted this as the story of a privileged woman struggling with mental illness/depression and the economic realities of millennial life， though in reality she has an escape via wealthy parents/connections/etc。I get the negative reviews - this is not the most sympathetic character， but like i said this is best read as a character study of overt depression / mental struggles， which do happen to privileged people as well。 Aside from the above， it could have been written in a tighter and more I interpreted this as the story of a privileged woman struggling with mental illness/depression and the economic realities of millennial life， though in reality she has an escape via wealthy parents/connections/etc。I get the negative reviews - this is not the most sympathetic character， but like i said this is best read as a character study of overt depression / mental struggles， which do happen to privileged people as well。 Aside from the above， it could have been written in a tighter and more coherent manner。 overall 3。5/5 rounded up to 4。 。。。more

Susan Bazzett-Griffith ，

I found this to be one of the most emotionally gripping and real and stark novels I've ever read。 There isn't much plot， and in the hands of a less gifted writer， I may have hated the book for that， yet the way this book unfolds is stunning。 Reading it felt lije I was totally inside the narrator's head-- which isn't a happy place to be 90% of the time， but the moments of joy are blissful， and probably why I suspect a lot of younger Gen X and older millenial women will relate so strongly to the m I found this to be one of the most emotionally gripping and real and stark novels I've ever read。 There isn't much plot， and in the hands of a less gifted writer， I may have hated the book for that， yet the way this book unfolds is stunning。 Reading it felt lije I was totally inside the narrator's head-- which isn't a happy place to be 90% of the time， but the moments of joy are blissful， and probably why I suspect a lot of younger Gen X and older millenial women will relate so strongly to the main character。 Figuring out life as an adult and yearning for independence， coming to terms with issues with her own difficult parents， being a mother to young children and wife to a good man， the disappointment of a life in academia， losing who she was because of the financial and emotional drains of just scraping by。。。 I think this slice of life book is one of the best pieces of literature I've read in a long time。 5 stars。 。。。more

Susan Jackson ，

So tiresome， I kept waiting for it to get better but it didn’t

Kim Gammond ，

Mostly just a privileged women depressed that she did not end up with a fabulous life after putting zero effort into accomplishing much。

Lissa Franz ，

This is a novel about longing， the exposure of privilege， how dreams fall short and are thwarted by ourselves and others: I found it mesmerizing， not to mention how the main character talks about the books she is reading and what she thinks of them。 I was enthralled by the narration， the tension of family and work and finances， of love and judgment， of trying to escape reality because reality is terrible。 A favorite。

Sage Bailey ，

I read Want when it debuted last year and had a pretty negative reaction to it。 I went on break due to the shelter-in-place orders， happened to see it in the library and decided to give it another chance however my feelings haven't changed。 This book is awful。Not because it isn't well written， not because it has some terrible premise--but because this book is essentially "Privileged White Woman the Novel，" and the main character learns absolutely nothing。 Elizabeth is our main protagonist。 She's I read Want when it debuted last year and had a pretty negative reaction to it。 I went on break due to the shelter-in-place orders， happened to see it in the library and decided to give it another chance however my feelings haven't changed。 This book is awful。Not because it isn't well written， not because it has some terrible premise--but because this book is essentially "Privileged White Woman the Novel，" and the main character learns absolutely nothing。 Elizabeth is our main protagonist。 She's in her 30s， has two kids， lives in New York and teaches at an inner city school because she's not one of "those" white people。 She's so much not one of "those，" people that she and her husband decide to "opt out，" of certain systems。 That's right， even though her parents are well-off she chooses not to associate with them or accept their money because they're "out of touch，" and apparently think they're better than others。 Even though her husband could work a traditional white-collar job， he decides that he doesn't want to do what society expects him to do。 And even though her parents paid for her education and she could've done anything with her life， she decides to take on debt to get a PhD and then teach at a school because that is better than using her privilege to make the life of her family better。 Did I mention they are going bankrupt？There is actually a beautifully written passage about how they both have student loans but the bulk of their debt came from her pregnancies and that I understand--what I don't understand is how despite being bankrupt Elizabeth constantly leaves her job early， paints her parents as villains for giving her a privileged childhood， discourages her husband from being a sperm donor for a couple that is willing to write them a very big check （then being upset when they go with another couple，） and finally quitting her job because it just "doesn't make her happy anymore。"And I'm going to spoil the ending here because it is the main reason I don't like this book。 Read everything I just said above， and then realize that the book ends with （view spoiler）[her calling her parents--the ones she claims she doesn't want anything from--and getting money from them and going about her own life。 （hide spoiler）]This character learns absolutely nothing。 Not a g*ddamned thing。Another book I read around this time was The Apartment and what I enjoyed about this is that you had a white male protagonist who also came from a rich family and was gaming the system by living in a below-market rate apartment。 His life feels meaningless， he's in a graduate program and is trying to make his life meaningful through art but the fact of the matter is， if it wasn't for his money his mediocrity wouldn't fly there。 He becomes almost obsessed with another guy in his class who is also white and male but poor。 This other guy has worked for everything he has and is apparently the star of his writing course。 I won't spoil the ending but there is some jealousy involved and the protagonist--while bitter--does seem to learn a lesson here about the limits of privilege in the real world。 Rereading this book was infuriating because I can imagine that this is biographical in some sense and this author really thought she was writing a compelling story about the struggles of bankruptcy when really all she did was write about how some people are some entitled and disconnected from reality that they reject the very privilege that keeps them afloat and ultimately run back to it。There are also parts of this book that don't need to be there like her constantly talking about this old friend she had， a murder in her apartment building and a sexual assault allegation at her second job。I honestly just don't like this book and I can only recommend it so far as to say this is NOT how you write about privilege。 This is a one out of five for me。 。。。more

Kamaulies ，

Mocne trzy gwiazdki。Bardzo miło spędzony czas。 Wartości literackiej samej w sobie ta książka wielkiej nie ma， ale ja bardzo lubię tak osobiste spotkania。 Sprawnie napisana， Elizabeth jest tak autentyczna， że wrażenie czytania wspomnień bardziej niż fikcji nie opuszczało mnie ani na chwilę。

Jennifer ，

Sometimes violences are small and subtle， but that only makes them harder to make sense of， to figure out how they might be forgiven， how one might make amends for them later on。

Shauna ，

So bad。 The grammar and sentence structure alone…how did this pass the edit stage？ Yikes！ Just reading the very first sentence of the book。 I should have know not to keep reading。 And the author teaches writing。 😳Please help me…what am I missing with this book！？I don’t give 1 star reviews。 I am sad！ I don’t even know where to start。 Maybe with the fact that most of the main characters didn’t have names…。why？ ‘My husband’ ‘the 2-year-old’ ‘the 4-year-old’ ‘the 24-year old’ what is that all about？ So bad。 The grammar and sentence structure alone…how did this pass the edit stage？ Yikes！ Just reading the very first sentence of the book。 I should have know not to keep reading。 And the author teaches writing。 😳Please help me…what am I missing with this book！？I don’t give 1 star reviews。 I am sad！ I don’t even know where to start。 Maybe with the fact that most of the main characters didn’t have names…。why？ ‘My husband’ ‘the 2-year-old’ ‘the 4-year-old’ ‘the 24-year old’ what is that all about？！？ That bugged me the entire book。 There was no character development outside of the main character’s obsession with her estranged friend who want even communicate with her。 Their relationship was so bizarre。 The incessant nod at breastfeeding was weird and really served no purpose。 And don’t get me wrong I’m all about normalizing breastfeeding。 This read like a robotic journal written by a teenager living an adult life。 The story really had no plot。 There was no point to most of the ‘entries’ or sections of each chapter written。 Just when a scene would come up that could be interesting it just ends in the next sentence and moved on to the next ‘entry’ or section。 I’m still trying to wrap my head around what I just read。 I’m confused！ 。。。more

Alix ，

Maybe 3。5。 If you have been wondering who would write the Great （or Pretty Good） American novel about how close to the edge seemingly middle-class Americans live， or （in other words） about bankruptcy， here is your answer。 This book is also about the kind of intense friendship between women that one can have in one's youth， and about motherhood， education， and a whole bunch of other things。 The book is filtered entirely through the first-person narrator whose name is not revealed until the last p Maybe 3。5。 If you have been wondering who would write the Great （or Pretty Good） American novel about how close to the edge seemingly middle-class Americans live， or （in other words） about bankruptcy， here is your answer。 This book is also about the kind of intense friendship between women that one can have in one's youth， and about motherhood， education， and a whole bunch of other things。 The book is filtered entirely through the first-person narrator whose name is not revealed until the last page。 Her husband is similarly unnamed， as are her children， "the two year old" and "the four year old。" I am not sure if this is supposed to suggest that this could happen to any of us: after all， the narrator has a PhD in literature， and lots of PhDs are seriously underemployed。 But her angst， and her arguably self-destructive ways of coping with her situation and her feelings， are very specific to her--and being inside the head of such a person made this kind of unpleasant to read。 It's possible to admire a work without actually liking it， right？ 。。。more

basiaprime ，

Tu nie jest nic poruszone， a książka jednak opowiada o wszystkim。 O przyjaźni， o macierzyństwie， o depresji， o niezrozumieniu， o rasie， o społecznym wykluczeniu， o balansowaniu na granicy bankructwa， o ucieczce od wszystkich i od siebie samej。 Wspaniała， pięknie napisana， pozostawia za sobą mnóstwo niedopowiedzień i czytelnik aż chce wedrzeć się między strony i zapytać bohaterów "co dalej？" Tu nie jest nic poruszone， a książka jednak opowiada o wszystkim。 O przyjaźni， o macierzyństwie， o depresji， o niezrozumieniu， o rasie， o społecznym wykluczeniu， o balansowaniu na granicy bankructwa， o ucieczce od wszystkich i od siebie samej。 Wspaniała， pięknie napisana， pozostawia za sobą mnóstwo niedopowiedzień i czytelnik aż chce wedrzeć się między strony i zapytać bohaterów "co dalej？" 。。。more

Patricia ，

I did not get this book at all。

Judy ，

Strange story。 I kept reading waiting for a climax that never happened。 The inner life of this highly educated， estranged from her rich parents woman who is struggling financially is fragmented and difficult to follow the point。 The best part of the book was the list of other books to read。

Maria Awaria ，

Przepięknie napisana！ Normalne， zwyczajne życie głównej bohaterki cudownie otula。

Tiffany Reynolds ，

Elizabeth is struggling to make a living in New York。 She has a job as a high school teacher and an adjunct at a university， her husband works as a carpenter， and they have two little girls， two and four。 Her drive， desperation and despair run underneath the narrative， which is often told as a summary with little dialogue， and characters are rarely named。 Her children are "the two-year-old" and "the four-year-old，" and there's also her husband， her "two co-teachers，" and "the Chilean writer。" In Elizabeth is struggling to make a living in New York。 She has a job as a high school teacher and an adjunct at a university， her husband works as a carpenter， and they have two little girls， two and four。 Her drive， desperation and despair run underneath the narrative， which is often told as a summary with little dialogue， and characters are rarely named。 Her children are "the two-year-old" and "the four-year-old，" and there's also her husband， her "two co-teachers，" and "the Chilean writer。" In a way this adds to the mood of estrangement in the novel， but it also makes the narrator's focus on her old friend， Sasha， even more significant。 The story alternates between the present day， in which the narrator feels disillusioned by her job and on edge about money， and the past， when she and Sasha were in college together。 Elizabeth can't forgive herself for having abandoned Sasha during a crisis， and then， in the later part of the story， Sasha texts her， I CAN'T DO THIS。 The narration feels disconnected yet somehow works in portraying Elizabeth's depression and fear。 She cares about her students and family， yet at the same time skips out of work early and spends money she can't afford。 The mood is subdued yet hopeful， and the characters believably flawed。 Not everyone will enjoy this book， but most readers will care about the characters。 。。。more

Laura Crook Brisson ，

A bleak read， I won’t lie。

Teri ，

Not remembering it well which is telling。 Main character， a working mom who runs early mornings is struggling with materialism and connects with an old friend to sort out her struggles

Alicia ，

aaaaaaahhhh

Patti Hinko ，

Pros: Elizabeth， a high school English teacher， speaks to my soul at moments。 She perfectly captures the weight of wanting to help your students with doing what is best for you as a person。 Strong also amazingly encapsulates the constant heaviness that many 30 something's feel as they try to "follow their dreams" （as was often pushed when younger）， but also try to just survive in a world where it sometimes feels like no matter how hard you try， it never gets better。Cons: Elizabeth's relationship Pros: Elizabeth， a high school English teacher， speaks to my soul at moments。 She perfectly captures the weight of wanting to help your students with doing what is best for you as a person。 Strong also amazingly encapsulates the constant heaviness that many 30 something's feel as they try to "follow their dreams" （as was often pushed when younger）， but also try to just survive in a world where it sometimes feels like no matter how hard you try， it never gets better。Cons: Elizabeth's relationship with Sasha was built up to be this monumental thing， yet when Sasha actually shows up， she is there for all of five pages at most。 She leaves as quickly as she arrives。 I wish more time was taken to explore this since I feel like Strong could remove Sasha and the message of the novel would have stayed the same。Would I Recommend: Maybe？ It is a quick read and it is a great insight to economic anxiety that many face， but I don't see it being everyone's cup of tea。 。。。more

Ali Sackley ，

Depressed straight， white woman in NYC who hates her rich parents …。 Weird layering of race in here as well ？ Not rlly sure what was going on there …。 truly and deeply boring

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Want

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Want&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Want&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0