The Idiot
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-06-03 09:55:00
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Elif Batuman
- ISBN：014311106X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book
Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction
"An addictive， sprawling epic; I wolfed it down。"
--Miranda July， author of The First Bad Man and It Chooses You
"Easily the funniest book I've read this year。"
-- GQ
A portrait of the artist as a young woman。 A novel about not just discovering but inventing oneself。
The year is 1995， and email is new。 Selin， the daughter of Turkish immigrants， arrives for her freshman year at Harvard。 She signs up for classes in subjects she has never heard of， befriends her charismatic and worldly Serbian classmate， Svetlana， and， almost by accident， begins corresponding with Ivan， an older mathematics student from Hungary。 Selin may have barely spoken to Ivan， but with each email they exchange， the act of writing seems to take on new and increasingly mysterious meanings。
At the end of the school year， Ivan goes to Budapest for the summer， and Selin heads to the Hungarian countryside， to teach English in a program run by one of Ivan's friends。 On the way， she spends two weeks visiting Paris with Svetlana。 Selin's summer in Europe does not resonate with anything she has previously heard about the typical experiences of American college students， or indeed of any other kinds of people。 For Selin， this is a journey further inside herself: a coming to grips with the ineffable and exhilarating confusion of first love， and with the growing consciousness that she is doomed to become a writer。
With superlative emotional and intellectual sensitivity， mordant wit， and pitch-perfect style， Batuman dramatizes the uncertainty of life on the cusp of adulthood。 Her prose is a rare and inimitable combination of tenderness and wisdom; its logic as natural and inscrutable as that of memory itself。 The Idiot is a heroic yet self-effacing reckoning with the terror and joy of becoming a person in a world that is as intoxicating as it is disquieting。 Batuman's fiction is unguarded against both life's affronts and its beauty--and has at its command the complete range of thinking and feeling which they entail。
Named one the best books of the year by Refinery29 - Mashable One - Elle Magazine - The New York Times - Bookpage - Vogue - NPR - Buzzfeed -The Millions
Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction
"An addictive， sprawling epic; I wolfed it down。"
--Miranda July， author of The First Bad Man and It Chooses You
"Easily the funniest book I've read this year。"
-- GQ
A portrait of the artist as a young woman。 A novel about not just discovering but inventing oneself。
The year is 1995， and email is new。 Selin， the daughter of Turkish immigrants， arrives for her freshman year at Harvard。 She signs up for classes in subjects she has never heard of， befriends her charismatic and worldly Serbian classmate， Svetlana， and， almost by accident， begins corresponding with Ivan， an older mathematics student from Hungary。 Selin may have barely spoken to Ivan， but with each email they exchange， the act of writing seems to take on new and increasingly mysterious meanings。
At the end of the school year， Ivan goes to Budapest for the summer， and Selin heads to the Hungarian countryside， to teach English in a program run by one of Ivan's friends。 On the way， she spends two weeks visiting Paris with Svetlana。 Selin's summer in Europe does not resonate with anything she has previously heard about the typical experiences of American college students， or indeed of any other kinds of people。 For Selin， this is a journey further inside herself: a coming to grips with the ineffable and exhilarating confusion of first love， and with the growing consciousness that she is doomed to become a writer。
With superlative emotional and intellectual sensitivity， mordant wit， and pitch-perfect style， Batuman dramatizes the uncertainty of life on the cusp of adulthood。 Her prose is a rare and inimitable combination of tenderness and wisdom; its logic as natural and inscrutable as that of memory itself。 The Idiot is a heroic yet self-effacing reckoning with the terror and joy of becoming a person in a world that is as intoxicating as it is disquieting。 Batuman's fiction is unguarded against both life's affronts and its beauty--and has at its command the complete range of thinking and feeling which they entail。
Named one the best books of the year by Refinery29 - Mashable One - Elle Magazine - The New York Times - Bookpage - Vogue - NPR - Buzzfeed -The Millions
Reviews
Nischita
，
Never have I so closely related to the protagonist of a novel。 I was honestly shocked on multiple occasions with the similarities that arose， some of them going so deep even to physical description。 The same shoe size？？ Come on。 After I finished it I looked up the title on tiktok to see what other people thought and there were mixed reviews， which I expected。 Although it must be clear from my review so far that I thoroughly enjoyed this book， I can definitely understand why it may not be everyon Never have I so closely related to the protagonist of a novel。 I was honestly shocked on multiple occasions with the similarities that arose， some of them going so deep even to physical description。 The same shoe size？？ Come on。 After I finished it I looked up the title on tiktok to see what other people thought and there were mixed reviews， which I expected。 Although it must be clear from my review so far that I thoroughly enjoyed this book， I can definitely understand why it may not be everyone's cup of tea。 If you exclusively read novels that are plot-driven， I can confidently say that this book isn't for you， as there is little to no plot， it simply follows a girl in her first year of college。 As someone who has a short attention span and is not afraid to DNF books due to lack of entertainment， I was pretty surprised that I liked this book that much。 For me， the writing has to be pretty good to make up for the lack of an interesting plot， so that should go to show exactly how much I enjoyed Batuman's style。 I so strongly identified with Selin to the point where at times， I felt as if I was reading my own diary from an alternate universe version of myself。 Each time I caught myself thinking that the story would be more "interesting" had it gone another route with a character relationship or plotline， I checked myself by realizing that there is beauty in the simplicity of the book， it is what makes it so real。 。。。more
H
，
"I hadn't learned what I wanted to 。。。 I hadn't learned anything at all。"Yeah， that pretty much sums up college :） "I hadn't learned what I wanted to 。。。 I hadn't learned anything at all。"Yeah， that pretty much sums up college :） 。。。more
Hannah
，
dnf at 28%。 the gag is i really like this book。 i think it’s really smart and observational and it completely captures what it’s like to be in college。 it’s funny， quirky， smart， but i just don’t like the way it’s written and i’m bored。 i don’t want to be put in a slump。 i appreciate it for what it is though
Monique Bettencourt
，
Brilliant。 Reading this will always remind me of my first few weeks living in New York。
Kate De
，
I think I missed the point of this book。 It was well written， with funny， sad and interesting bits， but I was confused about what the purpose of any of it was。 Selin was painfully obtuse， and difficult to like too。
Eli Sturgeon
，
Good。 Do not listen to haters。
Emily Evans
，
There is no point to this book
John
，
This rather directionless and plotless novel （almost a psychological picaresque） is about a first-year college student （at Harvard） who is attempting to figure out the world。 She's interested in languages and linguistics: The great theme of the book is the difficulty communicating with anyone: And the protagonist is working through that difficulty both pragmatically and theoretically （through her studies of linguistics and philosophy）。 The trouble with the novel， though， is that it just goes on This rather directionless and plotless novel （almost a psychological picaresque） is about a first-year college student （at Harvard） who is attempting to figure out the world。 She's interested in languages and linguistics: The great theme of the book is the difficulty communicating with anyone: And the protagonist is working through that difficulty both pragmatically and theoretically （through her studies of linguistics and philosophy）。 The trouble with the novel， though， is that it just goes on 。 。 。 and on 。 。 。 and on。 The first half is on the whole better than the second half。 Much of the second half is taken up with the protagonist's visit to Hungary to teach English。 In some ways I would have to count this as pretty hostile to the idea that there was much of interest in the Hungary of the 90s。I did feel some resonance with my own memories of being a young and naive first-year college student， but those were fleeting and pretty shallow。 Maybe my problem and not the author's。Because of the last two or three sentences I am mildly intrigued by the sequel; in the paperback version the opening pages of the sequel are there so maybe I'll try and see if the story is worth continuing。 。。。more
Ionela
，
I liked it
John Shugert
，
Interesting。 I did remind me a little of the original by Dostoyevsky in tone。
Taylor-Lynn
，
“She believed， and I did， too， that every story had a central meaning。 You could get that meaning， or you could miss it completely。”/“Where would I be in four years？ Simple: where you are。 In four years I’ll have reached you。”/“It’s so hard to be sincere without sounding pretentious，” she said。 “I mean， what are you supposed to do if you really happen to feel like you’ve swallowed the universe？ Not say so？”
Jackie
，
My hottest take is this is a 400+ page book that could’ve been told in 125 pages。 That’s just one girl’s opinion！！！ It’s also my good friends favorite book so I am not here to judge。 I love the insights and Selin’s view of the world， just think it would have been more poignant if we got more of that and less of everyday minute details。 Also wish there was more description of setting as sometimes I had a hard time telling where we were！！
Isabelle
，
was a very engaging read （read it on one day！） really like the style of selin’s observations and how they were largely relatable and often funny。 as i am in her position （in the summer after my freshman year of college） comparison is natural。 this is a strange period of life and although my life is not as entertaining i was still able to relate to her feeling of alienation， confusion， maturing， and naïveté。
Cecilia Fang
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Honestly i found this book boring - but that also kinda felt like the point？？ No one really knows what the hell they're doing at 19， （no one knows what they're doing， period） and that's what this book felt like was about。 None of the characters are super interesting nor is the plot。 Yet you follow this newborn adult who has this realization that actually， life is very boring and not all that picturesque like we envision it to be， and you follow it because it's likely what your life is like too。 Honestly i found this book boring - but that also kinda felt like the point？？ No one really knows what the hell they're doing at 19， （no one knows what they're doing， period） and that's what this book felt like was about。 None of the characters are super interesting nor is the plot。 Yet you follow this newborn adult who has this realization that actually， life is very boring and not all that picturesque like we envision it to be， and you follow it because it's likely what your life is like too。 Reality is stagnant and stupid。 We're all foolishly existing。 It's not a bad story but just not one for me。 。。。more
makayla
，
Will never recreate the feeling I got when reading this book I fear
Nicole
，
i’m literally just like her fr
Debora
，
L'idiota， di cosa parla？Una giovane ragazza inizia il college。 È giovane e piena di aspettative。 Queste si scontrano con la realtà e non sempre coincidono。 Tutti noi ci siamo ritrovati a darci degli idioti quando ci siamo resi conto delle aspettative sbagliate che ci eravamo fatti （io lo faccio un giorno sì e uno no）。Una caratteristica della protagonista è il suo analizzare e chiedersi cosa ci sia dietro ogni parola， come se la comunicazione fosse sempre fatta di messaggi impliciti o il dire la L'idiota， di cosa parla？Una giovane ragazza inizia il college。 È giovane e piena di aspettative。 Queste si scontrano con la realtà e non sempre coincidono。 Tutti noi ci siamo ritrovati a darci degli idioti quando ci siamo resi conto delle aspettative sbagliate che ci eravamo fatti （io lo faccio un giorno sì e uno no）。Una caratteristica della protagonista è il suo analizzare e chiedersi cosa ci sia dietro ogni parola， come se la comunicazione fosse sempre fatta di messaggi impliciti o il dire la cosa giusta。 Posso capire il non saper cosa dire in certi casi ma il suo silenzio spesso mi ha infastidito。Il non capire bene le sue emozioni e pensieri， mi è sembrato che spesso si lasciasse trasportare dalle situazioni。Altro punto no è il suo rapporto con Ivan， con cui dovrebbe avere un interesse amoroso。 Ho trovato fastidioso il suo modo di non agire o parlare。Merito va ai vari personaggi che incontra。 Ho adorato la varietà di persone。Lo consiglierei？ Si， perché in fondo siamo stati o siamo tutti come la protagonista in un certo momento della nostra vita。 。。。more
finn
，
babe wake up my new found personality， aka the idiot by elif batuman， just dropped！！！！！！！！
Sandy Gallardo
，
The last paragraph！！ Ooof！
Adrienne
，
This reminded me of college so hard it hurt。
Abby
，
Well， I did not love this book as much as I wanted to， but I still liked it a lot。 The Idiot is both gripping and tedious， just like growing up feels （😀）。 This accomplishment is pretty stunning， but it is not necessarily fulfilling to read。 Selin’s experience as a Harvard freshman felt like a bunch of disparate details that accumulated into some muddy portrait。 I finished the book feeling like I knew less about Selin than I did when I started。 That is not because of any lack of real interiority Well， I did not love this book as much as I wanted to， but I still liked it a lot。 The Idiot is both gripping and tedious， just like growing up feels （😀）。 This accomplishment is pretty stunning， but it is not necessarily fulfilling to read。 Selin’s experience as a Harvard freshman felt like a bunch of disparate details that accumulated into some muddy portrait。 I finished the book feeling like I knew less about Selin than I did when I started。 That is not because of any lack of real interiority in the story， but because at all times， there is a sense of alienation。 Selin seems to not be quite physically close enough to the world to be living within it， and therefore， I had difficulty reconciling Selin and myself。 I don’t think that makes any sense， but mostly， I just didn’t feel enough urgency in the narration to be compelled the whole way through。 I loved the first 100 or so pages。 The dry humor， Selin’s way of looking at the world as an outsider or alien， like someone staring at what’s on the other side of the glass at an aquarium， worked for me。 But it was also this quality that made me lose some interest。 It felt boring after a while！ But still， I don’t know if that’s really a bad thing。 I am nineteen， and I just finished my freshman year of college in Boston， and I feel exactly the same stasis that Selin feels 。_。 Real life is like that。 You find poignancy in things that are probably meaningless and uninteresting to other people。 The period of growing up is like an ouroboros。 It returns us only to ourselves again and again。 The Idiot is representation for people with boring lives。 And it is worth reading for that！ The language in this book is pretty incredible。 There are so many sentences that seem to have landed on the page flawlessly。 Many true and outrageous and beautiful sentiments。 It’s kinda crazy that Boston is real。 。。。more
Carly
，
“Why was it fun for us to make each other suffer？ Did that mean it wasn’t love？ Surely that wasn’t what love was？” Yep。 If I told you I have never had such close experiences with a main character in a book you wouldn’t believe me。
my boks
，
I get the premise of the novel and understand its notion of the satire of faux confidence displayed by students attending a school like Harvard， but it dragged quite a bit for me。 The hopeless romance the main character knows is a farce in her head but desperately grasps at straws to continue did not demonstrate enough development to keep my interest （which I know is the point-this relationship will never be anything more than a fantasy and our main character knows this）， though I caught myself I get the premise of the novel and understand its notion of the satire of faux confidence displayed by students attending a school like Harvard， but it dragged quite a bit for me。 The hopeless romance the main character knows is a farce in her head but desperately grasps at straws to continue did not demonstrate enough development to keep my interest （which I know is the point-this relationship will never be anything more than a fantasy and our main character knows this）， though I caught myself predicting a disappointing end to this novel by having a clear grasp on its depressingly predictable pathway （which the main character is also aware of， making her characterization realistic and therefore one I appreciate， though it simply did not grab my attention enough）。 I stopped reading the book 3/4 of the way through because I felt like I had finished it; it's still a good read if you are less impatient than me and are more appreciative of life-mirroring realism。 。。。more
Ethan Schlatter
，
Its very very funny and observant， but it ultimately does become a bummer。 Would recommend just know that like the first 100 pages are the most fun and then you're gonna start feeling uncomfy at an alarming increasing rate。 Its very very funny and observant， but it ultimately does become a bummer。 Would recommend just know that like the first 100 pages are the most fun and then you're gonna start feeling uncomfy at an alarming increasing rate。 。。。more
emma
，
i liked it then i didn’t like it and then i loved it
asmah
，
Let me just say that this was a long ride， a one that I enjoyed much more than I thought I would。
Danielle
，
may 31， 2022 update:this quote tho:“i found myself remembering the day in kindergarten when the teachers showed us dumbo， and i realized for the first time that all the kids in the class， even the bullies， rooted for dumbo， against dumbo's tormentors。 invariably they laughed and cheered， both when dumbo succeeded and when bad things happened to his enemies。 but they're you， i thought to myself。 how did they not know？ they didn't know。 it was astounding， an astounding truth。 everyone thought they may 31， 2022 update:this quote tho:“i found myself remembering the day in kindergarten when the teachers showed us dumbo， and i realized for the first time that all the kids in the class， even the bullies， rooted for dumbo， against dumbo's tormentors。 invariably they laughed and cheered， both when dumbo succeeded and when bad things happened to his enemies。 but they're you， i thought to myself。 how did they not know？ they didn't know。 it was astounding， an astounding truth。 everyone thought they were dumbo。” 。。。more
Catriona Nicholson
，
not that good but okay
Marmy
，
I should stop trying to read books like these。 They are so clearly and painfully not for me。
Gabriella
，
the first 100 pages of this book you'll hate it but then it is SO GOOD！！！ honestly want to read again knowing what i know now - it's such a good read because it just reads like a stream of consciousness and she's just like me fr the first 100 pages of this book you'll hate it but then it is SO GOOD！！！ honestly want to read again knowing what i know now - it's such a good read because it just reads like a stream of consciousness and she's just like me fr 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Idiot
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Idiot&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Idiot&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0