The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld

American Literature 5 Comments

Synopsis:
Snapshots in the life of a slightly depressed young woman with low self-esteem.

Review:
I loved Sittenfeld’s debut novel Prep, and had high expectations for this one. I was pretty disappointed. Hannah is passive and largely disinterested in life, and this just doesn’t make for a compelling main character, unless her passivity is what the story is about. But Sittenfeld doesn’t have a strong premise, nor has she engaged with some of the ideas that pepper the narrative. The book feels loose and disconnected, and I never really knew where Hannah–or Sittenfeld–stood on anything that was happening.

The structure is a problem as well. The book spans about a decade in Hannah’s life, but the moments that Sittenfeld has chosen to portray don’t connect with one another to paint a larger picture. The result is episodic and half-baked.

Finally, Hannah isn’t a well-constructed character. She seems dead, somehow–and this was Sittenfeld’s biggest problem in Prep, because Lee Fiora was also curiously passive. The difference was that it felt like Lee wanted to be active, and that it was Sittenfeld who was holding her back. In Hannah, Sittenfeld has created a character who has no issue with the small, dull life that Sittenfeld has given her, and when she makes an active choice (such as to set ground rules for an open relationship with the office skirt-chaser), it feels like Sittenfeld has to twist her arm to do it. Hannah is one of those characters who feels like she’s sitting in a box, waiting for the author to trot her out and make some plot, but she really just wants to go back inside and sit quietly by herself.

The Man of My Dreams: A Novel

5 thoughts on “The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld”

  1. This comment harkens back to your Neil Postman entry: I met Mr. Postman when he spoke at Rider University where I was manager of employment for many years. I had read his “Amusing Ourselves to Death” and after his talk, he and I got into a discussion about his ideas. I remember that we had a lively exchange about the use of computers. On that evening, I bought and he signed with a personal note his latest “Building a Bridge to the 18th Century,” another provocative work. He seemed to me passionate about his beliefs in writing, and a pleasant, kindly man in person.

  2. I’m glad to hear that about Postman; my friend who studied under him was quite taken with him as well. Have you read anything else by him? I’d like to read another of his books and would love a recommendation.

  4. I can’t bring myself to read this book because I can’t stand the title. I know that’s silly. Prep was enjoyable, though.

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