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If You're Not Yet Like Me
Joellyn—as judgmental as she is insecure—tells her unborn daughter the story of her courtship with an unemployed, terribly-dressed man named Zachary. The novella is a romantic comedy—if romantic comedies were dark and screwed up and no one got exactly what they wanted.
55 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2010
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3,304 people want to read
About the author
Edan Lepucki
8books33.1kfollowersEdan Lepucki is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels California and Woman No. 17. Her new novel, Time's Mouth, was published August 1, 2023.
Edan is also the editor of Mothers Before: Stories and Portraits of Our Mothers as We Never Saw Them. Her fiction and nonfiction have been published in Esquire, The Cut, McSweeney's, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times Magazine, among other publications. She was the guest editor of Best American Nonrequired Reading 2019.
She likes taking baths, reading, and filling out forms.
Edan is also the editor of Mothers Before: Stories and Portraits of Our Mothers as We Never Saw Them. Her fiction and nonfiction have been published in Esquire, The Cut, McSweeney's, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times Magazine, among other publications. She was the guest editor of Best American Nonrequired Reading 2019.
She likes taking baths, reading, and filling out forms.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews
November 9, 2010
This book is amazing!
(Okay, okay, I wrote it.)
(Okay, okay, I wrote it.)
December 4, 2010
Let me start by saying, as I often have to, that I am incapable of giving this book an unbiased reading. My wife wrote it. Now, you might be thinking "Why did you give it only 4 stars, then?!" Good question. I have a few reasons. One, while I love this book, I think Edan has even better books to come, and when I give those 5 stars, I want people to know just how much I mean it. Second, I figure this gives all of my reviews instant credibility. If I give something 4 stars, it means just what it says it means under the stars -- "I loved it."
And I did love this book. The narrator, Joellyn, is a perfectly realized vision of a person in their late-20s or early-30s, a person who is simultaneously smart and lost. Or rather, smart and just starting to find their way. I floundered around for a while in my 20s, and I think this book, like few others I've read, nails that time in one's life. Joellyn has a career, presumably, and she lives alone in an apartment in the city, but she doesn't strike me as a real adult. She's not yet "grown up." And this, of course, is what makes her story so poignant.
I also love the character of Zachary Haas so much. He's just that perfect late-20s guy, right down to his sneakers and crappy free computer bag, and I really identified with him (which maybe says a little too much about me, sadly). I thought Joellyn and Zachary's romance was incredibly true to life. In fact, because so much of the story feels as if it came directly from my world, I think it's important to note how the author does a dazzling job of making the book succeed as more than a mere retelling of a failed relationship. The narrative tricks -- including using a kind of quasi direct address ("I can feel you getting excited about Zachary, and that excitement is dangerous, for this story doesn't end how you want it to.") -- and the book's rueful humor make this so much more than just another girl-meets-boy, girl-loses-boy story. It is recognizably our world, but the description of it -- the telling of the tale -- has so much more style than life does. I think this is the definition of great realist fiction.
It's that combination of humor and sorrow that I think will end up being Lepucki's trademark style, and it's that humor that sugar-coats what might otherwise be a quite sad story. That's as much as I can say without ruining the story for you. I will add that the 2nd edition of this book, the one that you're likely to find in a bookstore or online at this point, contains one of my favorite stories, "I am the Lion Now." It contains a baby possum (What is the term for a baby possum? A cub? A kid? A puppy?) and at one point, the narration enters the possum's thoughts. It also contains references to the Taliban. How it all connects? Well, read the story to find out.
[One last self-referential note: Others have wondered whether I am a sort of prototype for Zachary Haas. Let me end the speculation now -- I am not. It's true that I had poor personal style in my 20s, and it is also true that there was a time in my life, yes, when I enjoyed the occasional personal pizza. But never, never would I have been so blithely oblivious or confident enough on a first date as to order a salad with raw onions. I wish I had balls like that.]
And I did love this book. The narrator, Joellyn, is a perfectly realized vision of a person in their late-20s or early-30s, a person who is simultaneously smart and lost. Or rather, smart and just starting to find their way. I floundered around for a while in my 20s, and I think this book, like few others I've read, nails that time in one's life. Joellyn has a career, presumably, and she lives alone in an apartment in the city, but she doesn't strike me as a real adult. She's not yet "grown up." And this, of course, is what makes her story so poignant.
I also love the character of Zachary Haas so much. He's just that perfect late-20s guy, right down to his sneakers and crappy free computer bag, and I really identified with him (which maybe says a little too much about me, sadly). I thought Joellyn and Zachary's romance was incredibly true to life. In fact, because so much of the story feels as if it came directly from my world, I think it's important to note how the author does a dazzling job of making the book succeed as more than a mere retelling of a failed relationship. The narrative tricks -- including using a kind of quasi direct address ("I can feel you getting excited about Zachary, and that excitement is dangerous, for this story doesn't end how you want it to.") -- and the book's rueful humor make this so much more than just another girl-meets-boy, girl-loses-boy story. It is recognizably our world, but the description of it -- the telling of the tale -- has so much more style than life does. I think this is the definition of great realist fiction.
It's that combination of humor and sorrow that I think will end up being Lepucki's trademark style, and it's that humor that sugar-coats what might otherwise be a quite sad story. That's as much as I can say without ruining the story for you. I will add that the 2nd edition of this book, the one that you're likely to find in a bookstore or online at this point, contains one of my favorite stories, "I am the Lion Now." It contains a baby possum (What is the term for a baby possum? A cub? A kid? A puppy?) and at one point, the narration enters the possum's thoughts. It also contains references to the Taliban. How it all connects? Well, read the story to find out.
[One last self-referential note: Others have wondered whether I am a sort of prototype for Zachary Haas. Let me end the speculation now -- I am not. It's true that I had poor personal style in my 20s, and it is also true that there was a time in my life, yes, when I enjoyed the occasional personal pizza. But never, never would I have been so blithely oblivious or confident enough on a first date as to order a salad with raw onions. I wish I had balls like that.]
January 22, 2011
Pretty damn wonderful.
I've now read this three times. I confess: I know Edan, but I don't like anyone that much to make me rave (rather than issue a polite 4-star "Huzzah!" with exactly that kind of formal stiffness which ought to give readers of such reviews pause), let alone re-read. (Who's got time? There are incoherent action thrillers to stream on Netflix, and facebook profiles to stalk.) It's a significant fact, as you take stock of this rave, that I re-read three times, against all precedent and prevailing wisdom.
Let's be honest: I read it three times because its brevity invited return.
But let's be clear: each return was a renewal of joy, my pleasures progressing from voice (swaggering and sweet and self-loathing in equal measures; stage one) to purpose (a brilliant comic embrace of human failing, keyed like the best comic writing to forgiveness and hope, even as the narrative turns with a sneer at pathos--more on this in a moment; stage two) to prose (ohhhhhhhhhh wooooooooooow; stage three).
Stage three just completed. And, e.g.,
On long car rides, I saw myself running along the freeway shoulder, or in the brush, barefoot but in full armor.
Read that aloud. There's a song in the riffs of the repeated r's and f's and percussive buh's (buhrush, buharefoot, buhut). I hear Joellyn so precisely, and I almost don't care what she's saying, I just want to close my eyes and hear her sing more.
The next two sentences:
I assumed the woman I'd become would be vicious and beautiful, the roar of some exotic animal made physical. It's not so strange, to have high expectations.
I think it's hard to write comedy, to be a comic writer. Far harder than wringing easy tears out of identification-happy modern readers, seeking out the next big Painful Event to cathartically endure and fret about. But, instead, the comic writer rebuffs easy embraces: Joellyn's self-deprecation doesn't simply supersede her narcissism, and her clear-eyed assessments of her own pain are tempered by the incisive way Lepucki reveals how J causes pain, and the precise way she uses a comma, an aside, a finely-crafted sentence to tease out a laugh. This isn't merely softening blows, the sugar of a comic line sweetening the painful medicine of Real Writing, or throwing in a pah-dum-pum rimshot and shtick to turn the work, like treacly soft-spined taffy, into another Hollywood-ready Dramedy. No. This is the revelatory precision of a great writer whose style is perfectly attuned to her clarity about--her harsh judgment of and her generous refusal to punish--human behavior. This is Atwood-good, people.
This is one of the best works published last year -- a great novella coupled, in the mainstream edition, with an even better short story. It's the first of what will surely be a stream of amazing works. Edan is an astounding writer.
I've now read this three times. I confess: I know Edan, but I don't like anyone that much to make me rave (rather than issue a polite 4-star "Huzzah!" with exactly that kind of formal stiffness which ought to give readers of such reviews pause), let alone re-read. (Who's got time? There are incoherent action thrillers to stream on Netflix, and facebook profiles to stalk.) It's a significant fact, as you take stock of this rave, that I re-read three times, against all precedent and prevailing wisdom.
Let's be honest: I read it three times because its brevity invited return.
But let's be clear: each return was a renewal of joy, my pleasures progressing from voice (swaggering and sweet and self-loathing in equal measures; stage one) to purpose (a brilliant comic embrace of human failing, keyed like the best comic writing to forgiveness and hope, even as the narrative turns with a sneer at pathos--more on this in a moment; stage two) to prose (ohhhhhhhhhh wooooooooooow; stage three).
Stage three just completed. And, e.g.,
On long car rides, I saw myself running along the freeway shoulder, or in the brush, barefoot but in full armor.
Read that aloud. There's a song in the riffs of the repeated r's and f's and percussive buh's (buhrush, buharefoot, buhut). I hear Joellyn so precisely, and I almost don't care what she's saying, I just want to close my eyes and hear her sing more.
The next two sentences:
I assumed the woman I'd become would be vicious and beautiful, the roar of some exotic animal made physical. It's not so strange, to have high expectations.
I think it's hard to write comedy, to be a comic writer. Far harder than wringing easy tears out of identification-happy modern readers, seeking out the next big Painful Event to cathartically endure and fret about. But, instead, the comic writer rebuffs easy embraces: Joellyn's self-deprecation doesn't simply supersede her narcissism, and her clear-eyed assessments of her own pain are tempered by the incisive way Lepucki reveals how J causes pain, and the precise way she uses a comma, an aside, a finely-crafted sentence to tease out a laugh. This isn't merely softening blows, the sugar of a comic line sweetening the painful medicine of Real Writing, or throwing in a pah-dum-pum rimshot and shtick to turn the work, like treacly soft-spined taffy, into another Hollywood-ready Dramedy. No. This is the revelatory precision of a great writer whose style is perfectly attuned to her clarity about--her harsh judgment of and her generous refusal to punish--human behavior. This is Atwood-good, people.
This is one of the best works published last year -- a great novella coupled, in the mainstream edition, with an even better short story. It's the first of what will surely be a stream of amazing works. Edan is an astounding writer.
June 13, 2017
Γρήγορο, απλή και όμορφο βιβλιαράκι, που περιέχει ένα μικρό διήγημα και μια μεγαλύτερη νουβέλα. Ασχολείται με τη γυναικεία ψυχολογία, την εγκυμοσύνη και την ενηλικίωση.
Ήταν ένα από τα γρήγορα αναγνώσματα μου όσο διάβαζα το και δεν μπορούσα να κουβαλάω το τεράστιο βιβλίο των εκδόσεων Πόλις μαζί μου σε λεωφορεία και βόλτες. Και καλά έκανα, μιας και μου έδωσε κάτι γλυκό και ανεπιτήδευτο να ξεφυλλίζω, σαν μικρό διάλειμμα.
Χωρίς να έχει στήσει κάτι groundbreaking, η Lepucki έχει έναν εξαιρετικό τρόπο να ξεδιπλώνει τη φωνή των ηρώων της, ειδικά αν σκεφτούμε το πόσο χώρο έχει σε αυτές τις 2 ιστορίες για να το κάνει αυτό. Ο τόνος και η ειλικρίνα των σκέψεων τους είναι που κάνουν αυτό το βιβλίο [πολύ] αξιόλογο.
Και τελικά αυτό είναι που περιμένω από ένα βιβλιαράκι 50 σελίδων, την ικανότητα του να μου μεταδώσει πλευρές και σκέψεις που δε θα είχα αλλιώς τη δυνατότητα να συναντήσω. Οι αγωνίες και οι αμφιβολίες και το συναίσθημα και οι επιθυμίες των χαρακτήρων της Lepucki είναι σχεδόν γυμνά στο χαρτί και θέλω πολύ να διαβάσω τα και για να δω πως χειρίζεται η συγγραφέας και τη μεγαλύτερη φόρμα.
If You're Not Yet Like Me: ★★★�
Ήταν ένα από τα γρήγορα αναγνώσματα μου όσο διάβαζα το και δεν μπορούσα να κουβαλάω το τεράστιο βιβλίο των εκδόσεων Πόλις μαζί μου σε λεωφορεία και βόλτες. Και καλά έκανα, μιας και μου έδωσε κάτι γλυκό και ανεπιτήδευτο να ξεφυλλίζω, σαν μικρό διάλειμμα.
Χωρίς να έχει στήσει κάτι groundbreaking, η Lepucki έχει έναν εξαιρετικό τρόπο να ξεδιπλώνει τη φωνή των ηρώων της, ειδικά αν σκεφτούμε το πόσο χώρο έχει σε αυτές τις 2 ιστορίες για να το κάνει αυτό. Ο τόνος και η ειλικρίνα των σκέψεων τους είναι που κάνουν αυτό το βιβλίο [πολύ] αξιόλογο.
Και τελικά αυτό είναι που περιμένω από ένα βιβλιαράκι 50 σελίδων, την ικανότητα του να μου μεταδώσει πλευρές και σκέψεις που δε θα είχα αλλιώς τη δυνατότητα να συναντήσω. Οι αγωνίες και οι αμφιβολίες και το συναίσθημα και οι επιθυμίες των χαρακτήρων της Lepucki είναι σχεδόν γυμνά στο χαρτί και θέλω πολύ να διαβάσω τα και για να δω πως χειρίζεται η συγγραφέας και τη μεγαλύτερη φόρμα.
If You're Not Yet Like Me: ★★★�
March 5, 2014
This is a ridiculously spectacular novella that made me literally LOL multiple times, then literally COL (Cry Out Loud?) at least once. It belongs to my favorite literary genre, Women Who Are Extremely Mean in Ways I Find Relatable. It is also only 55 pages. It is a perfect book.
March 20, 2011
If You're Not Yet Like Me is part of Flatmancrooked's Launch series. It's one part novella, one part short story. The short story, "I Am The Lion Now," is good and smart. A young couple with a child on the way find themselves face to face with the laws of nature in their apartment. Hilarity and mischief and tiny but startling life lessons ensue. She tells the story in the third person, but she's so crafty about it. The view mostly follows the couple, but it often rotates around to the unborn child and even to the possum (see previous note about nature). The shifting POV is like a tiny rotating Earth. You know it's moving, but you can't feel it. It's just what it does and you accept it.
Now, the title story. "If You're Not Yet Like Me"...is...amaaaaaazing. I want to go to the club and dance to Beyonce's Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) with it. I want to go back to 1990, put a hypercolor t-shirt on, put on my rollerblades, and go careening down the sidewalks of my hometown with it.
Here's the nuts and bolds premise. Our narrator, Joellyn, is a bit of a snob when it comes to dating. She likes a super hot guy (she calls him Dickens) who isn't into her as much as she would like him to be. She meets another guy (Zachary) who's kind and nice and likes her back but who maybe isn't her dream guy in terms of looks and sophistication. I don't necessarily think she pines for the first guy, but she considers him a lot. She would have liked for things to have been different. She's analyzing, always analyzing. Like in "I Am The Lion Now," the craft choices she makes are pretty damn cool. I don't want to give a ton away, but an example of this happens in Zachary's apartment. He made a few piñatas and they are now hanging on the wall.
"I was still deciding if they were cool or stupid when from behind me, Zachary said, 'That one's supposed to be an old telephone. A rotary phone.'
I nodded and walked beneath it. Yes, that much was clear now, although the design was pretty primitive, too bulky, the numbers on the circular dial difficult to make out."
I read that and I was like, damn, damn, damn. Smart. She uses very specific language to describe these things while at the same time she's telling us other things about Zachary. His apartment is clean. he kissed her when she arrived. But the way she looks at these piñatas tell us something, perhaps the way she thinks about him on an unconscious level. They're such a fascinating piece of inventory that they could have easily overtaken the story. It could have been called "Pinatas". But she uses them just enough to highlight a few points and then she moves on. Overall, she's incredibly good about using what's around her to tell us what's inside her. At least, that's how I took it. Here's a moment when Zachary is in HER apartment. I think this one line tells us a hell of a lot about her, and this is extra important when you have a first person narrator.
"He checked out my shelves of design references, and my books from college, their cracked spines festooned with day-glo stickers that read USED."
First person narrators can't really walk around saying things like, "So anyway, I feel bad about my choices and...." I suppose they can, and I suppose they do (I include myself here), but real writing comes into play when those first person narrators can use what's around them, like MacGuyver.
Edan Lepucki's stories are like beating hearts. They are alive and pumping and strong. She's a writer who knows exactly what she's doing. And I know that's easy to say reading a finished, published piece. Clearly, things are going to be in order. Pieces are going to be sewn together. What am I trying to say here? I guess I think there's something really organic about it. Sometimes you read stories by writers who are good writers, but you can tell there's something forced about it. It's overwritten. Too many long crazy metaphors. Too many adverbs. And they're good writers, good stories, but they're trying way too hard. These two stories have a pure voice. Is that cheeseball to say? Well, I'll say it anyway. They do.
Now, the title story. "If You're Not Yet Like Me"...is...amaaaaaazing. I want to go to the club and dance to Beyonce's Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) with it. I want to go back to 1990, put a hypercolor t-shirt on, put on my rollerblades, and go careening down the sidewalks of my hometown with it.
Here's the nuts and bolds premise. Our narrator, Joellyn, is a bit of a snob when it comes to dating. She likes a super hot guy (she calls him Dickens) who isn't into her as much as she would like him to be. She meets another guy (Zachary) who's kind and nice and likes her back but who maybe isn't her dream guy in terms of looks and sophistication. I don't necessarily think she pines for the first guy, but she considers him a lot. She would have liked for things to have been different. She's analyzing, always analyzing. Like in "I Am The Lion Now," the craft choices she makes are pretty damn cool. I don't want to give a ton away, but an example of this happens in Zachary's apartment. He made a few piñatas and they are now hanging on the wall.
"I was still deciding if they were cool or stupid when from behind me, Zachary said, 'That one's supposed to be an old telephone. A rotary phone.'
I nodded and walked beneath it. Yes, that much was clear now, although the design was pretty primitive, too bulky, the numbers on the circular dial difficult to make out."
I read that and I was like, damn, damn, damn. Smart. She uses very specific language to describe these things while at the same time she's telling us other things about Zachary. His apartment is clean. he kissed her when she arrived. But the way she looks at these piñatas tell us something, perhaps the way she thinks about him on an unconscious level. They're such a fascinating piece of inventory that they could have easily overtaken the story. It could have been called "Pinatas". But she uses them just enough to highlight a few points and then she moves on. Overall, she's incredibly good about using what's around her to tell us what's inside her. At least, that's how I took it. Here's a moment when Zachary is in HER apartment. I think this one line tells us a hell of a lot about her, and this is extra important when you have a first person narrator.
"He checked out my shelves of design references, and my books from college, their cracked spines festooned with day-glo stickers that read USED."
First person narrators can't really walk around saying things like, "So anyway, I feel bad about my choices and...." I suppose they can, and I suppose they do (I include myself here), but real writing comes into play when those first person narrators can use what's around them, like MacGuyver.
Edan Lepucki's stories are like beating hearts. They are alive and pumping and strong. She's a writer who knows exactly what she's doing. And I know that's easy to say reading a finished, published piece. Clearly, things are going to be in order. Pieces are going to be sewn together. What am I trying to say here? I guess I think there's something really organic about it. Sometimes you read stories by writers who are good writers, but you can tell there's something forced about it. It's overwritten. Too many long crazy metaphors. Too many adverbs. And they're good writers, good stories, but they're trying way too hard. These two stories have a pure voice. Is that cheeseball to say? Well, I'll say it anyway. They do.
November 25, 2010
Now this is a compelling read, primarily because the voice of the narrator, Joellyn, is likeable and repellent simultaneously. It was fascinating to watch Joellyn purposely create a persona before arriving at her destination to - I don't know - hook up? Is that the right phrase? I think she's a genuine phony in her relationships with men, but there is also something authentic about her - the honesty with which she addresses her "audience" (I'll refrain from identifying this person) reveals just how fucked up and interesting she is. Some critic named Ben Fountain (on the back cover) thought of Henry James, and I have to say that he might be right - Joellyn is just as conscious of herself as Isabel Archer. I really enjoyed this book.
February 24, 2015
I finally received my paperback copy of this book - and it is the perfect pocket book size, with an amazing cover! Those undies are super cute... Own it, Joellyn, own it! ;)
Gahhh... Honestly, re-reading this for the second time made me love it even more. Joellyn with her flaws is relatable and loveable at the same time.
An entertaining and quick read - with a great start and ending, yet still leaves you wanting more.
Gahhh... Honestly, re-reading this for the second time made me love it even more. Joellyn with her flaws is relatable and loveable at the same time.
An entertaining and quick read - with a great start and ending, yet still leaves you wanting more.
February 9, 2017
A quick book - two short stories. Each featuring a bathtub and a relationship. Also - one has a possum in it. How can you go wrong?
Lepucki has crafted two tight little stories here. She has a wry eye and an energy or urgency to her writing. I think she is a bit of a nutter which makes me like her a lot.
Welcome to her world. It's a bit messy.
Lepucki has crafted two tight little stories here. She has a wry eye and an energy or urgency to her writing. I think she is a bit of a nutter which makes me like her a lot.
Welcome to her world. It's a bit messy.
May 5, 2011
Please, please tell me that Joellyn will get more stories in the future!
Holy cow, is this some amazing, clever writing. It's a little book with a whole lot of character going on. There's a novella and a short-story. They revolve around different characters, but have similar themes. Sadly, I can't exactly tell you about the themes without giving away some secrets.
I wish there was some way to call it "chick lit" without being derogatory. It's smart lit that happens to be about complex, modern women.
Quick, someone give Lepucki a book deal to write a full-length novel about the protagonist in the novella. She's witty, self-assured, but doesn't quite yet get her place in the world. She also tries to be snobbish and picky, but doesn't quite make it. I definitely snorted out loud at times at the humor, but I also was kind of sad at the situation.
I guess that's about all I can say. Give it a try.
Holy cow, is this some amazing, clever writing. It's a little book with a whole lot of character going on. There's a novella and a short-story. They revolve around different characters, but have similar themes. Sadly, I can't exactly tell you about the themes without giving away some secrets.
I wish there was some way to call it "chick lit" without being derogatory. It's smart lit that happens to be about complex, modern women.
Quick, someone give Lepucki a book deal to write a full-length novel about the protagonist in the novella. She's witty, self-assured, but doesn't quite yet get her place in the world. She also tries to be snobbish and picky, but doesn't quite make it. I definitely snorted out loud at times at the humor, but I also was kind of sad at the situation.
I guess that's about all I can say. Give it a try.
December 7, 2020
I didn't really like it.
I can see why would a white girl like such a story. It is witty and funny but such stories/novellas aren't my favorite cup of tea.
I can see why would a white girl like such a story. It is witty and funny but such stories/novellas aren't my favorite cup of tea.
January 6, 2011
oh my god edan, this is so sad, real, funny, a bit philosophical, typical.
one would think with kumquats growing in peoples yards and the ocean breezes that everything would be just hunky dory. but its not. no its not.
it reminds me (thanks mariel) of "oh loyd, i wanna be hearkbroken". sniff.
one would think with kumquats growing in peoples yards and the ocean breezes that everything would be just hunky dory. but its not. no its not.
it reminds me (thanks mariel) of "oh loyd, i wanna be hearkbroken". sniff.
January 19, 2022
Funny, charming, quirky, and incredibly relatable!
This novella is such an easy read, you can fly through it in a day for sure. I like switching between shorter novels and lengthier ones, especially when I need a little break from whatever else I’m reading. I found this book on a list of “Books you can devour in one day� and I have to say� the list stands.
The story follows Joellyn, who’s a little bit of a self-centred brat, exploring the trials and tribulations of love, sex, dating, and adulthood. Despite her flaws, she’s a very loveable protagonist who you will totally find yourself rooting for. Even in such a short story, I felt like I was so invested in her life.
I really enjoyed this one! It’s a 4 star for me because I loved reading this and would definitely read it again, but it just didn’t quite reach the level of “OH MY GOD THIS WAS INCREDIBLE� that my 5 star ratings have.
This novella is such an easy read, you can fly through it in a day for sure. I like switching between shorter novels and lengthier ones, especially when I need a little break from whatever else I’m reading. I found this book on a list of “Books you can devour in one day� and I have to say� the list stands.
The story follows Joellyn, who’s a little bit of a self-centred brat, exploring the trials and tribulations of love, sex, dating, and adulthood. Despite her flaws, she’s a very loveable protagonist who you will totally find yourself rooting for. Even in such a short story, I felt like I was so invested in her life.
I really enjoyed this one! It’s a 4 star for me because I loved reading this and would definitely read it again, but it just didn’t quite reach the level of “OH MY GOD THIS WAS INCREDIBLE� that my 5 star ratings have.
December 23, 2013
This really put into context what seems to happen to so many (men & women).
I've known pretty girls who 'slum' with boring or unattractive or pitiful men. Initially they criticize themselves for what they know they will not get - looks, money, prestige). Gradually they start to appreciate the fellow for they let their guard down and start to feel seen and appreciated; and then suddenly they are rejected.
What I've heard from men's perspectives is 'who wouldn't be attracted to a physically attractive lady? But the attraction wears off, particularly when the woman who once appeared confident and challenging wants nothing more than validation?
From my (best attempt at an) objective perspective: Everyone just wants to be loved and appreciated and seen separately from their ego; but such is not an option for either involved in these scenarios.
I've known pretty girls who 'slum' with boring or unattractive or pitiful men. Initially they criticize themselves for what they know they will not get - looks, money, prestige). Gradually they start to appreciate the fellow for they let their guard down and start to feel seen and appreciated; and then suddenly they are rejected.
What I've heard from men's perspectives is 'who wouldn't be attracted to a physically attractive lady? But the attraction wears off, particularly when the woman who once appeared confident and challenging wants nothing more than validation?
From my (best attempt at an) objective perspective: Everyone just wants to be loved and appreciated and seen separately from their ego; but such is not an option for either involved in these scenarios.
September 23, 2019
What a wonderfully horrible protagonist. Gloriously, heinously flawed.
I remember learning somewhere that an author wants the reader to either love or hate characters. A lukewarm reader does not turn the page. A reader enflamed, however, can't put the book down.
I got through this novella in under an hour because I just hated the protagonist. I hated everything about her. I wished her ill.
The story -- should you care -- is the protagonist speaking to her unborn child.
She tells the baby about a doomed relationship with a chubby dweeb she meets in a coffee shop.
As the story progresses, you begin to feel sorry for the baby. It is unlikely the baby deserves to be gestating in this horrible vessel. It is unlikely this woman will mother well.
I remember learning somewhere that an author wants the reader to either love or hate characters. A lukewarm reader does not turn the page. A reader enflamed, however, can't put the book down.
I got through this novella in under an hour because I just hated the protagonist. I hated everything about her. I wished her ill.
The story -- should you care -- is the protagonist speaking to her unborn child.
She tells the baby about a doomed relationship with a chubby dweeb she meets in a coffee shop.
As the story progresses, you begin to feel sorry for the baby. It is unlikely the baby deserves to be gestating in this horrible vessel. It is unlikely this woman will mother well.
May 15, 2012
I read this the day after I bought it. As a dater, this book haunts me. I still think of how lucky I am to have 2 pillows and to not put on weight 'like a woman.'
Funny, sad, cringe-worthy... I'm still holding out for the novel, Edan.
Funny, sad, cringe-worthy... I'm still holding out for the novel, Edan.
February 18, 2016
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
A truly impressive short story.
A truly impressive short story.
December 10, 2020
“You want to say: ‘Isn’t that a touch pathetic, Joellyn?� And maybe it is, but what’s pathetic about us also makes us human.�
June 16, 2011
Since I have been on a novella-reading binge, I've been thinking a lot about what makes one successful. In a very unscientific sense I've been able to categorize them into two camps: novellas that feel like truncated novels and novellas that feel like gently stretched short stories. I'd place this one in the latter category.
I really admired the way it seemed to have the restraint and compactness of a good short story. Yet I could feel that tugging at the edges, just enough to give it room to be more psychologically and technically complex.
In a standard 15-to-20-pager would we have gotten that perfect flashback/analogy about the narrator living in two houses in her youth? Doubtful. Would there have been as much artistry in the direct address, with the baby acting as both the reason for the story and a stand-in for the curious reader? Perhaps, but it would have been tough to pull off. Would I have come to like the almost-unlikable Joellyn? Probably not.
Which brings me to the main thing I liked about this novella. It took two floundering, lonesome, youngish humans and brought them together for a series of original and surprising moments. At first they are hard to root for, but as the book develops, it occurred to me that rooting for them is not really the point. Joellyn even tells her baby early on that the story is not going to end the way it (and thus: we) want it to. It's not an affair for the ages, or even the affair of the decade. It is instead, the kind of backwards love we fall into against our best interests. The inexplicable kind. The kind that isn't necessarily dramatic, but may lead us to dramatic insights.
Because of this, and because Joellyn is so honest about her mistakes, she becomes winning almost against her will. She was a character deserving of a larger work, a longer swath of time to make us see why she's giving confession to a baby, and why we should listen too.
I really admired the way it seemed to have the restraint and compactness of a good short story. Yet I could feel that tugging at the edges, just enough to give it room to be more psychologically and technically complex.
In a standard 15-to-20-pager would we have gotten that perfect flashback/analogy about the narrator living in two houses in her youth? Doubtful. Would there have been as much artistry in the direct address, with the baby acting as both the reason for the story and a stand-in for the curious reader? Perhaps, but it would have been tough to pull off. Would I have come to like the almost-unlikable Joellyn? Probably not.
Which brings me to the main thing I liked about this novella. It took two floundering, lonesome, youngish humans and brought them together for a series of original and surprising moments. At first they are hard to root for, but as the book develops, it occurred to me that rooting for them is not really the point. Joellyn even tells her baby early on that the story is not going to end the way it (and thus: we) want it to. It's not an affair for the ages, or even the affair of the decade. It is instead, the kind of backwards love we fall into against our best interests. The inexplicable kind. The kind that isn't necessarily dramatic, but may lead us to dramatic insights.
Because of this, and because Joellyn is so honest about her mistakes, she becomes winning almost against her will. She was a character deserving of a larger work, a longer swath of time to make us see why she's giving confession to a baby, and why we should listen too.
January 23, 2020
� Favorite lines:
"A girl will bleed and then she will cry."
"All four hundred of them leaned forward to get a better view, and I felt the air shift. That’s what hope feels like."
"His voice rose then, and he smiled the way men do when sex has been presented, or at least its possibility. Imagine a dog. Now show him his leash. It’s like that."
"“Oh,� he said, as if someone had just told him his mailman had died."
"It’s not so strange, to have high expectations."
� � �
And you should have high expectations because this story is truly beautiful. Heart-warming and hear-wrenching, a little masterpiece.
The writing style is witty, it's simple and complex at the same time, so it's both easy to read and thought-provoking. There are many memorable lines and scenes along with advice given to an unborn child by her mother. This point of view is unique and really fun, because you as a reader take a role of a fetus.
The main character is interestingly crafted, her opinions and view of the world are one of the kind. So is the relationship in focus. I really haven't seen many (if any at all) romances depicted this way and I highly enjoyed it.
All in all, I think everyone should read this. It's very short, but very rich in ideas and emotions it will infuse in you.
�
"A girl will bleed and then she will cry."
"All four hundred of them leaned forward to get a better view, and I felt the air shift. That’s what hope feels like."
"His voice rose then, and he smiled the way men do when sex has been presented, or at least its possibility. Imagine a dog. Now show him his leash. It’s like that."
"“Oh,� he said, as if someone had just told him his mailman had died."
"It’s not so strange, to have high expectations."
� � �
And you should have high expectations because this story is truly beautiful. Heart-warming and hear-wrenching, a little masterpiece.
The writing style is witty, it's simple and complex at the same time, so it's both easy to read and thought-provoking. There are many memorable lines and scenes along with advice given to an unborn child by her mother. This point of view is unique and really fun, because you as a reader take a role of a fetus.
The main character is interestingly crafted, her opinions and view of the world are one of the kind. So is the relationship in focus. I really haven't seen many (if any at all) romances depicted this way and I highly enjoyed it.
All in all, I think everyone should read this. It's very short, but very rich in ideas and emotions it will infuse in you.
�
March 12, 2014
I read If You’re Not Yet Like Me by Edan Lepucki this weekend. I originally bought this novella back when it came out in 2010 but I never really got around to reading it. I’m glad I didn’t because it’s just what I needed to read right now.
It’s a very short novella narrated by a woman we might call an Unlikeable Narrator. Essentially, the story is about how Joellyn develops a relationship with Patrick. Of course, it’s about much more than that and it’s all about the journey.
It was a frustrating story in the sense that you really want Joellyn to start doing things right and (spoiler alert) she never really does. Not until the very end, I guess. And in that sense, it works. If fiction is a mirror we use to look at the world, then this novella is the cheap full-length mirror hanging hanging from the back of my bedroom door, telling me to put on my big-girl pants and start doing things right, lest I nurse a regret-filled chip on my shoulder ad infinitum.
December 14, 2021
To start with , this book is amazing and it is my favourite cup of tea .
▶️" If You're not Yet Like me " is a erred romantic comedy written by "Edan Lepucki".
▶️ In this novella , Joellyn as captious as she is diffident . She tells her struggles and reliability made this baby in her belly . She even tells her unborn about the affair with Zachary - a awfully dressed man and unemployed. This complete novella talks about the affairs Joellyn went through #readforward
🖇� I liked the plot of the story . The author concluded in a feminist way that the character Joellyn aspired me in many different ways and in a many different perceptions. This is a novella were you cannot expect what you exactly wanted.
Ratings 🌟:
🌟🌟🌟🌟.5 / 5
Do follow my instagram page for more intresting and reader choices reviews @readwith_krithi
▶️" If You're not Yet Like me " is a erred romantic comedy written by "Edan Lepucki".
▶️ In this novella , Joellyn as captious as she is diffident . She tells her struggles and reliability made this baby in her belly . She even tells her unborn about the affair with Zachary - a awfully dressed man and unemployed. This complete novella talks about the affairs Joellyn went through #readforward
🖇� I liked the plot of the story . The author concluded in a feminist way that the character Joellyn aspired me in many different ways and in a many different perceptions. This is a novella were you cannot expect what you exactly wanted.
Ratings 🌟:
🌟🌟🌟🌟.5 / 5
Do follow my instagram page for more intresting and reader choices reviews @readwith_krithi
February 9, 2014
Disclaimer: I know the author and I think she's great.
This was the perfect length and just what I was in the mood for. I wanted a quick, enjoyable, but not too frivolous of a read -- something I could finish in a day or two. I don't want to spoiler the first short story, but I'll just say that I read the first part of the short story expecting something completely different than what actually happened in the end. Maybe it's because I can relate to some of the thoughts in Joellyn's head.
The second story was good, but it wasn't *as good* as the first and definitely didn't resonate with me as much.
Reading this makes me excited about Lepucki's next novel. You could say I am a fan of her cynical humor.
This was the perfect length and just what I was in the mood for. I wanted a quick, enjoyable, but not too frivolous of a read -- something I could finish in a day or two. I don't want to spoiler the first short story, but I'll just say that I read the first part of the short story expecting something completely different than what actually happened in the end. Maybe it's because I can relate to some of the thoughts in Joellyn's head.
The second story was good, but it wasn't *as good* as the first and definitely didn't resonate with me as much.
Reading this makes me excited about Lepucki's next novel. You could say I am a fan of her cynical humor.
December 5, 2010
It is amazing. It is amazing how some moments or brief encounters can be so significant and indelible. It is amazing that I can know so little about someone who has worked in the cube ten feet from mine for six years, but can feel so endeared to a writer with whom I lived in a house for two weeks. It is amazing how 76 tiny pages can draw me in, tease a laugh from my throat, make me squirm in my chair, lead me on, and spill out secrets for me.
March 5, 2011
This is basically just the perfect little book. I absolutely loved it. I found the main character extremely relatable, as unlikable as she is and the writing was funny, quick, and poignant. I read this book a few months ago and images and flashes of scenes still pop into my head occasionally and make me smile. From the very first scene where the woman notices her reflection in the metal circle in the bathtub, this tiny book grabs you.
November 17, 2010
Edan Lepucki's character Joellyn was fascinating and pretty wild! I enjoyed knowing what she was thinking and following her dating adventures wherever they took us. I loved the little girl who wanted to be a warrior. I loved the book! I couldn't stop reading it!! Good job, Edan! I am excited to read your novel, too.
April 29, 2013
Deliciously smart and funny, this book reminded me . It's difficult to describe the plot without revealing too much. Just know that once you finish Joellyn's tale of romantic woe, you'll want to read it all over again from your new vantage point.
November 12, 2010
I was a bit nervous about starting this, as I usually get about seeing artwork or hearing music created by someone I know and like, but Ms. Lepucki really delivers. Sad & funny in the way really true & truthful writing can be. Bravo, Edan!
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