THE BOOK OF GEORGE by KATE GREATHEAD

“We all know a George. He's the kind of guy who's brimming with potential but incapable of following through; he doesn't know if he's in love with his girlfriend, but he certainly likes having her around; he's distant from - but still reliant on - his mother; he swears he'll finish his novel one day.
Sure, you might find him disappointing. But no one is more disappointed in George than George himself”

I went back and forth throughout this book thinking George was insufferable to thinking actually he lazy but he’s alright. Maybe that’s what made him feel like a real person, aren’t we all multiple things as once? And the blurb is right, we all definitely all know a “George” in life, I’ve probably even been a “George” and one point or another growing up. Aside from George and my inability to make up my mind on him, this books had multiple other characters who were equally as complicated. I think George’s girlfriend was potentially the only person I liked throughout the entire story. I thought this was brilliant as it kept the characters from feeling one dimensional which is needed in character driven story.

This is a slow paced, character driven story with no plot twists or gotcha moments but the characters are entertaining enough to keep this from feeling like a chore to read.

As funny as it is astute and as singular as it is universal, The Book of George is a deft, unexpectedly moving never-coming-of-age that is both the story of a single life and of a thousand men.

I think I must have misunderstood what this book is about which is totally my fault, I didn’t think it would be such a focused character study. As a result I didn’t enjoy it as much as I initially thought I would as I do struggle to connect with character studies. Despite that though I do believe people who enjoy this type of book would enjoy this, my low rating is just a reflection of my personal preference and inability to speak on whether it’s an amazing character study as they are not my usual reads.

Thank you to netgalley and atlantic books for allowing me to read this before publication.

I loved the sound of this but unfortunately the content didnt quite meet what I was expecting and I didn't really care about what happened to George or was going on in his life.
Im sure its a me problem though so give it a go!

Considering this is a slow character study of a book. I’m surprised how much I liked reading about George’s life. I wish it was longer.

I’m sorry, i’ve got 15% through and i just can’t keep going. I dislike all of the characters and there’s just nothing to hook me. I expected a funny story but it’s just dull and going nowhere. Not for me.

Ok this book was spot on in the statement that we all know a George and secretly, I think we can all be a George at times.

“We all know a George. He's the kind of guy who's brimming with potential but incapable of following through; he doesn't know if he's in love with his girlfriend, but he certainly likes having her around; he's distant from - but still reliant on - his mother; he swears he'll finish his novel one day.

Sure, you might find him disappointing. But no one is more disappointed in George than George himself.”

I really enjoyed this read. Although George is insufferable at points, you can’t help but want the best for him. If you’re looking for a book with a huge twist or plot this isn’t what you’re going to get. The Book of George feels like a true to life story that follows a man from his teens into his thirties as he struggles to make his way through life BUT I also found George hilarious at points. His to the point attitude and not picking up on social queues made some great moments in the book. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic for this ARC!

The Book of George by Kate Greathead features a realistic and relatable flawed protagonist struggling with how he feels about himself and with how others perceive him and worrying about not fulfilling his potential.

this is a social satire/character study of a man called george, told from childhood to middle age. george is emblematic of men who live in a particularly selfish or self absorbed way, whilst also struggling to make anything of their lives or potential, instead being trapped in the inertia of arrested development. at it's best, it's reasonably reminiscent of the chip chapter of the corrections, and some of the more of the outrageous behaviour from george functioned well as episodic scenes of humour. i wasn't 100% sold on how it all tied together and i felt the overall book would have probably worked better with a more tragic ending but it was an enjoyable read!!

Really disappointed to say that I couldn't connect with this at all.

I must be in the minority as I definitely don't know a George. I found the voice really unrelatable and was just left baffled by this book.

Clearly not the right reader for this.