Funny that The Idiot was referenced in Fake Accounts bc I remember Batuman once writing a great essay criticizing overly identity-driven navel-gazing fiction. I excitedly began The Idiot with expectations that she’d deliver a refreshing counterpunch to that whole sub-genre, only to realize her novel was guilty of the exact same thing she once attacked. Lot of that going around!
Funny that The Idiot was referenced in Fake Accounts bc I remember Batuman once writing a great essay criticizing overly identity-driven navel-gazing fiction. I excitedly began The Idiot with expectations that she’d deliver a refreshing counterpunch to that whole sub-genre, only to realize her novel was guilty of the exact same thing she once attacked. Lot of that going around!