The Idiot (Batuman novel)
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| Author | Elif Batuman |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
Publication date | March 2017 |
| ISBN | 978-1-59420-561-3 |
The Idiot is a semi-autobiographical 2017 novel by Turkish American writer Elif Batuman. It is a bildungsroman, and concerns a college freshman, Selin, attending Harvard University in the 1990s.[1][2][3]
Plot
Selin Karadağ is a freshman studying linguistics at Harvard University. She meets an older Hungarian mathematics student, Ivan, in a Russian language class and the two begin corresponding over email, and occasionally spend time together in person. While Selin and Ivan at times seem interested in each other romantically, neither know how and when to express their feelings. The summer after her freshman year, Selin travels to Paris with her college friend Svetlana, and then to Hungary to teach English in a remote village, a job she accepts partly to be closer to Ivan. At the end of the summer, Selin returns to Harvard and Ivan goes to California to pursue graduate mathematics.[4][5]
Reception
The Idiot was a 2018 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Fiction.[6]
According to literary review aggregator LitHub, the novel received mostly "Positive" reviews.[7]
References
- ^ Quinn, Annalisa (18 March 2017). "Both Pointless And Playful, 'The Idiot' Is Like A Long Dream". NPR. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
- ^ Garner, Dwight (28 February 2017). "Review: Elif Batuman's 'The Idiot' Sets a Romantic Crush on Simmer". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
- ^ Margolin, Elaine (1 March 2017). "Elif Batuman's 'The Idiot'". The Washington post. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ Eller, Erica. "Mind your Suffixes: On the Turkish Themes in The Idiot, Elif Batuman". Bosphorus Review of Books. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ Marshall, Virginia. "Elif Batuman Has Learned Nothing at All: On 'The Idiot'". The Millions. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ "Finalist: The Idiot, by Elif Batuman (Penguin Press)". Columbia University. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ "The Idiot". Book Marks. Lithub. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
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