Elif Batuman, "The Idiot"

www.politics-pr...
Batuman has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2010. Her work was selected for two volumes of The Best American Essays series and her first book, The Possessed, was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Now Batuman turns her spirited blend of travel writing, literary scholarship, and autobiography to a rich coming-of-age novel. Set in 1995, the narrative starts with Selin’s first day at Harvard. The daughter of Turkish immigrants, Selin grew up in New Jersey and is eager to study languages. Along with her academic work she cultivates several new friendships and falls in love with a Hungarian mathematician, which leads her to spend the summer teaching English in Hungary. Descriptive and insightful, Batuman’s fiction nimbly evokes Selin’s head-spinning combination of exhilaration and uncertainty as she discovers both the world and herself.
Founded by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, Politics and Prose Bookstore is Washington, D.C.'s premier independent bookstore and cultural hub, a gathering place for people interested in reading and discussing books. Politics and Prose offers superior service, unusual book choices, and a haven for book lovers in the store and online. Visit them on the web at www.politics-pr...
Produced by Tom Warren

[@minionbingus]

i love how she just jumped into the whole speech w so much energy, she’s either an only child or just had so many points she wanted to hit that she just rambled on. i have the book on my shelf, waiting for the chance i could get into it

[@meemoo9064]

i love how passionate she is talking about this 😭😭 so much earnestness its refreshing and inspirational

[@wisperingbeard]

"When I wrote it, it all felt very immediate, and when I read it, it was a historical novel." Wonderfully put. Twenty years is a long time in any context, but in the twenty-first century, twenty years is an eternity, especially when you consider how far technology advances us culturally in a relatively short period of time.

[@huntingvega3876]

Elif makes the kind of art the world needs. LOVE.

[@isabellamansfield9961]

So in love with her writing

[@heliopolis]

Reading it right now. Loving it.

[@Abigail-sq7ck]

Almost done with it - so great!

[@OjaswiShxrma]

I loved the sweet little girl at the end

[@tbwatch88]

she's just too charming. love her.

[@user-ok5de9nh6g]

I’m from Russia, Omsk, and I loved, loved that book! Pure pleasure ❤️

[@melekcelik9792]

Çok hoş bir konuşma teşekkürler!

[@batuliNEP]

The comment section seems to be a party of people who are just about to be finished with the book.

[@markweiss1934]

Tray cool

[@cashmirthoughts]

Book is so funny

[@ramdularsingh1435]

Your physical beauty already makes a great impression on your viewers and listeners to make everything fine for reading you and your books. Keep it all up because your success is almost a guarantee.....

[@noahbrown2817]

You're creepy

[@walkerpercy8702]

Emperor wears no clothes

[@davesv123]

Sad to see someone just copy the titles of Dostoevksy - there are better ways to honor a person you love.

[@isabellamansfield9961]

I would’ve never read Dostoevsky if it wasn’t for her

[@liqbal3134]

technically she didn’t copy because hers is in english lol :)

[@elizabethquirk9109]

titles are very often repeated, either in homage, as here, or coincidence. its not a big deal

[@irenemax3574]

Homage, as Elizabeth says.