Recent Reading: Worry

Things are not going according to plan for Jules. After finishing her MFA at the New School she has hardly written a word, she has broken up with her boyfriend, she has a deeply unsatisfying job summarizing books for teenagers who are trying to avoid doing the reading (SparkNotes), and her deeply depressed sister has moved in with her. Oh, and there’s a special needs dog named Amy Klobuchar. Jules spends her time reading conspiracy pages on Instagram and wishing her life was different. 

The book reminds me of the beginning of Saul Bellow’s Henderson the Rain King and the long list of suffering the character is enduring. (More young people should read Bellow; he was a big deal when I first started reading serious books in the 80’s.)

If you are looking for an uplifting and inspiring story there are other books. However, if you can appreciate satire that pokes fun at internet culture, questions the value of the MFA, or the Jewish American experience, among other topics, then you might enjoy Alexandra Tanner’s Worry. I know I did.