The Book:
Private Citizens
The Author:
What It’s About:
Although too proud to admit it, Linda is self-destructing. She graduated from Stanford in 2005 only to go on and pursue sex dungeon work, a constant cocaine high, and an utter denial of writer’s block. Her ex-fiance Henrik is an exhausted grad student with closet bipolar disorder and a disturbing childhood that helped foster it.
In this satire based on the early-2000s, an era we remember all too clearly, Linda and Henrik are thrown back into their sadomasochist tendencies when they decide to take a road trip with their old college friends, Will and Cory, who have rich story lines of their own.
Will, a computer-savvy introvert with a controlling, manipulative, and disabled girlfriend, is almost the antithesis of Cory: a chubby and wildly outspoken Jewish girl with big dreams that involve taking power away from big corporate.
Reuniting after years apart post-graduation, Tulathimutte takes us through the grueling years millennials face when they are forced to leave college and the comfort of their childhood bedrooms and take on the real world.
Thoughts:
This is honestly the best thing I’ve read in years. I wasn’t expecting it to be so fantastic, but it set the bar for every novel I will read from now on. I was completely enthralled by this book.
What I loved most is how personable the characters are. While we are shown each characters’ strengths (Linda’s confidence, Will’s humor, Henrik’s intelligence, and Cory’s thirst for goodwill), we are also given a healthy helping of their weaknesses (Linda’s addictiveness, Will’s passivity, Henrik’s anger, and Cory’s crippling insecurity). Upon reading, you may be caught asking yourself: Which character am I the most like? I know I was. It feels like each character is representative of a specific type of millennial, a category we all fall under in some way.
Although this is Tulathimutte’s debut novel, I got the sense that he has been writing for years. His words spoke directly to me as a college student and a millennial who experienced this decade firsthand. It’s bitingly funny, honest, and unapologetic. The reader is able to see directly into each character’s person: where they came from, why they are the way they are, and how likely they are to change and grow. It also ends rather openly, possibly setting Tulathimutte up for a sequel.
FTS Rating:
10/10
Tony Tulathimutte is a graduate from Stanford University who has written for Vice, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and more. He lives in New York City. This is his first novel.
