The Hearts of Men
A Novel

I'm torn about this book. He's a talented writer, and I enjoyed the premise. But there was only one likable character. Are men really that terrible? Is the entire gender totally lacking in morals or self-discipline? Oh, and the worst father of the year award goes to Jonathan Quick, who corrupts his......more

Full disclosure: I read and loved SHOTGUN LOVESONGS, Nick Butler's previous novel, and I read and loved his stories, BENEATH THE BONFIRE, too. The stories are searing little nesting dolls of beauty and calamity; SHOTGUN LOVESONGS is a kind of bravura tightrope act that somehow manages to edge up aga......more

Oh dear! I think this book suffered from my too high an expectation - a little like George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo. But while Lincoln in the Bardo is original and ambitious, The Hearts of Men is disappointingly pedestrian. I had good reason to expect better: Shotgun Lovesongs was my favourite......more

Tja, welche Figur war mir in diesem Roman sympathisch? Mit Abstrichen Nelson Doughty, ansonsten nicht einer, der in dieser, von Männern geprägten, amerikanischen Welt die Frau als solche weder respektiert, noch achtet. Und wenn doch, dann erst viel zu spät, in der letzten senilen Phase des Lebens. Nic......more