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Picador

How Should a Person Be?: A Novel from Life

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Description

Chosen as one of fifteen remarkable books by women that are shaping the way we read and write in the 21st century by the book critics of The New York Times "Funny...odd, original, and nearly unclassifiable...unlike any novel I can think of."―David Haglund, The New York Times Book Review "Brutally honest and stylistically inventive, cerebral, and sexy."―San Francisco Chronicle Named a Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, The New Yorker, San Francisco Chronicle, Salon, Flavorpill, The New Republic, The New York Observer, The Huffington Post A raw, startling, genre-defying novel of friendship, sex, and love in the new millennium―a compulsive read that's like "spending a day with your new best friend" (Bookforum) By turns loved and reviled upon its U.S. publication, Sheila Heti's "breakthrough novel" (Chris Kraus, Los Angeles Review of Books) is an unabashedly honest and hilarious tour through the unknowable pieces of one woman's heart and mind. Part literary novel, part self-help manual, and part vivid exploration of the artistic and sexual impulse, How Should a Person Be? earned Heti comparisons to Henry Miller, Joan Didion, Mary McCarthy, and Flaubert, while shocking and exciting readers with its raw, urgent depiction of female friendship and of the shape of our lives now. Irreverent, brilliant, and completely original, Heti challenges, questions, frustrates, and entertains in equal measure. With urgency and candor she asks: What is the most noble way to love? What kind of person should you be? Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Picador; Reprint edition (June 25, 2013)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 125003244X


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 47


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.5 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.4 x 0.85 x 8.2 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #46,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #314 in Friendship Fiction (Books) #2,110 in Contemporary Women Fiction #3,814 in Literary Fiction (Books)


#314 in Friendship Fiction (Books):


#2,110 in Contemporary Women Fiction:


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Inspiring
This is the first book that I have read by Sheila Heti, but it won't be the last. I find her storytelling and candid contemplation about life,values, and relationships very intriguing and inspiring. There were many times that I stopped to highlight and share a quote to myself. The stories about painting were especially relevant since I am a painter myself. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2023 by Debra Ripp
    • odd and original
hmmm....how should a person think of this novel? For the most part, it's interesting although it doesn't fully answer the question of how should a person be...in this case, how should a person who is trying write a play be. I love that she is asking though.....it's a question I asked of myself when I was a searching twenty year old. How should a person be?? There were so many options. This is a rambling, sometimes insightful, sometimes boring account of her life in Toronto hanging out with her friend, Margaux, and their very specific focus on art....the making of art, the meaning of art, their artsy friends, etc. It's an unexciting life other than some aggressive sex thrown in. Heti seems to be downplaying everything, almost trying to make her life uninteresting and at the same time wishing to be famous, as she's come to the realization that is how a person should be. It's odd but original. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2018 by pml
    • Unlike Anything I've Read Before
How should a person be? Initially, I thought that this book was some sort of scholarly outlook on the philosophy of man. I expected a breakdown of the most vital characteristics a human should possess, and how to obtain them. But this book was nothing like that. In fact, it's very difficult to even put this book into a category at all. Is it a biography? Is it a memoir? Is it a self-help book? I know that it is technically categorized as a novel, but even that is debatable to some aspect. The format of the writing can switch from what seems to be a stream of consciousness, to dialogue written like a play script, then to a more traditional format that is commonly seen in novels all in one chapter. Sometimes it is very jarring, and disruptive to the reading process, but it is one of the most memorable aspects of this book. Now, for the content of the book, I don't even know where to start. If I had to describe the book in one sentence I would say, "A book that follows the complicated relationship between two friends who subsequently learn life lessons through their poor choices and artistic endeavors." Although I do think that this sums up the general idea of the book, trust me there is so much more to it. Really, the only way you'll find out is if you read it. The book is an interesting experience that you may hate or love. Currently, I'm somewhere in the middle of the two, but I would say if you are into quirky memoirs, with blunt and vulgar language, give it a try. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2019 by QueenB
    • Unreadable, Waste of your time
How did this book get on the New York Times list? I'll never know. Setting aside the fact that it is 300-odd pages of truly tragic writing, I think you can consider it as what leotards were to the 80s -- trendy, tacky, and unnecessarily revealing. It feels like the author is that horrible acquaintance that constantly invites herself to dinner, gets way too drunk and faster than anyone at the table, and will loudly defend 50 Shades of Grey as great feminist literature without any prompting. It's a knock-off version of this "confessional writing" trend but replacing honesty and openness with self-deprecating, manipulative tricks by stringing one false epiphany after another. It's cheesy, pretentious, self-indulgent crap under the guise of "bravery" and being "artfully messy". Since this was recommended to me by a close friend, I've tried to get into it. But this morning, reaching the of the crest of this pathetic, self-inflicted misogyny, I threw my hands up and left it on the bus. Hopefully someone will put it to use as toilet paper. In summary, I only spent $4.95 on this book but still think it was way overpriced. Do yourself a favor and skip it. So many other, better, writers out there. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2015 by Maryellen
    • Disheartening
I read this after "Motherhood", which seemed to be both self-indulgent (in a very human way) and a very valuable revelation of the modern mind-set (a kind of hopeless/hopeful/disbelieving/longing for truth, etc.). There were real flashes of brilliance every few pages as well as much "emptying of the unedited mental trash can". I'm glad I read "Motherhood" first because, if I'd read this book first, I would never have bothered to continue with the self-pitying, nihilistic viewpoint of the author. It IS a challenge to live in a "post-modern world without meaning" but is it true? that the world no longer has meaning? or is that simply another concept about the world? an intellectual pose? It's an easy out for a whole generation, much easier to wallow in self pity and narcissism, creating imaginary issues out of the usual personal stuff that we all have to deal with and have had to deal with since the human mind began to look out and find problems to solve, resolve, create, imagine or live with. Some of the sexual passages were truly disgusting to me and I'm no prude. The self-abnegation, self-hatred, cruelty, masochism and re-enforcement of male stereotyping were really heavy handed and had that sense of "falsity" that seems to be so much a part of this kind of writing....say what appears to be the worst about yourself, show the most intimate parts of yourself especially if they seem "transgressive" (Lena Dunham comes to mind) but...in reality....hide behind the screen of images. It's really twisted: using suffering as a "thing" to make yourself special and distance yourself from "the oppressor" and it's an epidemic in "memoirs" . And the whole "art/creativity" thing...egad. If this is a reflection of what is motivating artists now, it's no wonder there is so much self-indulgent garbage being promoted everywhere you turn....everybody's an "artist", there's no such thing as "good painting"....it's all just a pose. Really, though, .folks have a choice, at least folks like this, who are living a life of choice. it's really depressing if this is what they come up with. Yes, I know this is a kind of "fiction" but, hey, that's just another way of avoiding responsibility for your views and thoughts...call them "fiction" so you can say...."I didn't mean it" or "it's not about ME, it's a story". It's easy to see how this whole mind set leads to ......politicians who foster hatred and then say, "I'm only kidding". ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2019 by Clawdette

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