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Content snapshot
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Violence
None
No violence
Language
Barely any
Mild language
Sexual Content
Barely any
Brief romantic content; a nascent and unconsummated relationship
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
Barely any
Light themes of confusion, longing, and the comedy of being very smart and knowing very little
What this book is about
Selin is a Turkish-American freshman at Harvard who is trying to understand everything: language, love, email, and a Hungarian math student named Ivan who seems to mean something she can't quite decode. Batuman's semi-autobiographical novel is funny, intellectual, and achingly honest about the gap between what we read and what we understand.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
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