The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.

A Novel

By: Adelle Waldman

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

A debut novel by a brilliant young woman about the coming-of-age of a brilliant young literary man.

Nate Piven is a rising star in Brooklyn’s literary scene. After several lean and striving years, he has his pick of both magazine assignments and women: Juliet, the hotshot business reporter; Elisa, his gorgeous ex-girlfriend, now friend; and Hannah, "almost universally regarded as nice and smart, or smart and nice" and who holds her own in conversation with his friends. But when one relationship grows more serious, Nate is forced to consider what it is he really wants.

In this 21st-century literary world, wit and conversation are not at all dead. Is romance? Novelist Adelle Waldman plunges into the psyche of a modern man - who thinks of himself as beyond superficial judgment, yet constantly struggles with his own status anxiety; who is drawn to women, yet has a habit of letting them down. With tough-minded intelligence and wry good humor The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. is an absorbing tale of one young man’s search for happiness - and an inside look at how he really thinks about women, sex and love.

©2013 Adelle Waldman (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Nate is so convincingly drawn you’ll want to hug him, lecture him and shake some sense into him simultaneously. Waldman has deftly written a laugh-out-loud treatise on why he didn’t call." (Allison Amend, author of A Nearly Perfect Copy)

great book about contemporary relationships

If you could sum up The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. in three words, what would they be?

Smart, perceptive and interesting

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.?

The almost break up scene and the break up scene were well done. There was also a lot of insight into how men think about women and relationships versus how women think about men and relationships, and how these differences cause problems and issues between men and women. Men have it easier I think - this book was consistent with that view, although they suffer as well.

Which character – as performed by Nick Podehl – was your favorite?

I really liked Hannah until she got overly involved in, and hopeful about the relationship, and ultimately kind of desperate - which I could also relate to. Auritt was great of course. I would be friends with Auritt in real life and she would judge me. I thought the performer did her really well

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The end, for a moment, and then it didn't anymore

Any additional comments?

I recommend this book. It really held my interest - I will watch for this author's next book

Not amazing

I heard good things about this book, and while it was entertaining, it was not that compelling. I felt like there wasn't much there there..

Nate's Dates

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Any time spent reading/listening to something thought-provoking is time well spent. I did find I preferred to read my hard copy than listen, though. (See comment on Nick's performance.)

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I don't think "enjoyable" was what Waldman was going for. She wrote a book that was meant to be uncomfortable, and it succeeded.

What aspect of Nick Podehl’s performance would you have changed?

The way he does women's voices: most of them sounded like Miss Piggy. I am not kidding. Luckily most of the narrative is in Nate's head, and Podehl is fine when he's doing the male voice.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Oh, I don't think so. Hollywood would do terrible, terrible things to this movie. Even if it were an indie flick, it wouldn't work: too much time in people's heads. There's not enough action to put this into film form.

Any additional comments?

The book is described as witty, which it is; it's also described as funny, which it isn't. (Except on occasion.) Waldman is an excellent writer and takes the subject of dating seriously, as she says through one of her characters: "I just hate the way so many men treat 'dating' as if it's a frivolous subject ... Dating is probably the most fraught human interaction there is. You're sizing people up to see if they're worth your time and attention, and they're doing the same to you." Waldman apparently does a bang-up job (according to male reviewers) of getting inside the skull of a man, which is no easy task. The positive reviews she's received from men is surprising, considering she is basically skewering them. Nate seems likable enough until the end; his choices at that point push him firmly into pathetic asshole territory. In many ways, though this book is ostensibly about love affairs, and the plot centers on one, it's the polar opposite of the romance novel.

A white man's dilemma

I'll give credit where credit is due. Definitely well written--a firm grasp on a middle class white man's perspective. But his privileged circle of friend's had my eyes rolling. Very reflective of the guilty hipster American-- all theories, petty relationship issues, and a pervasive but insightful look into the judgment we place on the people around us. Looking through a man's perspective, at least from Nate's, he sadly confirms a few of my fears as a woman entering the dating scene. Nate overall is an average guy with asshole tendencies. I grew frustrated as he demeaned Hannah for simply being vulnerable as anyone should be in a healthy relationship! And yet I was relieved and a bit surprised on how much i could relate to Nate. I'd say a good book is one that provokes you. Especially through a narrator you grow frustrated with because you see yourself through his worst qualities. I love anti-heroes. As for the glimpse of the white middle class writing community--can't say I was surprised by that.
--Reviewed by a WOC ✌

Sad that the awful reader ruined the narrative

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

No, I would hope my friends could read it in print. The narrator was awful - whiny, nasal and boring as hell.

What other book might you compare The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. to and why?

Perhaps the Ivy Chronicles.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Nick Podehl?

A woman. A good British male reader. This guy is just awful.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed when I was not annoyed by the horrible reader.

Any additional comments?

It makes me sad that an excellent debut novel could be ruined by such a bad and clueless reader. That guy is so bad I will never listen to any book he narrates. I would leave the train carriage if he sat next to me and I had to hear him speak. Why do so many American readers think they are actors and over-act? Truly trying and more than a bit annoying. This is why I mostly listen only to British novels, but keep trying to find good american ones. Hard, given the readers.

Gender in Gentrifying Brooklyn

The story gives a good picture of how gender roles play out for liberal arts types trying to build careers and be in relationships. I wish I would have gotten more of Hannah's perspective. The narration was great in the voice of Nate, but the female took more time to get used to. I recommend this for anyone who tries or has tried to balance a creative life with another person.

Okay story, abysmal performance

Any additional comments?

I had quite a bit of trouble with the character of Nate. He believes in his own superior intelligence, but he's shallow, he's superficial, and he's unaware of his own feelings. He doesn't know what he wants in a woman. One of the passages that really annoyed me was when he fixated on the loose flesh under his girlfriend's arms. The same girlfriend who he earlier described as "almost too thin" is suddenly not working hard enough at Pilates and he is repulsed by her to a degree that's beyond comprehension. I'm sure my mouth hung open in disbelief while I listened to this portion of the book.

I was frustrated by Nate because I kept wondering, "do men really think this way?" Certainly his actions were familiar to those I'd encountered in my dating life. While dating one woman he became more and more critical and she tried harder and harder to please him, which resulted in him feeling contempt for her. This book may be written by a woman, but I have to believe that she has some insight into the mind of shallow, rude men. I only kept listening to see if Nate got his comeuppance.

The performance of Nick Podehl didn't help matters. Several times the inflection he used for a character's voice didn't match the description of the tone that the character was supposed to have used. (Which made me wonder about the direction and the editing as well) Worst of all, he doesn't know how to voice female characters. All his female characters sounded like stereotypically bitchy, lisping gay men instead of women, and the voice for a particular character wasn't consistent throughout the read. I can't recommend the audio version of this book for that reason alone.

Need a reason to cancel The New Yorker?

If you've ever longed to live in a literary scene, or wanted a do-over on your twenties, this book will pull your head right around. Nate is sees himself as a thoughtful intellectual; he wants to exert broad cultural influence through his writing. But he is baffled by his difficulties in relationship. What is blindingly obvious to the reader is that however well-educated or intelligent he is, he is immature to the point of infantilism in his relations with women. He makes tiny incremental steps forward in this story, but at the end he has only managed to find a woman who enforces decent behavior from him by dint of tears and curses. Why should this jerk be granted whatever cultural influence he has attained? (And the author seems to agree -- the essays he writes sound like deadly piffle). This was a well-written book, but you may wonder why this guy gets a book-length apologia.

Nina is that you?

This performance was really distracting, because all of the female characters (except Aurit) sounded like Fred Armisen as Nina in Portlandia....maybe the point was to make them sound vapid? But it just bugged me.

not my favorite

What did you like best about The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.? What did you like least?

The reader detracted from the story, although I have to say I didn't much care for the novel either. The reader mis pronounced the names of familiar NYC and Brooklyn landmarks and had an unrecognizable accent for the Israeli character. The story was trying to be a contemporary book of manners, after Jane Austen etc, but in effect was tedious and annoying.

Would you recommend The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. to your friends? Why or why not?

not really, see above. Plus, I think the book was what a woman thinks a man thinks like. Not what a man really thinks like.

Would you be willing to try another one of Nick Podehl’s performances?

not really.

Did The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. inspire you to do anything?

write this review