There is no American writer alive who is funnier, more inquisitive, or more surprising than Julie Hecht. The Unprofessionals, her first nove...
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Mar 17, 2007
ILANA
rated it: 
This was a surprising read. It's weird, I became so attached to these characters and yet...never ONCE do you find out their names. The humor is biting and the characters are flawed. I love imperfections!
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Feb 02, 2009
Bill
rated it: 
OK, I wish there was a way to give this book MORE stars. Ms. Hecht might just be my new favorite contemporary American author. I read an interview (rarely granted I've found) with her in "Believer." Although this was her first published novel, she's been writing stories for years, many published in Harpers, The New Yorker, etc. Such a simple and insightful style, rich and easy, everything I look for in an American writer. Strong, reductive, disaffected, I could go on and on but I w
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Nov 13, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
I spotted this book at a library book fair in Vermont. I had read Julie Hecht's other two books--Do These Windows Open? and Happy Trails to You--and it turns out this was the first in a trilogy of sorts.
The central character, who in all three books is unnamed, is both hypercritical and insecure, a misanthrope and yet curious enough about people to develop a platonic friendship (by phone) with a teenage boy, who may or may not be a heroin addict. She likes him because he's as quir More...
The central character, who in all three books is unnamed, is both hypercritical and insecure, a misanthrope and yet curious enough about people to develop a platonic friendship (by phone) with a teenage boy, who may or may not be a heroin addict. She likes him because he's as quir More...
Apr 05, 2009
Katrina
rated it: 
I just lost interest in this one. It'll be entertaining, then just seem to be going nowhere. Maybe someday I'll finish it, but I'm calling it quits for now.
Despite my earlier misgivings, I did end up finishing this book. Not really because I was truly enjoying it, but more out of sort of tortured curiosity. The only real reason I didn't give The Unprofessionals one star is that there were portions where I was interested in what the narrator had to say, but more often than not it More...
Despite my earlier misgivings, I did end up finishing this book. Not really because I was truly enjoying it, but more out of sort of tortured curiosity. The only real reason I didn't give The Unprofessionals one star is that there were portions where I was interested in what the narrator had to say, but more often than not it More...
Feb 01, 2009
John
rated it: 
This semi-sequel to Do The Windows Open? turned out better than I'd thought (feared?), being primarily the story of the never-named Loquesto boy; however, the events are filtered through the (highly distorted!) lens of the same Nameless Neurotic Narrator, including tangents to how her own crazy life is going.
Doesn't stand alone - if this one sounds interesting, read Windows first.
Doesn't stand alone - if this one sounds interesting, read Windows first.
Sep 30, 2011
Sherry
rated it:
This book was really good. Got slow inbetween but kept me reading till the end
However the author was racist and kept categorizing pakistanis arabs and eastern people as "Terrorists and the "People who burn America's flag"
Really? As if America doesnt hate other countries??? thats perfectly normal???
Really shameful
However the author was racist and kept categorizing pakistanis arabs and eastern people as "Terrorists and the "People who burn America's flag"
Really? As if America doesnt hate other countries??? thats perfectly normal???
Really shameful
Jun 05, 2008
Jessica
rated it:
All Julie Hecht gets 5 stars from me even if this one is a bit gleefully written than her first two books. It might be the subject-a friend's life going awry raises the question of whether any of us can really win when it comes to mortality. In any case the book is less about furthering style than it is about content. It feels more genuinely sad than funny or as if it were written for writing's sake. It's hard to see the life and death of Andy Kauffman as any less poignant than this story, so ma
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May 31, 2011
Corey
rated it:
The sort of loopy realism/surrealism you find in Joan Didion, or Lorrie Moore, or Frederick Barthelme.
Dec 21, 2011
Marguerite
rated it:
Dark and funny at the same time, but so bleak I could take only so much at a sitting. My favorite chapter: The Nihilist Chefs.
May 31, 2010
Melissa
rated it: 
I give up, just cannot get into the book. I see what the author is trying to do and I applaud the effort to come in with a different angle and perspective, but I just can't get into it.
Jun 04, 2009
Marie
rated it:
There were some nice and clever things in this book, but everything about the narrator and the story disturbed me from the start. That she didn't realize what was going on was simply confounding to me, and the fact that she didn't get involved in addressing a friend's obvious addiction and depression even more confusing. I did not relate to this writer at all.
Mar 13, 2009
Andrea
rated it:
Interesting book. The narrator has unique and quirkly takes on life. The book is worthwhile just for these little insights. As far as a concrete plot goes...not so much, but that's ok. The on-going dialogue with 'the boy' keeps you interested.
Mar 09, 2011
Heather
rated it:
I love the language in this book. When I first started reading it, I was apprehensive, thinking it was something that I wouldn't be able to devote my attention to - but boy, oh boy, was I wrong. LOVED the flow of it.
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