MixedWashington Independent Review of BooksWaldman’s acerbic debut novel follows and satirizes the young, privileged Brooklyn intellectual ... Ultimately, Nate’s cynical attitude makes The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. too heavy for those looking for a light summer read. At the same time, the relationships the book depicts are too formulaic to be satisfying explorations of how we relate to each other. The novel’s strength is mostly in holding a mirror to a certain self-obsessed type of Brooklyn intellectual with a view of the world that vastly inflates the borough’s own cultural significance. This is a book best read by those who encounter, and are frustrated by, this attitude on a daily basis. For those without a New York City area code, there’s little to cherish.
