Los Angeles Times editor Lapidos’ literary prowess is evident in this brilliantly witty and humorous debut. The novel’s layers explore the dangers of interpretation and the varying perceptions of one’s, and others’, intentions, all of which come together to make a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Lapidos has created a funny, ironic, and witty first novel whose main character is a parody of every graduate student ever. Alternating between Anna and the contents of the Langley notebooks, the multilayered stories keep readers guessing, appealing to general fiction readers, especially those with any background in academia.
... sardonic, witty campus novel, which resembles Bright Lights, Big City in its speed and pithy tone ... The novel’s pace is a delightful and funny contrast to the indolence of Anna, who is nearing the eighth year of her PhD ... Because of Anna’s cynicism, Talent is a novel of cartoons...Like neon bumpers in a pinball machine, the characters impel the narrative into chaotic thrill ... Rather than force the Anna-Helen affair into a single classification, Lapidos appropriates the language of all of these arrangements to break through the definitions and limitations we expect when encountering them.
Snappy ... Anna’s voice is sharp and humorous, capturing the jaded graduate student’s mix of posturing, snark, and self-loathing, but Frederick isn’t as enigmatic as he’s intended to be, and his scheming niece Helen is insufficiently drawn, which weakens the pull of the literary mystery. However, the novel is redeemed by its intelligent musings on the responsibilities of literary culture: what do talented authors owe their readers and themselves?
In her debut novel, Lapidos writes a scathing come-up of academia and criticism, poking fun at Ivy League hangers-on and book critics alike. In Anna, Lapidos has created a dry and distant narrator with a penchant for Pop-Tarts and metacriticism. Although the novel is often wry and observant, the philosophical puzzle at the heart of the book feels hollow, with little at stake beyond inviting readers to judge characters designed to be harshly judged. Both Anna and Helen have the privilege to stand at a remove from art and critical production thanks to the intervention of family money. But ironic distance only takes criticism—and art—so far ... In this absurdist literary mystery, everyone's motives are suspect and open to interpretation.
