Going Dutch

June 15, 2019
A directionless grad student finds himself at the center of a bisexual love triangle in debut novelist Gregor's charmingly melancholy Brooklyn rom-com. At 29, Richard's life seems to be in a state of suspended animation. He's supposed to be finishing a Ph.D. in medieval Italian literature, except that he hasn't actually written much of anything in months. As a result, "all his efforts at maintaining a long-cultivated identity of academic competence and dependable accomplishment had taken on an air of pointlessness." (Also, his funding is in danger.) His personal life isn't faring much better. Dating, in New York, is an endless stream of profiles and messages and drinks and promises to be in touch after and very few actual relationships. And it is a combination of these two factors--Richard's general loneliness and specific state of acute academic crisis--that leads him to forge an increasingly complicated relationship with Anne, a fellow doctoral student. Brilliant, rich, and clearly attracted to Richard despite the ongoing obstacle of his being gay, Anne offers to help him salvage his academic career, and in the process, their relationship intensifies into something more. And then, on a dating app, Richard meets Blake, and if their romance gets off to a rocky start, it quickly mellows into a serious relationship. On paper, at least, Blake is perfect: a kind, successful lawyer ready to build a future with Richard. Except that Richard is also involved with Anne, who is sensitive and hyperanalytical and--for reasons that defy rational explanation but make intuitive sense--accepts him completely. Of course, per the rules of the genre, Richard's double life must come crashing down, which it does, spectacularly, leaving him to begin the process of addressing the general state of his life. A deeply kind novel--all three characters are rich and complicated and human--Gregor's plot is less interesting than his biting observations of modern urban life. (He's especially good on the complicated dynamics of money; it's rare to find a novel that so accurately captures the constant, low-grade anxiety around who can afford what.) A familiar plot gets a sharp millennial makeover.

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Starred review from June 24, 2019
A sardonic, procrastinating PhD candidate gets close to a classmate and questions his own sexuality in Gregor’s excellent debut. Twenty-nine-year-old Richard Turner, a doctoral student studying medieval Italian literature at a New York City university, must show progress on his thesis to maintain his fellowship and living stipend. But his attention is on OkCupid, Grindr, and the “bookstore employees, painters, urban gardeners” he meets online—dates he takes pleasure in relaying to his best friend, the “socially brilliant” Patrick. After being warned his funding will be revoked if he doesn’t show progress, Richard turns to classmate Anne for help. Anne’s “luminous intelligence” is evident (and intimidating) to everyone, including Richard. After working together and presenting their paper-in-progress at a conference, their halting academic partnership turns romantic. When a nearly forgotten online date resurfaces, Richard must think deeply about what he wants. Filled with pithy secondary characters—such as Richard’s haughty supervisor, Patrick’s mischievous friends, and Anne’s lazy activist roommates—Gregor’s on-the-nose depiction of New York liberal intelligentsia makes for wonderful satire: “That line from Dante came to him. There is no greater sorrow than to recall happiness in times of misery. There is no greater sorrow than to feel like a horny loser in Brooklyn.” This marvelously witty take on dating in New York City and the blurry nature of desire announces Gregor as a fresh, electric new voice.

July 1, 2019
Gregor's debut novel is a carefully observed story about desire, love, and dependence in contemporary New York. Richard, a graduate student in his late twenties, is struggling with writer's block. He lacks motivation, whether in pursuing other Brooklyn men on dating apps or finishing the papers he's supposed to be writing. With the threat of losing his funding if he doesn't produce work, he turns to another student in his program, Anne. They collaborate on essays that are mostly Anne's work. Richard soon adapts to their routine: days spent in the library, expensive dinners out paid for by Anne, and nights at her place. Anne's increasing possessiveness doesn't bother Richard until he reconnects with an OkCupid date, Blake. Soon both Blake and Anne are ready for him to move in, and he isn't sure how to reconcile how much he needs both of them. Readers will be swept up in Richard's life and love triangle, even as they wonder if he has any idea what he wants.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)