We Are Too Many by Hannah Pittard

August 27, 2024 5:30 AM

In this wryly humorous and innovative look at a marriage gone wrong, Hannah Pittard recalls a decade’s worth of unforgettable conversations, beginning with the one in which she discovers her husband has been having sex with her charismatic best friend, Trish. These time-jumping exchanges are fast-paced, intimate, and often jaw-dropping in their willingness to reveal the vulnerabilities inherent in any friendship or marriage. Blending fact and fiction, sometimes re-creating exchanges with extreme accuracy and sometimes diving headlong into pure speculation, Pittard takes stock not only of her own past and future but also of the larger, more universal experiences they connect with—from the depths of female rage to the heartbreaking ways we inevitably outgrow certain people. Clever and bold and radically honest to an unthinkable degree, We Are Too Many examines the ugly, unfiltered parts of the female experience, as well as the many (happier) possibilities in starting any life over after a major personal catastrophe. [Publisher's blurb]
posted by chavenet (1 comment total)

I read this and the one right after, after reading and posting this article.

Quick conclusions:

Pittard's book is better, and Ewell really really really doesn't like being outdone by his wife/ex-wife.
Both "novels" do an extraordinary amount of straight reportage / quoting of real people.
Knowing the whole backstory gives the pair of books added interest, but isn't really necessary.
posted by chavenet at 5:37 AM on August 27