Tag: julie bunttin

Anna: I loved 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘢, so when I saw Julie Buntin had a new book coming out this summer, I had to read it!  After finishing Famous Men and sitting on it for about a month, I think it’s safe to say that it’s sitting at my favorite book of the year so far.

While Marlena explored girlhood and obsessive female friendship, 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘔𝘦𝘯 is about the struggle of “making it” in New York as a writer as well as what happens when we meet our heroes.

Will leaves her small Midwestern town for New York City in search of her favorite writer, Nathaniel Fellow, who she also suspects might be her father (this is not a spoiler). When she finds him, she becomes entangled in his world and his life in ways she never expected.

Somehow I read three books back to back to back about grooming and power and relationship imbalances in a romantic relationship with a much older man in either an academic or professional setting. Those other books were 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘓𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘬𝘺 and  and Immersions. Though they were good and enjoyable, they paled in comparison to Famous Men. 

What Famous Men does so well is that as the reader you know that Wil’s relationship with Natahaniel is wrong, but you also understand how she would get sucked so thoroughly into his life. Buntin writes the relationship so intensely and convincingly. You can feel the spider web of events (and lies) that tie Wil and Nathaniel together. There’s a lot of morally gray space in this book, and it feels very tense and taut, almost like Wil’s fighting for survival, especially in the beginning of the book when she’s starved for money.

As someone who tried and failed to “make it” in NYC, I’m drawn to books set there. Like many books set there, it’s both an interrogation and love letter to the city and shows  just how much you truly have to sacrifice and hustle to survive there. 

The only part of this book  I didn’t love was a twist near the end, which was a bit of a personal trigger for me, but I understand why it had to happen. 

Let’s see if any other book this year can top this one! 

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

Pub Date: July 12, 2026

VERDICT: 📖 📖 📖 📖 📖/5