Going Dutch: A Novel

Written by James Gregor

Narrated by Michael David Axtell

ONE OF ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY’S 10 BEST DEBUT NOVELS OF THE YEAR

“A charming, well-observed debut,” (NPR) featuring a gay male graduate student who falls for his brilliant female classmate, “you’ll tear through this tale of a thoroughly modern love triangle” (Entertainment Weekly).

Exhausted by dead-end forays in the gay dating scene, surrounded constantly by friends but deeply lonely in New York City, and drifting into academic abyss, twenty-something graduate student Richard has plenty of sources of anxiety. But at the forefront is his crippling writer’s block, which threatens daily to derail his graduate funding and leave Richard poor, directionless, and desperately single.

Enter Anne: his brilliant classmate who offers to “help” Richard write his papers in exchange for his company, despite Richard’s fairly obvious sexual orientation. Still, he needs her help, and it doesn’t hurt that Anne has folded Richard into her abundant lifestyle. What begins as an initially transactional relationship blooms gradually into something more complex.

But then a one-swipe-stand with an attractive, successful lawyer named Blake becomes serious, and Richard suddenly finds himself unable to detach from Anne, entangled in her web of privilege, brilliance, and, oddly, her unabashed acceptance of Richard’s flaws. As the two relationships reach points of serious commitment, Richard soon finds himself on a romantic and existential collision course—one that brings about surprising revelations.

“Intelligent, entertaining and elegantly written” (Adelle Waldman, author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.) Going Dutch is an incisive portrait of relationships in an age of digital romantic abundance, but it’s also a heartfelt and humorous exploration of love and sexuality, and a poignant meditation on the things emotionally ravenous people seek from and do to each other. “This marvelously witty take on dating in New York City and the blurry nature of desire announces Gregor as a fresh, electric new voice” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Aug 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9781508294122

James Gregor

James Gregor holds an MFA in Fiction from Columbia. He has been a writer in residence at the Villa Lena Foundation in Tuscany and a bookseller at Shakespeare and Company bookshop in Paris. James was born and grew up in Canada. Going Dutch is his first novel.

Reviews for Going Dutch

[epictale · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Chalk up my dislike for Going Dutch to me being a boomer...this book, which apparently describes and observes the millennial lifestyle, simply wasn't intended for me to understand. I picked it up hoping for insight into what motivates and shapes people who recently have come of age in contemporary America. From what I inferred from Going Dutch, the answer is: not much, beyond fleeting whim and fancy predicated on a culture of entitlement and privilege. Author James Gregor's story-telling craft wasn't bad or unengaging. The problem was his characters, nearly all of whom were unlikable and unsympathetic, and the seemingly purposeless lives they led. I hope Gregor's observations aren't accurate...because, if they are, American society is in for a world of hurt in the years to come.

[jypsylynn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well, this story is...??? Going Dutch is deliberately infuriating on an epic level. Richard is the main character, and he's just a dolt. He's a grad student in NYC with a paper due so he can get paid, but he's got writer's block. Plus, his love life is in the toilet. He's gay and can't find a good man. Meanwhile, everyone else around him are happily dating, working, succeeding, etc. Money is no problem for them, yet Richard is broke. He's not as pitiful as he seems, though. The woe is me yarn he's spinning is starting to unravel. He's not moving forward in life because that's the choice he has made. Richard feeds off of pity and sympathy and whining. Not making a choice is what he's chosen. A woman enters his life and saves him, theoretically speaking. She has money and spends on him. She helps him with writers block by writing it herself. She desperately needs his attention. Then a man enters Richard's life via a dating app. He's successful and interested. Basically, Richard uses these two people in any way he can to get as much as possible from them. It's a love triangle kind of thing, and it's not clear if Richard is gay or bisexual. I despise this character. He's a self centered millennial with no morals. The writing is eloquent and lyrical. It's so nicely done. I just wish it were in a different story. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[managedbybooks · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I had high hopes for this book based on the description, but I was sorely disappointed. The writing style was very eloquent, almost to a fault. I felt like this highlighted all of the worst parts of what people think of millennial lifestyles. Richard was extremely annoying and whiny, wasting his fellowship money on unnecessary things. I almost didn't finish this, but I was able to push through it.

*Book received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*