When she's 14 in 1991, Hannah Gavener begins to wonder about the man of her dreams. She's influenced by both the gala of celebrity weddings and her own parents' crumbling marriage. Over the next 15 years, Hannah's confusion never abates.
The Man of My Dreams follows Hannah's life, her passive nature that is too shy to pursue a boy or react well to one's attention, and the difficult, if not stupid, decisions she makes in trying to find one. At one point she decides that Henry is her soulmate, but he's busy dating her gorgeous cousin, Fig. Eventually Hannah moves to Chicago to follow Henry, and must decide whether that's a wise or desperate decision. Curtis Sittenfeld (author of
Prep) explores the life of a woman confused by love.
The Man of My Dreams has received mostly positive reviews with the New York Daily News saying, "What lovely work Sittenfeld makes of this story about a woman no one necessarily wants to identify with, but we all do: Hannah is both as smart and dumb as they come. Like many of us on a bad day. Or a good one, for that matter."
