David Brooks dives into a study of how to really “know” another person in this part academic, part how-to, deeply reflective book. Some parts really appeal to me — I like the funny, tongue-in-cheek, self deprecating style and the curating and restating of academic studies supporting his points. He has several ideas that I resonate with (I, too, was not born with copious social skills and had to work hard to learn the few I developed!), but many that I did not. Honestly, it reads as a journey of self-discovery with an implied (and sometimes boldly stated) assumption that his issues / goals / discoveries are relevant for everyone as in “everyone wants x” and “everyone needs y.” I don’t actually believe anything is true of everyone (except the fact that I assume we all have human DNA). Also, for my taste, he goes a little far in the (IMHO simplistic and kind of old news) “everyone just wants to be heard, valued, and understood,” and I think human interaction is a lot more complicated than that.
In any case, it is an interesting read, with plenty of tools to help each of us understand a little more about how we work and how we interact with others, so I think it is worth reading! Includes an exceptional referenced bibliography featuring philosophers, psychologists, novelists, and poets across the ages.
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on October 24th, 2023.
Books to look forward to ... 