Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Unavailable
Loner: A Novel
Unavailable
Loner: A Novel
Unavailable
Loner: A Novel
Audiobook6 hours

Loner: A Novel

Written by Teddy Wayne

Narrated by David Bendena

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

David Federman has never felt appreciated. An academically gifted yet painfully forgettable member of his New Jersey high school class, the withdrawn, mild-mannered freshman arrives at Harvard fully expecting to be embraced by a new tribe of high-achieving peers. But, initially, his social prospects seem unlikely to change, sentencing him to a lifetime of anonymity. Then he meets Veronica Morgan Wells. Struck by her beauty, wit, and sophisticated Manhattan upbringing, David falls feverishly in love. Determined to win her attention and an invite into her glamorous world, he begins compromising his moral standards for this one, great shot at happiness. But both Veronica and David, it turns out, are not exactly as they seem.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 13, 2016
ISBN9781520017518
Author

Teddy Wayne

Teddy Wayne, the author of Loner, The Love Song of Jonny Valentine, and Kapitoil, is the winner of a Whiting Writers’ Award and an NEA Fellowship as well as a finalist for the Young Lions Fiction Award, PEN/Bingham Prize, and Dayton Literary Peace Prize. He writes regularly for The New Yorker, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, McSweeney’s, and elsewhere. He lives in New York.

Related to Loner

Related audiobooks

Coming of Age Fiction For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Loner

Rating: 3.723684210526316 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

76 ratings9 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A good book, but I can't say I liked it. The narrator is unreliable *and* unlikable, with little to redeem him other than some evident academic ability. A good look into the head of a sociopath who wants to lose his virginity at Harvard-- if that's something you're looking for. And yet I don't regret reading it; there are some smart and piercing bits of social commentary here, and even though I didn't like David, I did enjoy reading his story.
    3.5 stars; closer to 4 until the very end, where I found the ending hasty and flaccid.


    I received a copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. Thanks!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A friend whose taste in books I truly respect told me I must read Teddy Wayne's Loner. So of course I did.Told from the perspective of 18-year-old David Federman, an intelligent, but socially inexperienced, freshman just starting at Harvard. David wasn't popular at his middle class New Jersey high school and was looking forward to being with people he had something in common with at the prestigious university.He hangs out with a group of people who were much like he was in high school- on the fringes, not the cool kids. Then David meets Veronica, a self possessed, beautiful young woman from a wealthy Manhattan family.David makes it his goal to date Veronica. He decides that to get closer to her, he would date her roommate Sara, part of his group of friends. Sara is sweet, smart and hardworking, and close to her family.Veronica seems to be the kind of girl who gets by on her looks, but how she got into Harvard seems to be a question in my mind. She gets David to write a term paper for her, and it appears that she is using David, but he believes she will come to see him for the great man he is.As the story progresses, David's obsession with Veronica grows and you get a sinking feeling in your stomach that something is going to go wrong here.Wayne writes beautifully, and his characters are very well drawn, even as Veronica and David are not quite what they appear to be. Wayne also takes on the charged atmosphere on college campuses today, with the timeless issues of belonging and wanting to fit in clashing with the sexual politics of today.Loner is a quick read, only 200 pages, but the story will stay with you a long time. I recommend it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    3.5 Obsession. From his first glimpse of Veronica, he could not get her out of his mind, putting aside new friendships, a young woman who actually cared about him and even the Harvard experience, all became meaningless. Things o be discarded. To say I disliked David from the very beginning would be an understatement. The same goes for Veronica, who though she did little in the beginning to draw onto herself the obsession, clearly thought she and her friends were better than others, entitled.So my dilemma, how to rate a book that so clearly made me uncomfortable? That does not leave one with a good feeling? The writing itself was quite good and obsession is the main theme of the book, so the fact that the author made me feel this way shows it accomplished what it set out to do.I think it was because these are ordinary people, things like this happen often. We see it in our news, sometimes with horrific results. There are some graphic sex scenes, this is a true time college environment with different mixes of people. Even the ending is true too often, deplorable really. So glad my children are out of college because I found this to be a rather frightening book. Now I need to try to get it out of my head.AR from publisher.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    "Loner" is an interesting little novel with an odd twist at the end. It proceeds like this: dorky kid from a good family gets into Harvard, is accepted into an informal group of like-minded and similarly-dorky students, becomes enamored with an untouchably-beautiful female student who happens to be the roommate of one of the other members of his group, begins dating her roommate in order to get closer to her, and after all that it becomes increasingly creepy as he ratchets up his interest in the untouchable one.On the one hand, it's a well-written view into the lives of the privileged few students bright enough, or connected enough, to attend America's premier educational institution. On the other hand, it's also a study of obsessive behavior and its potential impact on relationships. I won't spoil the ending and I wouldn't say it wraps up nicely, but justice, in a way, is served.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    While I felt like Teddy Wayne successfully illustrated David Federman's personality through his internal dialogue, the novel's ending seemed completely contrived and out of character for the young, socially inept scholar. Perhaps this was the author's attempt to shock his reader and/or explore a possible catalyst of a major societal issue? I can't say much more without spoilers, so I'll stop here
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Loner is told through the narrater David Federman during his first semester at Harvard and his immediate infatuation with other freshman, Veronica and his stop at nothing attitude to be with her.

    Teddy Wayne did a good job at making David more and more spine chilling as the story goes. At first you feel sorry for him and want him to succeed, but then you begin questioning his actions and reasoning. The way the author uses "YOU" in replacement to Veronica gives the reader the all more creeped out vibe.

    I don't want to give out too much more because I feel like I will. The book was good, definitely not something I would read often since it did such a good job at making me so uncomfortable, but it is a subject manner I feel like isn't touched on often. Wayne's writing makes you question why you still feel sorry to a character who is doing things he absolutely shouldn't be doing.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    4.25

    Teddy Wayne’s “Loner” is a fast-paced read that take an often cringe-inducing look into an awkward teenager's life trying hard to reinvent himself on the campus of Harvard University. An outcast at his high school, Federman feels like Harvard will be different. His intelligence went under the radar there, and where he feels that this particular student body will be more on his level. In the beginning, when you watch Federman still fumble, you find yourself rooting for and simultaneously identifying with him as he tries desperately to “find his people”. Then things take a dark turn. That is about all I can say without spoiling this book since it is so short and takes some turns many readers will not see coming. With that warning firmly in place let’s get on with my review…

    ***Ahead there be spoilers***

    The Characters:
    Many of these characters are clichés. You have the privileged WASP who feels they don’t have to take much of anything seriously in Federman's crush Veronica.

    You have the uber diverse bad of students that call themselves the Matthews Marauders, somewhat led by the awkward geeky Steven.

    The most well rounded and well-written character, Sara is the true loner of the novel (I will get there). She is a warrior for social justice much in the same way many Caucasian students on campus is during this time period. Loud voices with a rallying cry to come to the aid of the less privileged, but with far too little experience in a harder, grittier, more sheltered and more culturally diverse world than where they come from. She means well but is trying to understand diversity on paper. Sara often keeps to herself, is loyal to a fault, and is dedicated to her work and to David.

    The main character David, dubbed the loner by one of his instructors, is not really a loner. A loser, sure, awkward, most definitely, but David tries (and often fails in a spectacular fashion) to fit in and find his niche. At no time do you find David relishing in the peace that comes with being only in your own company, the way a true loner would? At first, the reader finds themselves sympathizing with David, and even maybe seeing a bit of themselves in him. Then things take a bit of a swing as David’s insecurity rooted in his failure to say and do the right things, and his anger at the failure of others to recognize and accept him begins to root themselves in a delusion that the object of his affection (Veronica) goes from an attainable goal to a person he wishes to possess. This mixed with David’s entitlement creates the perfect storm of toxic masculinity. David becomes the Incel Messiah, and you find yourself sometimes gasping and often cringing as you quickly read through this short novel, bracing yourself for a terrible conclusion that comes in a way you both can, yet do not quite predict.

    The Writing:

    Wayne’s writing is pretentious, humorous and highly quotable. Often I am not a fan of pretentious writing, but I maintain that it makes sense here. Wayne’s book is actually supposed to be written by his protagonist, who is quite pretentious. Many of the characters are not three dimensional, but I would argue that Federman’s sociopathic nature doesn’t allow for him to see many other people as anything but cardboard cut-outs or cliché’s. The object of his desire only served that purpose on paper, so you often find David ignoring signs off who Veronica really is in his delusion. The object of his practiced affections, Sara, was the only one that seemed to jump off the page, albeit not intentionally. Her only purpose for the protagonist is both practice and a way to get closer to the object of his true affections, Veronica. The way Wayne was able to pull off rounding out Sara’s character despite doing this in Federman’s voice was, I think, a mark of great writing.

    The book is a quick read and comes to even a more fast-paced and twisted conclusion when David does just what you are hoping he won't do, but all the while knowing he might. What brings if about is also a turn that you sort of see coming, yet not in the manner in which you envisioned it. That may not make sense to anyone else other than someone that has already read this book.

    The Story:

    The story itself is fast-paced and well written, and highly quotable. At times it is even incredibly humorous in its observations. The reader finds themselves both rooting for the protagonist, cringing at the protagonist's actions (I can’t stress enough how cringe-inducing this book can be), hating the protagonist, and both wishing he could hide from his consequences, yet waiting eagerly for the hammer to fall. The characters are pretty stagnant and do not really change, but that is expected for a piece of writing this short, from one protagonist's point of view, and from a protagonist that shows no self-awareness.
    I think many readers will find the story original. This book straddles genres, being both a good piece of literary fiction as well as a great piece of New Adult Contemporary fiction. I actually find this novel a breath of fresh air in a world of books aimed at the 18-20 something demographic (New Adult) that idolize and romanticize toxic masculinity (See some of the more popular books by authors like Colleen Hoover, Anna Todd, Penelope Douglas, and Jamie McGuire) instead of shining a light on it.

    My main criticism of this book is that, because it is so short, there was no time to dig deeper into the character, or to put enough work into the twist ending which made the conclusion feel a bit rushed.

    My only other criticism (as previously mentioned) is the title. David is not, by any stretch a loner. I feel that the term loner has gotten a bad connotation over the years due to mass shootings and the growth of the incel movement. As a true loner, I can say that it is not my desire to find a part of a society I can’t identify with (as David does with Veronica and her group). I choose to enjoy my own company and my books more than the company of other people because there is calm and peace in solitariness. In contrast, David is looking for someone to notice him, to appreciate him for how great he perceives himself to be, and he does what he can to get recognized, he just has trouble doing so gracefully.

    Recommendations:
    If you want to read/watch something with a somewhat similar twist executed with grace and precision, and with a less off a toxic protagonist, read the play “The Shape of Things” by Neil LeButte, or watch the fabulous movie by the same name starring Paul Rudd (he does a phenomenal job). If you want to read a more in-depth and ugly look at toxic masculinity, read Brett Easton Ellis’ “American Psycho.”



    In conclusion, I absolutely loved each laughable and often cringe-inducing moment of this book, highly recommend it, and can say this is easily a new favorite and in the running for my favorite read of the year, thus far.

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The LonerWritten by Teddy WayneNarrated by David BendenaPublished 2016 by Dreamscape Media, LLC6 hours and 7 minutesI received a free audio copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.Writing my thoughts about this book is going to be incredibly difficult to do without spoilers but I’m going to try. First, the language was extraordinary and the writing was brilliant. I didn’t particularly like the story but the need to see where it was going kept me listening. After finishing it, I marveled at how thought provoking and clever the story truly was. If the author had chosen a different voice for the story, I may have concluded that the main character was simply a delusional psychopath with obsessive compulsive tendencies. While I’m sure there may be some element of mental illness at play, the story was much more complicated than that. I definitely think that David Federman should have been held responsible for actions.The Goodreads synopsis reads that David “begins compromising his moral standards for this one, great shot at happiness” but I’m not sure that is entirely accurate. I didn’t see David as an especially moral person. The ease with which he compromised was not indicative of a moral person. He didn’t struggle internally with the poor choices he made. He even seemed to glorify his drug use and sexual escapades in his own mind. David Federman would make for a very interesting character study or topic for discussion among book clubs.The story was narrated by David Bendena. This was my first listening experience with this narrator and he played the part perfectly without sounding pretentious. This couldn’t have been an easy task with the complex vocabulary and syntax.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    David Federman, a self-described loner, embarks on his freshman year at Harvard. He has high expectations, especially concerning his social life. While there he meets some wonderful people, including a girl named Sara who it appears he has much in common with and who seems to really care about him. However, these people are not of the caliber he dreams he will mix with at this venerable institution. He does meet his dream girl – Veronica Morgan Wells. He fantasizes about her, stalks her and when he feels wronged by her he ultimately moves beyond normal behaviors into a criminal act. I did not like David’s character from the beginning, nor did I like Veronica. I did like the other characters in the book, but almost put it down because of my dislike for the two main characters. Since the book was so short, I continued to read and am glad I did because in the last chapter it all came together, though no one really won.