Press Play with Madeleine Brand
'The Idiot:' A story of first love in college during the '90s
In 1995, email was a relatively new and exciting way to communicate. In Elif Batuman’s first novel, ‘The Idiot,’ it’s through email that a Harvard freshman finds her first love -- and the limits of digital communication. As she navigates her feelings, she stumbles over herself, as we all do on the path to self discovery.
By Madeleine Brand • • 1 min readIn 1995, email was a relatively new and exciting way to communicate. In Elif Batuman’s first novel, ‘The Idiot,’ it’s through email that a Harvard freshman finds her first love -- and the limits of digital communication. As she navigates her feelings, she stumbles over herself, as we all do on the path to self discovery.
Elif Batuman is author of the novel “The Idiot.” (photo by Beowulf Sheehan)
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The full episode
4 of 5What's at stake if Hollywood writers strike?- 0:00What's at stake if writers walk off the job this year?
- 12:23Border wall becomes sticking point in fight over government funding
- 20:02What's next for Barack Obama?
- 26:45'The Idiot:' A story of first love in college during the '90sYou’re reading this
- 41:36Emmanuel Macron, who's never held political office, heads to runoff for French presidency