This one took me a while to finish. It was a reasonably fine story, but did not grip me in the ways that I had hoped based on the description. The plot itself was fine, but many chapters did not go very far in terms of story progression, and there was quite a bit of physics jargon that did not help to elevate the setting. The protagonist often suffers from "female character written by a man" syndrome, and I felt myself disconnected from her thoughts and actions quite often. Despite these pitfalls, I will say it's a unique premise with a timely and relevant story to tell.
Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book is so smart and irreverent but also has a lot of heart. I love the clever and satirical look at cancel culture and the fantastic Jewish rep. This is a funny, thought-provoking and creative debut and I'm excited to see what the author writes next.

The narration of the audiobook is fast and sharp and perfectly delivered. I highly recommend listening.

Thanks to Hachette Audio and Little Brown for the copy to review.

This book was a fascinating and enjoyable read. It had a gripping, well-written, and informative style. The author created believable and sympathetic characters, vividly described the setting, and maintained the tension

Imagine there is an island where all the men that have been canceled by the Me Too Movement have gone to set up a prestigious, private university without pesky HR departments and political correctness.

Helen finds her academic career in jeopardy when her PhD adviser gets himself thrown out of Cornell for a relationship with a student. Helen must decide to put her career on the line and follow her adivsor to this controversial institution or see her life's work wither on the vine. It wouldn't be much of a book without her going, would it? Helen and her (maybe) husband, Hugh, head to the island, and it's as wild as advertised. Helen's character is overly cerebral and puts her work ahead of any other consideration, and Hugh isn't able to do that. The conflict is immediate and upends everything the pair knew about themselves.
 
This book is a fascinating look at what happens after Me Too and how all these (mostly) men go on to live out their lives. This book is witty, clever, and dead-on with the questions it poses about where we go from here.
 
I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator, @laurenfortgang, does a great job!

"How I Won a Nobel Prize" is a smart, satirical novel about a physics PhD student -- Helen -- who follows her disgraced mentor to an academic haven for "cancelled" scientists known as the Rubin Institute Plymouth, or RIP for short (and the symbolism doesn't end there). The protagonist, Helen, is working on potentially world-changing research on high-temperature superconductivity, so even though she is not a fan of the decidedly un-PC politics of the Institute, she reluctantly joins her mentor there. Her socialist spouse, Hew, even more reluctantly goes with her -- but only if they both agree to become vegan.

The story itself is interesting, and the novel's satire takes swipes at everything from "cancel culture" to academia to socialist-anarchists to billionaires. Having listened to this audiobook (very well-narrated by Lauren Fortgang) in 2023, I couldn't help but think of its timeliness, and the fact that it is not unrealistic to think that an institution like RIP could materialize in real life in the not-too-distant future. As the story progressed, I found myself invested in finding out what happened next. The ending did not disappoint.

However, I do have some critiques of the novel. Clearly the author is highly intelligent, as the topics of advanced physics and high-temperature superconductivity are extremely complex and were discussed at length in various points in the novel. But the average reader is not going to be able to keep up with these highly technical discussions, making substantial parts of the novel a bit inaccessible. Also, there were multiple points when a character would go on long-winded dialogue about some principle or conviction, which could make for interesting essays or philosophical debate, but felt out-of-place in a novel. These sections lost my attention in an otherwise interesting story.

Overall, an enjoyable read (or listen). 4.25 stars.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Little, Brown for the complimentary audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

I generally enjoyed this book which is a satirical look at the general left-wing leaning educational institutions in North America. The book was humorous and I found it to be clever in its execution, as long as you don't get too bogged down with the physics talk. I did find the book dragged a little in the middle and might have been able to be a little shorter if some of that were to be condensed or shortened. I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook and found the narrator to be easy to listen to and engaging.

I received an advanced copy of the audiobook from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I didn't finish this fast enough when I got the audiobook from NetGalley so it took me longer to read it. This book is SMART, and it takes longer to read something with this many ideas.
Some reviewers complained about how hard the physics was but that wasn't really the point. The main character, Helen, lives in a world of ideas instead of regular social relationships. She moves to a school where she can carry out her research under a brilliant scientist. This school, instead of supporting stereotypical liberal causes, welcomes the people who violate all those codes, including some Nazis. It turns out that some people aren't even honest about how bad they are because they want to take advantage of the resources in this unusual environment.
It might come off differently if it wasn't obviously satire. But written as is, this book is hilarious. I will probably read it again because it had SO MANY ideas, and I know I missed many of the jokes. I hope this writer does more.

I received a copy of the audiobook via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. And that's how recommend consuming this story: listen to the incredibly narrated audiobook and optionally sight read the text, at least if like me, you are not into physics and self-indulgent writing styles go over your head.

There's a lot to respect in this book. It's funny yet thought-provoking, especially in its nuanced discussion on "cancel culture" and the failings of both right-wing and left-wing parties in their approaches to morality and accountability. But reading this felt a lot like my experience with many Oscar-nominated films that lean more on the artistic than the commercial side: I get what it's trying to do and I admire the approach, but it didn't work for me entertainment-wise. I didn't find myself attached to the characters, I thought the dialogue was long-winded at times, and it didn't necessarily help that there are a lot of programming references here—something that I don't like in my entertainment as a software engineer who doesn't like to be reminded of work during my off-hours.

That said, I recommend this to those who want a more humorous version of the film Tár or to those who were left wanting more after reading R. F. Kuang's Yellowface.

This book was not what I expected at all. Some humor, lots of feminism (yay!), but the direction it took was heavy and interesting. I still think about the ending to this day. I found myself asking “what?!” numerous times throughout this novel. The narrator was amazing, but I had to reread it twice to make sure I understood where all the story went and why. Overall, I recommend this book. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

How I Won a Nobel Prize is a satirical look at the separation of the worker and the work -- how to handle great things done by not so great people. Although it is firmly rooted in academia and scientific research, the parallels are definitely there to more visible cancel culture elements in musicians, actors, politicians, businesspeople, etc.

Helen, a researcher working on superconducting materials, follows her disgraced mentor to an island enclave full of academics exiled from the mainstream for various sins great and small -- many caught by cultural changes that rendered what was acceptable or at least tolerated by previous generations (sexual relationships with students and use of racially-charged language, for example) now seen as unforgivable.

These folks live and work in a phallus-shaped skyscraper termed the "Endowment" with wonderful double entendre -- for an extremely wealthy patron. They are ostensibly free to focus on their work without the noise of cultural mores, but of course set up their own systems within their microcosm.

All the while, Helen's relationship with her husband strains as he also has to live in this bizarro world; and he becomes involved with radical groups bent on exposing the island (and it's Endowment!).

This is a great look at our social constructs while also being very entertaining.

More books are exploring the sense of moral superiority on the left, with authors like R. F. Kuang and Julius Taranto discussing this phenomenon. "How I Won a Nobel Prize" is set on a small East Coast island, where a university refuge is established for academics ousted from their institutions. Helen, a liberal, moves to the island with her husband Hew to finish her PhD. However, the book's execution is difficult, with long, rambly inner monologues and minimal world-building. The characters seem more like mouthpieces for ideological positions than real people, making it a philosophical story rather than a novel.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for this advanced listening copy for an honest review.

✨ Review ✨ How I Won a Nobel Prize by Julius Taranto; Narrated by Lauren Fortgang

This book leans into the satire and intellectual absurdity of a university that gathers together mostly white male professors who've been cancelled for racism, sexism, sexual assault, etc. etc. They all work in a giant phallic building known as The Endowment on an island off the East Coast.

Helen, a physics grad student, follows her mentor to the island when he takes up work there after a sexual scandal, and her and her husband Hew grapple with the ethics of working at a place like this, crawling with terrible humans. She believes the trade off of solving for high-temperature superconductivity could potentially save the planet, thus offsetting the moral ambiguity of her choices.

I loved this book because so much of its commentary on academia resonated. I hated this book because of the same. I had a lot of mixed feelings about it, and it feels at times likes its trawling through the murk of academia and its problems. I also appreciated how the book experimented and played with ideas of cancel culture and its problems here.

The satire in the book was A++ especially with the ending. It's a book that definitely made me think, and I'll be thinking about this into the days ahead. Excellent audio narration and the narrator's voices for some of the more ridiculous characters were excellent!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5 stars)
Genre: humor/satire,
Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
Reminds me of: Vladimir kinda sorta?
Pub Date: 12 Sep 2023

Read this if you like:
⭕️ critical commentary on academia and cancel culture
⭕️ satire that runs on a more intellectual level
⭕️ science research & ethical conversations

Thanks to Hachette Audio, Little, Brown & Company and #netgalley for advanced copies of this book!

My Interest

Having spent much of the last 15 years in Academia, this one caught my eye on #Netgalley. A Nobel Prize! Well, well…. And, it is supposed to be “wickedly funny.” Ok, I’ll listen.
The Story

“…change doesn’t happen so much as it accumulates.”

“Why must politics always be the main theme? We are meant to be in a haven from so-called woke oppression but the constant controversy is more taxing than wokeness ever was”

Helen, a physicist (this is the summer of physicist with Oppenheimer in the theaters and now this book…. yet another book I’m reading mentions a relative who was a physicist) drags husband Hugh off to a sort of Island of Misfit Toy Academics–“Cancel U” as it is euphemistically known. A “no rules, just right” place for canceled academics and a few politicians, writers, etc., funded by a politically incorrect zillionaire with overtones of an ex-POTUS and a guy with a fixation on one letter, if you catch my drift. (If, being in the halls of the Christian Academe I missed an obvious parallel to a real place, please leave me a comment, ok?).

She and Hugh have been woke since before it was even waking up. They are an “open device” couple who share all their passwords so there are no secret phone friendships or anything similar. They often ignore each others’ “digital presence” and want “privacy” in their heads. Yeah. Are they vegan? hahhaha, Do you really have to ask?

Anyway, Helen is a genius with physics while Hugh attends “actions” (protests). When rich old B.W. recruits her for “The Institute” she goes to work with Perry (or is it Harry–I SWEAR the reader said both) who is a legend, but got ‘canceled’ for a same-sex relationship with an undergraduate. While Hugh is in their apartment “metronome-ing” (that’s an actual quote) to a recorded music, Helen and Perry are doing something amazing with physics–at a level that should, in time, see them grasp a Nobel Prize from the hands of Grumpy King himself, Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch in the midst of regality as Hugh stresses over “predatory Capitalism,” Helen has a weird almost epiphany. What if people don’t have to be canceled completely–what if you can still admire the good things they’ve done while not forgetting the bad? And, about this time BW takes out a page in the Wall Street Journal offering free education to a couple of neo-N— ish young people–all to promote the exchange of ideas etc., etc. etc. Only you just know he doesn’t really mean it, right?

When things go too far one night puke-ing-ly-earnest, but adorable Hugh decides to grow a pair (sort of) and deal with stuff going down upstairs. Helen? She gets some home truths from BW that causes it all.
My Thoughts

I liked the way Julius Taranto periodically zapped reader (no spoilers–you’ll now it when you read it). That was different and fun. The humor–it wasn’t all that funny. There is so much you can really bust a gut laughing at in academia today, that this only hit the top level of bombast and cringe. It never dug deeper than the surface for humor.

We were supposed to admire Hugh, I think. I guess I may have as many trust issues with guys who think of lentils as a staple as I do with guys who wear MAGA hats. Give me the men in the middle of the political spectrum, please. Helen–I took off a lot for all the dull-as-dirt science discourse. Physics? Really? We’re Americans. We flunk or skip science. But having her be a physicist let her go the Island/Institute and set up the story, so, ok–that worked. The editor, though, should have stepped in and axed about 75% of the science babble. Without the cool special effects in Oppenheimer, physics is dull. Helen’s predictable diatribe on environment (we get it–it’s all our fault) and that women should be taught about #metoo from a standpoint of defending ourselves physically is old news.

Like many another law school grad though, Julius Taranto can spin a story. I’d definitely read something else by him–this was his debut novel. NPR will be all over it, I’m sure. Like Lee Cole’s Groundskeeping earlier this year, I responded to this due to the writing–it was well written, just not “wickedly funny” as promised.
My Verdict
3.0

I couldn’t give it a higher rating due to all the dull science chit-chat

How I Won a Nobel Prize by Julius Taranto, publishes September 12

What if everyone who had been cancelled moved to an island where an eccentric billionaire ran a libertarian college?
What if a not-cancelled, not-libertarian woman physicist moved there because her colleague did?

This book was great fun, with a fantastic twist.



Review copy provided by publisher.