An interesting look at falling out of love, trying to make it on your own, and still missing the feeling of being loved (no matter how toxic that relationship truly was). Moddie has just broken up with her long-term boyfriend Nick, has left her town and friends in Chicago, and has found herself back in her hometown reeling from this failed relationship. She is reunited with old friends and the comfortable life she once lived. But Moddie and her friends all feel stuck: in dead in jobs, in marriages made from convenience, annoyance with the world around them. This is a deconstructed book about a friend group going through natural changes in their lives, feeling the need to break free from what has held them down for so long.

This was absolutely incredible. I found myself relating to a lot of the characters and their feelings regarding love and the navigation of the world around us. It was interesting to see not only Moddie's perspectivie, but her old boyfriend, her friends, and their partners throughout the book.

There were parts of this I really liked, but overall it did not work for me. I liked the glimpses into a lot of people’s lives, but it ultimately became difficult to keep all of the characters straight, especially since they all dealt with similar themes (infidelity, breaking up with a long term partner, boredom with life). There were large pages long swaths of rants that didn’t seem to hold much importance or move anything along. A lot of the rants just seemed to be the author wanting to insert her own thoughts. This is my third of Halle Butler’s books and the third I have felt meh on.

Halle Butler is once again the reigning master of satirizing millennials. I have so many thoughts about this book but I’ll try to keep it brief. I truly thought this book was a work of art in the sense that it perfectly captures this generation’s need to be perceived in a certain way by others- as intellectual, woke, whatever you want to call it- through the utterly insufferable characters. It’s one of those books that make you laugh because you recognize these character traits in people you know (or even yourself), and allows for self-reflection while also allowing us to laugh at the cringiness. Butler’s writing style is very manic and stream-of-consciousness, which kept me engaged throughout. Truly a unique book and probably Butler’s best.

This book felt like one that has been done time and time again. I typically like a character driven novel but this one made me bored out of my mind. A depressed character that made me depressed and not in the intensely emotional way that is enjoyable. It could have just been me but I’m glad it’s over.

God I loved this. You’re tossed into this world of sad funny people as they set their lives on fire, this satisfying mix of cringe and catharsis, glittery muck. The sour skittle of novels. I want to hear everything Halle Butler has to say.

I enjoyed this book from start to finish: the people were simultaneously awful and lovable based on their vacillating behavior and dubious opinions of themselves and others. Laugh-out-loud satire, and often embarrassingly relatable (as a millenial). I will read anything Butler writes. She understands how to write flawed, weird, and absorbing characters in a way that makes you want to devour the book in one sitting.

Sharp satire of millennial culture and behaviors, LOL-funny, smart, and poignant. I even winced a few times in painful recognition.

banal nightmare is written in halle butler’s signature outspoken style. which i absolutely love. it’s hilarious and dares to say out loud things we all think. aside from this writing style i found it hard to find much else in the book that i connected with.
i felt pretty lukewarm on all of the characters and the stream of consciousness style writing that flowed from perspective to perspective felt confusing at times.

i think the biggest heartbreak a lot of us have as adults is with friends, not necessarily romantic partners, which is why many of us keep people around even if they have been abusive to us or our loved ones. butler takes this simple dilemma and brings us into a complicated and dynamic social circle. revelations range from more benign things like crushes to more serious ones like sexual assault, but no matter how unredeemable these individuals seem to still have a place. this is perpetuated by the background of academia (specifically in the arts here) which made me all the more angry as i've seen these things happen as an academic with the big egos left standing almost always. i will admit that the relationships got hard to track at times; i had to keep notes regarding which characters were connected to who and in what ways. however, despite all my troubles getting into the writing for this reason, the earnesty of those trying to break free from these toxic dynamics felt earned by the end (at least for those who weren't beyond growth).

I grew obsessed with this book’s layered, complex narratives. Enjoyable and slightly upsetting (a Butler signature), Banal Nightmare will be sticking around in my head for weeks to come!

I gave this 3 stars basically because I finished it. I talked myself out of a DNF status several times. I thought I would love this because the description was right up my alley. I didn’t connect with the author’s writing style and felt that the very long chapters dragged.

It though this was a decent read. Like many lit fic titles the dialogue is pushed together like a fever dream.

Halle Butler's 'Banal Nightmare' is a brilliant exploration of the darkly funny and relatable aspects of the millennial experience. The narrative skillfully weaves humor into the mundane, creating a compelling tale that resonates with the intricacies of modern life.

Halle Butler just keeps getting better and better! If you enjoy her particular kind of neo-feminist weirdness, you will love "Banal Nightmare"! This will be on a lot of Best of 2024 lists I promise-This is a must-request! You can't help but root for Maddie as a complicated protagonist, and her world back home is so well-crafted that you feel like you are reading literary non-fiction. Five star take on women, relationships, and friendship.