I didn't hate this one, but I felt like I was missing a lot of the story (similar to how I felt when reading Yellowface). Looking at other reviews shows that there is a memoir and also an ex-husband's book, which I think would've filled in some gaps in the text with this one.

A story awakened by a disparaging divorce, it's no secret Pittard is blurring fact vs. fiction. It's endearing and Pittard held my attention well, but at times it felt too exclusive to its subject matter, perhaps, being inspired by her personal life that left me a bit out as a benchwarmer..

Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for this advanced copy.

What’s so great about reading autofiction is the knowledge that you will never know “truth” in even its vaguest terms. Hannah Pittard is a master at that, at the strange grey space between real and fake, truth and pure fantasy (I mean, the only thing I can say for sure is that the talking component of the talking cat is, in fact, fictional).

Reading this was a pure delight. She had a vice grip on my focus throughout, and she was intuitive about change and experimentation right when I could have lost my attention. This story was wacky and emotional and deep, and I’m very grateful to have read it. As one of the “amorphous brunettes” that Pittard has had in workshop, I can say that I am inspired and entertained. Thanks, Prof P.

You have to wonder how much mileage an author can get from the same story, but Pittard’s latest shows that there is still more to be said about the unraveling of her marriage. I adored Pittard’s 2023 memoir, "We Are Too Many," which explored what happened when she discovered that her husband was sleeping with her best friend. Pittard’s former husband, Andrew Ewell, followed with a satirical novel, "Set for Life," about the divorce from his perspective. Pittard’s latest, “If You Love It, Let it Kill You,” is an auto fiction novel that opens when Hana P., a novelist and an English professor at the University of Kentucky, like Pittard, learns that her former husband plans to write an unflattering portrayal of her in his scathing debut novel.

Initially, Hana seems undaunted by the news that her ex depicts her as a commercial hack who is wildly successful but dull. Then she begins to spiral, including having discussions with an injured cat with a “provocative vocabulary” that has taken up residence in the rafters of her garage. Despite the support of her partner, Bruce, a professor of English, whom Hana refers to as a “veritable ThunderShirt of a man,” who tolerates her begrudging acceptance of his eleven year old daughter (Hana is “childless by choice”), a witty sister, Jane, also a professor of English. who frequently pops in for a glass of wine, a father who also pops in for his usual gin, tonic and lime (but he’s not picky) and texts in a group text that Jane has always been his favorite, and a mother who Bruce exempts from the unenforceable prohibition of popping in.

Pittard has an ear for dialogue and a sense of the absurd. Her novel has a raft of charming and memorable characters, particularly Hana's father, who has had five wives and starts microdosing at age 80. The novel toys with the rules for fiction and raises the fascinating question of who gets custody of their story when writers break up. Hana laments that her ex didn’t ask permission to write a novel about her, but she concedes that she didn’t ask his permission to write the story of their separation in a memoir. She rationalizes that “the trespass feels different now that we are no longer together.” Thank you Henry Holt & Co. and Net Galley for an advance copy of this moving and funny story.

I featured If You Love It, Let It Kill You in my July 2025 new releases video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5JWYTfUVq4, and though I have not read it yet, I am so excited to and expect 5 stars! I will update here when I post a follow up review or vlog.

If You Love It, Let It Kill You by Hannah Pittard
Okay… let’s talk about this one. I love a quirky, unconventional read, so I went into this book ready for a wild time. And at first, I was intrigued. The writing? Punchy. Sporadic. A little chaotic, in a way that almost works. But then…

I hit a wall.

After a few chapters, I realized I wasn’t connecting at all. So I did what any confused reader does: I hit the Google machine. Turns out this book is being described as Creative Non-Fiction or Autofiction, both of which were new concepts for me. And honestly? Whatever this genre is, I don’t think it’s my vibe--or at least I don't know if I am interested in hearing this author's story.

This story felt like I was trapped at a dinner party I didn’t want to attend, listening to someone overshare family drama that felt more exhausting than enlightening. Neurotic characters, messy relationships, and a narrative that leaned heavily into self-indulgence without offering anything new to say.

And then...the cat thing. No. Absolutely not. I draw the line at pet theft. Stealing someone's cat? That’s where the quirky train derails. 🚫🐱

Themes:
Family Dysfunction
Messy Neurotic Narration
Identity Crisis & Midlife Meltdown
Possibly Pet-Napping?? 😬

Audiobook: I also had the opportunity to request the audiobook. After not loving the read, I thought maybe the audiobook would help me finish it. Update...it did. While it didn't change my opinion of the story, I thought the audiobook was expertly delivered. Brilliance Audio and Allison Ryan did a great job of providing an engaging performance-- I would definitely look for more books narrated by Ryan.

Would I recommend this book?
If you love autofiction or want to explore creative non-fiction with a literary flair, you might enjoy this. But if you're looking for compelling characters, emotional payoff, or at least one redeemable storyline, you may want to let this one pass you by. Take this review with a grain of salt; it's always possible that I'm not the intended audience.

Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt and Co., and Brilliance Audio. I appreciate the opportunity to read and provide my honest review.

Pittard's reason for writing this book is much more compelling than the book itself. Perhaps if I had read her memoir, I would have appreciated this book more. I need to give her credit for writing herself as an unlikable character - that was unexpected.

I read this book with a morbid curiosity. I loved Pittard's previous book, her not-quite-memoir that examines the disintegration of her marriage. This book leans more fiction than the previous, but it basically picks up where that book left off. I am not quite sure I enjoyed it but I was fascinated by the fictional and real-life dynamics at play in this book.

For the record- I didn't like her ex-husband Andrew Ewell's novel "Set for Life" either. This is another go at a failed marriage and it's auto fiction. Frankly I wish Pittard would write about something else because she's got writing chops. Fans of the voyeuristic (and talking cats) might enjoy this but I found it too bitter for my taste. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Over to others.

I opened it for the talking cat and because I loved Pittard's memoir that I read but unfortunately it felt a little chaotic to me and hard to follow

Many thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for gifting me a digital ARC of this auto fiction book by Hannah Pittard. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 3.5 stars rounded up!

Hana P is living in Lexington, KY, teaching at the university and living with her boyfriend and his daughter. Hana's family has all migrated to live in close proximity to her as well. Hana learns that her ex-husband's novel features a version of her and she is not happy.

I had never heard of auto fiction before and once I realized that's what this book was, I did a quick look to see how close it was to real life. Apparently very. This is Hana's (and Hannah's?) way of working through her life and emotions and the rest of us get to tag along. It's almost a stream of consciousness-type book, and parts were hilarious even when some were sad as well. We get to watch as Hana is questioning all her life choices and feelings. It's quirky (talking cats!) and messy and an interesting read.

I have no idea how I've missed the autofiction thing for so long. When I started reading, I could not get into it, the tone was off, something just wasn't settling so I did some research on it and discovered the backstory and the world of autofiction. In fairness, I am not a huge fan of non-fiction and biographies in general, when I read, I want an escape, I'd rather watch a documentary for non-fiction topics.

This just wasn't my cup of tea and if I had realized it was autofiction I wouldn't have requested it. It didn't really turn me on to something new either, just confirmed what I already knew about my literary likes and dislikes. The autofiction crew may love it, just wasn't for me.

A few things to know upon beginning this book; Pittard and her then husband, also a writer, had a couple they were very close to; Pittard considered the wife to be her best friend. Her husband and her best friend had an affair and both left their marriages to be together. Pittard then wrote a memoir about the whole sorry mess. At the beginning of this new work, this time called a novel, all these facts are still the story, and the protagonist, called Hana, has just found out that her now ex-husband has written his own book, a novel, that recounts a version of events although he changes names and in his novel, the character of his ex-wife is then murdered by a homeless man. This novel exists in real life and its description matches the one Hana gives in the novel. The character of Hana is very upset about her ex-husband's book and this novel is about her working through her feelings, although she is still quite angry at the end of the book.

There are other things going on. The character of Hana, like her namesake and author, teach creative writing at a college in North Carolina. She talks about her students and how they react to her writing and how they are curious about her private life. She talks about not being able to tell some students apart and her worry over an older student who takes all her classes. She talks about her family, from the sister and her family living on the same street, and about her father and his tendency to overshare. With the exception of a talking cat, added to appease her students, this novel hews closely to the known outlines of her own life.

<i>I write, Obviously we're using the same source material. It was his marriage as much as it was mine! But he's calling it "fiction"--which offers him a kind of freedom to do and say what he wants--while also attaching that fiction to me.

She writes, There are some who wold say we've got two divorced people on our hands who can't quite get over themselves.</i>

Is anything to be made of her previous book being a memoir and this one being called a novel, despite continuing the same story? Maybe autofiction should be a label used more often. I did try to read this book as though it were a novel, and it just doesn't work in that sense. There's too much backstory needed and it shows so clearly the messiness of actual life. It's also an angry book; not as angry as Sarah Manguso's Liars, but the emotions are raw. Pittard goes to some length to make her own flaws evident and seems to relish writing things that are designed to alienate the reader. This book did keep me turning pages and there's no doubt that Pittard is both keenly observant and a fine writer, and I do like her crankiness. I do wonder what this book would have looked like had she waited a few years to write it all down--a little distance and maturity might make this story into something more cohesive, but it might well also have diluted a bit of the energy. There is, of course, no way of knowing.

I didn’t realize this was autofiction. It was my first.
I didn’t love it. Wish I could say this was worth the time spent, but it just wasn’t.
If I would have realized what I was reading, maybe that would have changed things. I came unprepared.
Someone who likes this genre CNF will probably love this. I just couldn’t get into it. 2.5 ⭐️

This was very weird and very good. Definitely recommend if you like Miranda July. It was so cerebral but also unexpected! I read it in one day and enjoyed it immensely. So well written and so interesting!

If You Love, Let It Kill You comes out next week on July 15, 2025, and you can purchase HERE!

One day, they will understand the subtleties of the world, the absurdity and sadness and isolation of what it means not just to be alive but to be alive and a middle-aged woman on the brink of invisibility.

if anyone read that vulture article from a while back about the four authors and the two marriages and the affair that none of them can stop writing about...this is the second book (in addition to innumerable short stories) about it by the most successful and talented and (in my purview) likable of the bunch.
it's very funny and startlingly honest autofiction. i think the people i appreciate most in f*cked up situations are those who don't shy away from their f*ckups, and this book, by and about a woman who has discovered that her ex husband wrote a short story about her murder at the hands of a homeless man and is driven insane, certainly doesn't. i enjoyed it very much.

I realise I'm probably very late to the autofiction party, but this is the first tme I've (knowingly) read a book on this genre. While there were sone moments of humour it mainly left me cold, talking cats in books are something I try to avoid, and a lot of the time it just felt like a spewing of ideas, memories and thoughts which I wasn't interested in. Possibly if I'd heard of the author before or knew anything about her life I would have found more to engage with.
Thank you to netgalley and Henry Holt for an advance copy of this book.

I enjoyed most of the humor of this book, but some of the occasions described were just not as interesting to me as I’d hoped. The talking rescue cat seemed out of place and the descriptions of the game the FMC played called “dead body” wasn't that entertaining, and they took up some real estate in the book. This work focused a lot on the really bizarre things that the FMC did as a reaction to learning her ex-husband was publishing a novel that featured her in an unflattering light. I guess I was expecting more of a revenge story? Maybe I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. To me the most interesting thread of the story was the FMC’s dynamics with her own nuclear family, her Mom, Dad (divorced) and sister.

(3.5 stars)

I know this is autofiction so I want to tread lightly. I did not especially enjoy the protagonists tone or attitude throughout this story. She is very self absorbed and somewhat cruel and judgemental to everyone around her. The way conversations and interactions were written was also not my favorite. I said and then he said and then I said. I get it is a stylistic choice but it’s just one that didn’t work for me. The cat stuff was fun but ultimately that’s about all that I enjoyed here.

Hated the main character and hated the story. I felt like Bruce was the only redeeming thing in this book. She treated him like shit.