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And the Heart Says Whatever Paperback – May 4, 2010

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Emily Gould (Author)
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Emily Gould (Author)
2.9 out of 5 stars 25 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Free Press; 1 edition (May 4, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1439123896
  • ISBN-13: 978-1439123898
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #694,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 starsYeah. Whatever.
By Snark Shark on May 15, 2010
Format: Paperback
I picked up this book because interviews with Gould have been making the rounds, and she has some really interesting things to say about what's expected from women's confessionals/memoirs, and how their male counterparts are not held to the same standards. She has some thought-provoking views and a unique way of expressing herself.

Sadly, there's little evidence of that in her actual book.

"And the Heart Says Whatever" is moody, aimless, and pretty self-indulgent. There are flashes of insight or humor, but these are so few and far between they feel like they belong to a different, better book. This one has almost nothing to offer besides a fragmented portrait of the author's late-teenage-to-late-twenties ennui.

Here's the thing about memoirs: usually the good ones are written by people who have led fascinating or unique lives. So far, Gould doesn't seem to be one of these people. She moves to NYC after freshman year of college, works a variety of rent-paying jobs, and recovers from the slow dissolution of a six-year relationship. There are sporadic attempts to inject her open-ended anecdotes with gravitas ("We were just college kids," or "I wonder why I didn't crack like an egg on the sidewalk."), but it came off as, well, pretentious. Gould also seems to luxuriate in the idea of herself as a screw-up; not necessarily a Bad Girl but one who realizes the trap of being a Good one. While I applaud the sentiment (and the homage to Liz Phair), her adventures read less like owning her mistakes and more like, you know, stuff. Stuff that happens to everybody, like getting involved with someone when you're not right for each other, or getting a puppy before you're ready for the (huge!) responsibility. None of it's that big a deal.Read more ›
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1.0 out of 5 starsI was as bored as Miss Gould seems to be
By Marmite on July 31, 2010
Format: Paperback
Received a review copy of this book. Sadly the author has very little to say and not much in the way of how to say it. One reviewer's observation that this recounts a mid-twenties ennui just about summed it up. I'm surprised it has such great reviews as it really isn't a great example of the literary essay - check out Joan Didion's 'Slouching Towards Bethlehem' to see how it's done.The heart says 'whatever' as it has little else to say, apparently, in this series of essays about nothing....
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1.0 out of 5 starsNo way, not ever
By BKSR on July 6, 2010
Format: Paperback
The writing in this book was laughably bad. This book wasn't even that long and I felt it dragged on! Calling it self-indulgent is kind. I borrowed this from a friend and couldn't finish it. Don't buy this book unless you have money to burn. If you do have it to burn, give it to charity, not to this author. Boring, pointless, poorly written. Enough said.
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1.0 out of 5 starsThe sub-literate musings of an unrepentant narcissist
By Tristram on May 8, 2010
Format: Paperback
People under the age of 18 should read Emily Gould's book in order to find out exactly what type of person they should try NOT to become. The publishers, who really should know better, try to pass Gould's memoirs off as the rigorously honest self-reflections of a sophisticated hipster. But in truth they are simply the verbal brain farts of an excruciatingly vapid, deeply unimaginative mind. That the book was ever even considered for publication is an embarrassment to contemporary American letters. Emily Gould, you've had more than your 15 minutes. Now please just go away.
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1.0 out of 5 starsSick of reading this book
By Memoir lover on May 13, 2011
Format: Paperback
I love reading memoirs. Unfortunately, I did not do any research about this book before buying it. I rarely review things on Amazon, but I feel very strongly about how much i dislike this book. Even though it is not long, I'm trying to force myself to finish it. I might just stop and donate it. Grammar errors, repetitive, annoying self-pity about her ex boyfriend...I am almost certain that the end is going to be equally lame, if I even decide to finish the last bit I have left. Do not buy this book, there are way better memoirs out there that are well-written and have much better content with more variety.
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1.0 out of 5 starsGossip and bickering doesn't make you a good writer
By Joseph Campbell's Ghost on May 6, 2010
Format: Paperback
Do not waste your money on this book. Emily Gould should not be a professional writer. Trite writing. Poor plot development. Unfunny or interesting. I had the misfortune of having this book given to me by a publishing house friend as an example of what not to do. Of what the internet has done to our literature. People are now famous for being famous and nothing more. Ms. Gould proves this.
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3.0 out of 5 starsA Sobering View of Single Life
By Donna Hill on October 24, 2011
Format: Paperback
Emily Gould is a good writer. She conveys her melancholy and pessimism very well, leading us through her life of work, sex, and drugs (and tattoos!).

I'm a 64-year-old widow who never saw the show Sex and the City although I've heard about it in bits and pieces. The ironies in Gould's book abound. She writes about her mom and dad who at 26 were embarking on married life together and well on their way to the stereotypical two kids, a dog, and a station wagon and she at 26 is sitting on her ratty futon in a dilapidated apartment.

She remembers the break-up of her six-year relationship (her longest relationship) because it coincided with a time when she was contemplating her next tattoo. Her lover agrees that a certain tattoo would be a good addition and would add symmetry to her collection. Shortly thereafter they split!

I particularly enjoyed the story of her ill-fated encounter with pet parenthood and noted that she got rid of the dog and a guy at almost the same time and with nearly the same lack of emotion.

She recalls one of her early lovers whom she'd bedded just 13 times when she asked herself how people could maintain long-term relationships when she and her lover had nearly "exhausted the possibilities of the act."

She recalls the good times during her six-year-relationship--a typical night would be spent cooking and eating dinner, smoking a joint, and then falling asleep entwined in front of the TV. But she writes that the good times weren't meant to last. She betrayed her lover by kissing a coworker and wasn't able to retrieve the relationship.

At the end of the book she has a boyfriend, once again, but doubts whether she will ever marry and doubts whether love can last.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 starsOne Star

Hmm... I can see why she became "editor" of Gawker. And she looks kind of fat.

Published 3 months ago by kickitjp
3.0 out of 5 starsRead Gould's "Friendship" over her personal essays

After loving Gould's book Friendship, I found her memoir/short story collection to be "meh." I enjoy her writing, and I'd read her next novel, but this one just didn't cut... Read more

Published 14 months ago by laroodoo
4.0 out of 5 starsLife Happens: A YA Memoir of Growth, Maturity, Insight...

"And The Heart Says Whatever" (2010) is by journalist, author/editor Emily Gould. This is a memoir collection of eleven engaging essays mainly about young adulthood, and... Read more

Published 23 months ago by missmickee/bookreview
1.0 out of 5 starsGossip Blogger/NYC Yuppie Writes a Complete Flop

In the new book "MFA vs NYC", Gould has written an article (on Medium here [...]) about how she was paid $200,000 to write this book, which soon turned out to be a flop. Read more

Published on June 15, 2014 by James R Newlin
5.0 out of 5 starsAwesome and funny

I started reading this in a borders store years ago when it first came out (and clearly before borders obviously closed down) and couldn't stop reading! Read more

Published on October 17, 2013 by CHRIS
2.0 out of 5 starsSo. Effing. Banal.

An apt title for a disappointing, humdrum collection of essays. Shrug, whatever. Lacks hilarity, insight. Many essays end with pathetic attempts at self-reflection. Read more

Published on January 15, 2013 by Young Lady Dede
4.0 out of 5 starsI enjoyed it

Most reviews I have read have been unnecessarily harsh on Emily Gould. And the Heart Says Whatever is well-written and Emily comes across as open and vulnerable. Read more

Published on August 1, 2012 by Dandelion
1.0 out of 5 starsNo Thanks

Even though I admit to not reading all of this book, I have browsed Miss Gould's various blogs (and boy, are there many) over the years and believe I am entitled to an opinion. Read more

Published on December 1, 2011 by pf
2.0 out of 5 starsEh...

I'm in my early twenties, a big reader and a closet writer who dreams of an awesome writing job. I once had big dreams about New York and this memoir sounded right up my alley. Read more

Published on September 20, 2011 by mellsbells
4.0 out of 5 starsAnd The Heart Says Whatever

The cover of this book alone would have drawn me to it, had I passed by it in my local Barnes and Noble. It's beautiful in its simplicity. Read more

Published on May 28, 2011 by kissesandcake

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