Typical girl-falls-in-love-but-has-a-boyfriend-oh-no-now-what?! book. Except this one takes place in the UK. ( )

In my head I've been wandering about, wondering if my academic career spent in the sciences has left a gaping hole in the philosophical and historical realm. It's true, it has, and I feel as if, now, I am running behind myself, trying to catch up.
So the title of this book enticed me, despite the thickly written back cover (which I still haven't read in its entirety) - very off-putting. And the start of the book is slowish- but I got completely pulled in by Susannah, a woman who screams herself awake, who dreams in multicoloured dreams where she has lengthy conversations with the philosophers she is studying. She is so real, and I'd love to have coffee with her.
She has a great inner debate in this book, as she comes to terms with what she wants in life and in those around her. Her father's death has crippled both her and her mother and she is struggling to resurface. As she does, she turns to the great philosophers and, while doing it, brings many of their teachings to life in a modern way.
I, of course, having wasted my education, have no idea if she is doing this properly. But it's enchanting and I buy it and now I actually want to read Kierkegaard. Especially after reading this quote about the Virgin Mary, which comes near the end of the book, "Yet what woman was done greater indignity than Mary, and isn't it true here that those whom God blesses he damns in the same breath?" (from Fear and Trembling)
A thoughtful, funny, wistful and truthful coming of age story, with an enticing smattering of philosophy. ( )

A Girl's Guide to Modern European Philosophy is a story about a young woman named Susannah who is a college sophomore studying philosophy. It is set in the 1970's at Sussex University. It details Susannah's faltering steps toward adulthood and her desire to apply philosophy to her own life choices. The main choices that she struggles with are to do with her relationships. Should she be with her older boyfriend Jason who is set up financially or should she pursue a relationship with Rob, a young philosophy student in her classes. Unable to make her choice, she lets matters go along aimlessly until she falls pregnant. This new, more serious dilemma forces Susannah to turn to the philosophers for help in her predicament.

Personally, I didn't like this book. As someone who is interested in philosophy I was expecting to really enjoy it. Susannah was a realistically drawn character, but not a very compelling one. She seemed to be quite emotionally detached throughout most of the novel. I did not find myself caring very much about her life. The setting was not drawn in much detail either. It did not feel like the 70's to me. I was able to picture some specific places, such as the boyfriends apartments, but not the overall atmosphere of the time and place. A Girl's Guide to Modern European Philosophy was in some ways an interesting and insightful look at the application of philosophy to modern life, particularly the problems facing females, but it just seemed like the chick lit type relationship dramas didn't mix very well with the heavy philosophers. Unfortunately, the ending was not completely satisfactory either. ( )

Summary: In A Girl’s Guide to Modern European Philosophy, we meet Susannah, a 20-something philosophy major at Sussex University in the United Kingdom during the 1970s. Susannah’s official boyfriend Jason is the perfect mate, in the sense that he is about 10 years older than her, a mildly successful antiques dealer, and the owner of an elegant apartment off campus, but he’s not perfect enough to “keep” her. With Jason, Susannah can go to school, study philosophy, and explore the life of a normal student without having to live in the less than desirable student housing. Things were simple, that is until Susannah becomes involved with her tutorial partner, Rob. Rob is unlike Jason in every way, he’s 18, free spirited, broke, and lives in communal housing with a large group of other people. Susannah begins dating both men, missing her classes, discussing feminism with her girlfriends, at least until she finds herself in a predicament on the largest scale: she becomes pregnant. She has to turn away from her friends and lovers when their advice is not what she is looking for, so she turns to likes of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and other European philosophers. Do they have the answers she’s looking for, or will she be forced to take this journey on her own?

Review: I liked it, it's a pretty good read. At least a small background in philosophy is helpful, but not totally necessary. The character of Susannah is so easy to relate to at times, and then other times you just want to smack her upside the head and tell her to put down the philosophy and grow up. Her two best friends remind me of the girls I knew in high school, one being the girl that likes to party and knows how to have fun even when it’s a bit too much fun, yet a bit overemotional at times and completely irrational; the other being the uptight girl that is always concerned about her grades, common sense taking precedent over every other reasoning, totally rational, and yet can still cut loose once everything is in it’s right place. Jason and Rob are polar opposites and it’s like being right to choosing between the rebel that will potentially break your heart and the sensible guy that will do anything to keep you, including lying to himself in the process. Charlotte Greig definitely hits the nail on the head with her first novel. This is definitely worth reading and something that can possibly help put things in perspective when that rebel/bad boy breaks your heart, and they always do. ( )

An unexpectedly enjoyable book, in the vein of Sigrid Nunez and A.S. Byatt (only less literary). I anticipated disliking Susannah, the heroine, from the blurb on the back of the book, but Greig makes her real and sympathetic. The feel of the era comes through without seeming forced or hokey. ( )