The Unprofessionals

Last updated

The Unprofessionals.jpg
Author Julie Hecht
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction
PublishedSeptember 2, 2003
PublisherRandom House
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint, e-book
Pages240 pages
ISBN 1400061741
Preceded by Was This Man a Genius?  
Followed by Happy Trails to You: Stories  

The Unprofessionals, also stylized as The Unprofessionals: A Novel, is the debut novel of American author Julie Hecht. [1] The work was first published on September 2, 2003 through Random House and was reprinted in paperback in 2008 through Simon & Schuster. The book follows Isabelle, a freelance photographer first introduced in Hecht's 1997 short story collection Do the Windows Open? . [2]

Contents

Synopsis

Swiftly approaching her fiftieth year, Isabelle (who is never referred to by name in the novel) finds that she's becoming disconnected from the world around her and has increasing difficulty finding her purpose in life. Her only real outlet is her friendship with a young man she met years ago during a photoshoot with his father, a wealthy and powerful surgeon.

Reception

Critical reception for The Unprofessionals has been positive. [3] [4] Richard Eder of the New York Times praised the work, comparing Hecht's writing to that of J. D. Salinger and stating that it had "beautifully contoured reflections". [5] The Chicago Times also wrote a favorable review, writing that it was "a corrosive sendup of the way we live now, spun out by a modern loner who happens to be every bit as distressing as the benighted, T-shirt-wearing masses she rails against." [6]

References

  1. Nelson, Sara. "What the Hecht? The Case of the Missing Marketing Blitz". The Observer. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  2. "THE UNPROFESSIONALS (review)". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  3. "The Unprofessionals (review)". Booklist. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  4. Caldwell, Gail (September 7, 2003). "THE WAY WE LIVE NOW JULIE HECHT'S THE UNPROFESSIONALS TAKES IRONIC AIM AT THE AGE OF DYSFUNCTION, ADDICTION, AND DISTRESS". The Boston Globe (subscription required). Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  5. Eder, Richard. "Dangling Conversations". The New York Times . Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  6. Rozzo, Mike. "First Fiction". LA Times. Retrieved May 8, 2015.