Come & Get It

Kiley Reid's latest character study and dialogue masterclass

Hello! Welcome back to Words on Words, where readers discuss what we love about literature. Today we’re taking a look at Come and Get It by Kiley Reid, the New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age.

Perkins Harnly | Rural School Room

I love a good campus novel.

I first realized how much I enjoy them when I read Zadie Smith’s On Beauty back in 2017. If I had to guess, I think the appeal is the emotion these stories evoke in me. Nostalgia is powerful and visceral, and little makes me nostalgic like thinking about my college and graduate school years.

Come and Get It is set at the University of Arkansas and follows a senior resident assistant, a handful of her cringey, badly-behaving residents, and a visiting professor — all females. Naturally, they get all tangled up with their dorm room pranks, research projects, and untouchable love interests. Each of them has different desires and each goes to distinct lengths to (try to) get what they want.

I’ve seen reviewers and critics call this novel quiet. I’ve seen it be called slow, uneventful — even boring. It’s true that it’s not the most plot-heavy book on my shelf, but I think that’s why I liked it. (A reminder to readers: it’s okay if something big doesn’t happen on every page.) Come and Get It isn’t a propulsive page-turner; it’s a character study. And what’s boring about materialism, money, and clashes of the classes? What is uneventful about race and consumption?

I remember from Such a Fun Age that Reid’s dialogue is perfection. It meanders and includes “umms” and “likes” — in other words, it sounds like real people talk. Open the book to any page and you’ll find a conversation that reads exactly as you’d hear it if you were sitting at a coffee shop on a college campus eavesdropping on students.

Things like, “Okay. Yeah, no. I believe you,” and “Cool, yeah. Nice to meet you.” It sounds real, and that’s what I like so much about Reid. She doesn’t sacrifice authentic dialogue for the sake of beauty, and in doing so, she’s created a beautiful book.

Here is one of the hundreds of exchanges:

“Did I tell you about my new diet?”

“No,” she said. “Tell me everything.”

“Okay, so basically I don’t eat anything until three p.m.”

“Mhm.”

“And then, if I go to the gym, I just do like, violence the whole time.”

“Right.”

“And for dinner, I print out a picture of a baked potato, and then I rip it all up and it’s lights-out for me.”

Is anything happening here? Not really. But it’s great because it’s so true. It’s so real.

I heard Reid in conversation with

The Shit About Writing Team

, and something she said stood out to me so much that I wrote it down. In reference to the so-called quiet novels, Reid recommends writers make things a big deal to their characters, and it won’t feel like little is happening. When it comes to college kids, the seemingly trivial can be the most important thing in their life. Reid’s characters care about it all, which makes readers care deeply about pulling pranks, monthly parent-funded stipends, and making sure their roommates do their dishes.

But big things do happen in this book, too. There’s a bloody injury and the death of a pet. Forbidden love and angsty college kid spats. These awkward events are so much fun to read about. Come and Get It is an honest story that is a blast to immerse yourself in.

If you’re on the fence, I’d say give it a shot. If you don’t turn the pages to learn what happens next, you will to see how messy these characters get.

If you enjoyed this, please share it with someone! And those of you who read last week’s post and wondered if I got to meet Melissa Febos — I did!

What I’m reading: Vladimir by Julia May Jonas and Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum (who I also met at the AWP conference and who I adore even more now).

What I’m listening to: Somebody’s Daughter: A Memoir by Ashley C. Ford (and narrated by her, too).

What are you reading? Listening to? Loving? Thank you for reading! Love,

Thank you to Putnam for my copy of the book. It did not disappoint!

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