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I read Romantically Challenged by Beth Orsoth on my mother's recommendation. She cautioned me that it was "silly" but a fun read nonetheless. The recommendation: This book is a really quick read. It's simply written, and entertaining enough. It is most definitely the kind of book you take to the beach, and I wouldn't dissuade anyone from reading it for those purposes. The "pan": The book also has to be one of the most vapid pieces of writing I've ever read. The main character, Julie Burns, is a Jewish lawyer who has had trouble keeping boyfriends in the past. She's getting older, and wants to get married and have kids. Aside from being the usual combination of being both bitchy and a whiner, she is a complete cipher. It's true that that a lot of the guys she dates are losers- but in my opinion, she deserves them. She's so focused on dating Jewish men, but there's no explanation for why other than that it would please her mother. Indeed, that seems to be her entire motivation for dating to begin with. In dating, marrying, and eventually having kids, it seems that all she's trying to do is escape her family's judgement. She's a laywer, but she doesn't seem the least bit interested in her job. I understand that professionals often dislike their jobs, but she doesn't have to have any interest in anything else either. The only time she is really passionate is when she sues a company that screwed her out of a few hundred bucks. Apparently revenge is the only thing that gets her motor running. I won't spoil the ending if any of you still want to read it, but let me say that the plot is so transparent it's practically air. I could tell from the first 20 pages of the book how it would end. As for plot points, there are a few amusing coincidences and some absurdly funny scenes, but they seem more or less strung together randomly. And of course, all plot points revolve around her relationships with men. Understandably so, since this is the point of the book. I suppose it's my fault that I don't find it particularily interesting. Final Judgement: The book itself is funny, but I can't get over what a horrible character Julie is. She's emotional, irrational, easily offended, and has no redeeming characterstics like wit or intelligence. Personally, I think the likeability of the protagonist (or at least, the antagonist) is central to the success of a book. This novel fails that miserably.

2022-11-14 16:26