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3.22 AVERAGE
3.22 AVERAGE
First let me say that I was provided a copy of this book for review from Penguin First to Read. Now that THAT technicality is out of the way...on with the review. I have to be honest and admit that I really didn't care for this book. If I had it in me to DNF books, this one would be on that list. It is being marketed as the next "Rosie Project" and although I planned to read that someday, maybe I shouldn't. I also think that because this book is a translation from a Spanish author, maybe it lost something along the way. I don't know. Also the chapters are really short and choppy and they don't flow very well at all in my opinion.
The plot is your average guy decides he doesn't want to spend his life alone so he tries to do something about it. However, this guy happens to be a German literature professor and is hooked on all things "language" which isn't a bad thing but which this book makes super annoying. He is also obsessed with classical music. Again, not a bad thing but I felt like the author was trying to force-feed me culture. I liked some of the characters in the book, just not Samuel, the main character, or Gabriela, the girl he has been in love with since he was a kid (just forget that he hasn't seen her in 30 years). I liked the old man who lives upstairs, Titus, and Valdemar isn't bad (conspiracy theories and all), except I kept wanting to call him Voldemort. I REALLY liked Mishima the cat...and I am a dog person...that should really clue you in on something.
This book is a quick read, and I really believe there is a more deep, philosophical meaning in there somewhere, but I didn't feel like looking for it. I am sure there will be tons of people that like it, it just wasn't for me. The cover is sort of cute and I'll admit it is what caught my eye. I didn't even like the ending because I feel the the wrong couple ended up together. I don't know who I would recommend this book to, but like I said, just because I didn't enjoy it doesn't mean that others won't and that it isn't a decent book.
The plot is your average guy decides he doesn't want to spend his life alone so he tries to do something about it. However, this guy happens to be a German literature professor and is hooked on all things "language" which isn't a bad thing but which this book makes super annoying. He is also obsessed with classical music. Again, not a bad thing but I felt like the author was trying to force-feed me culture. I liked some of the characters in the book, just not Samuel, the main character, or Gabriela, the girl he has been in love with since he was a kid (just forget that he hasn't seen her in 30 years). I liked the old man who lives upstairs, Titus, and Valdemar isn't bad (conspiracy theories and all), except I kept wanting to call him Voldemort. I REALLY liked Mishima the cat...and I am a dog person...that should really clue you in on something.
This book is a quick read, and I really believe there is a more deep, philosophical meaning in there somewhere, but I didn't feel like looking for it. I am sure there will be tons of people that like it, it just wasn't for me. The cover is sort of cute and I'll admit it is what caught my eye. I didn't even like the ending because I feel the the wrong couple ended up together. I don't know who I would recommend this book to, but like I said, just because I didn't enjoy it doesn't mean that others won't and that it isn't a decent book.
In which I have super strong feelings about how this book is marketed towards women: http://ilayreading.com/2016/02/26/love-in-lowercase/
I just couldn’t get past how stereotypically male the main character was. He was just….THAT GUY. That one that we ALL have known at one point in our lives. Maybe if this book was marketed differently, I wouldn’t be so put off by him–I would have read the book differently. But to market this book as a romance novel for women…no way. Definitely not.
I just couldn’t get past how stereotypically male the main character was. He was just….THAT GUY. That one that we ALL have known at one point in our lives. Maybe if this book was marketed differently, I wouldn’t be so put off by him–I would have read the book differently. But to market this book as a romance novel for women…no way. Definitely not.
I go back and forth between giving this 3 and 4 stars. I thought it was interesting, but there were aspects that frustrated me, like Samuel's instalove for Gabriela.