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berodatheelf's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Abortion, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
soph183's review against another edition
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! Took it as a satire look into a narcissistic male brain (so hope it was not meant to be autobiographical), but found the male perspective of ‘firsts’, love and relationships to be really entertaining.
Such an interesting demonstration of how you only ever know one side a story- Rob (main character)’s internal recollection of events in his life is rose tinted and paints him as a cool, edgy, passionate guy, until you find out the real context of his actions (and just how awful men can be) when he is forced to face reality through interactions with others.
The relationship dilemmas that come up made for a thought provoking read- when SHOULD you decide to stop striving for ‘greatness’ and settle in contentment with what you have? That is not an easy mindset switch to make and as much as I hated Rob’s character the feelings of turmoil and fear of being stuck is definitely relatable.
Also I LOVE when books reference specific songs and artists that a character likes- let’s you understand them that little bit more (and the characters work in a record store in this book so there’s loads of that- and the tunes mentioned are great).
Such an interesting demonstration of how you only ever know one side a story- Rob (main character)’s internal recollection of events in his life is rose tinted and paints him as a cool, edgy, passionate guy, until you find out the real context of his actions (and just how awful men can be) when he is forced to face reality through interactions with others.
The relationship dilemmas that come up made for a thought provoking read- when SHOULD you decide to stop striving for ‘greatness’ and settle in contentment with what you have? That is not an easy mindset switch to make and as much as I hated Rob’s character the feelings of turmoil and fear of being stuck is definitely relatable.
Also I LOVE when books reference specific songs and artists that a character likes- let’s you understand them that little bit more (and the characters work in a record store in this book so there’s loads of that- and the tunes mentioned are great).
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent and Abortion
joanachsf's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
poisonenvy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Rob Flemming's life isn't quite going how he expected. His record store is nearly failing, and his long-term girlfriend has left him. He's in a rut, and can't quite figure out where he went wrong.
What went wrong is that he's a deeply unlikeable, self-centred guy. Everything is always about Rob, all the time. He never really considers other people's feelings. He's whiny, and expects things to just work out because he wants them to, not because he's willing to put any effort into it. He's misogynistic -- women only exist for what they can do for him, and what they can do for him is pretty much just sex.
But the book is captivating. It took a few chapters for it to really grab me, but once it did I was hooked and I ended up finishing this book in under 24 hours. The way it feeds you information -- it makes you sympathize, sort of, with Rob, only for it to drop bombs later that make you realize what sort of person he is. Rob never really got any better, but the book ends with him seeming like he might be on the right path, and I especially loved the idea that life is messy and terrible, and sometimes you just need to work at making things turn out instead of just jumping immediately to the next shiny object.
My reading was accompanied with a Spotify playlist made up of all the songs that are mentioned in the book which was nice.
I don't think I've ever seen this movie (even though it's one of the favourite movies of one of my best friends), and I didn't even know there was a new Hulu series until the cover of the copy was given to me mentioned it, but I'd probably give them both a shot.
What went wrong is that he's a deeply unlikeable, self-centred guy. Everything is always about Rob, all the time. He never really considers other people's feelings. He's whiny, and expects things to just work out because he wants them to, not because he's willing to put any effort into it. He's misogynistic -- women only exist for what they can do for him, and what they can do for him is pretty much just sex.
But the book is captivating. It took a few chapters for it to really grab me, but once it did I was hooked and I ended up finishing this book in under 24 hours. The way it feeds you information -- it makes you sympathize, sort of, with Rob, only for it to drop bombs later that make you realize what sort of person he is. Rob never really got any better, but the book ends with him seeming like he might be on the right path, and I especially loved the idea that life is messy and terrible, and sometimes you just need to work at making things turn out instead of just jumping immediately to the next shiny object.
My reading was accompanied with a Spotify playlist made up of all the songs that are mentioned in the book which was nice.
I don't think I've ever seen this movie (even though it's one of the favourite movies of one of my best friends), and I didn't even know there was a new Hulu series until the cover of the copy was given to me mentioned it, but I'd probably give them both a shot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Rape and Ableism
The ableism is found in a single use of the r-word early on in the novel.farmerzonly's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
filled with quippy one-liners that are equally self-deprecating and self-absorbed, rob is the picture of an emotionally immature man who is obsessed with his own taste in media and believes he understands women and romance deeply as a result of this despite his lack of success in the past. he uses music, film, and literature references to illustrate his supposedly complex perspective, yet often demonstrates a bare-bones surface level understanding of their themes and throws out references carelessly (reminiscent of the satire on white masculinity present in american psycho and fight club). he is ultimately redeemed by his choice to commit to laura, demonstrating narrative self-actualization by realizing his fears of commitment, abandonment, and death, yet it feels like a hollow victory. themes of expanding one’s social circle with maturity, the specter of pop culture, and unreliable narration are present throughout.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Death of parent
miagw962's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"It's like everyone's a supporting actor in the film of your life's story."
Of course. Isn't that how it works for everybody?
Not too much to say about this except I enjoyed it! I found myself relating to the main character which is both expected and alarming (he's self-deprecating like me but he's also self-centred, he's record collector like me but he's also a pretentious music snob). He doesn't really learn the errors of his ways until the very VERY end of the book but it's ok because I didn't mind hearing about his personal progress meandering along. I loved the British humour in this and I laughed many times. I also found it funny that while Rob our main character made fun of his coworker Barry for being a music snob and making fun of people when they don't know a certain artist, Rob did the exact same thing on multiple occasions - this initially made me mad but then I kind of looked at it as an apparent character flaw. I feel like he was a realistic character and I think that's why I enjoyed this overall. Yeah, he probably has the wrong ideas about women most of the time but don't all men?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
thetomeraider's review against another edition
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Misogyny
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Abortion
_mims_'s review against another edition
funny
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, Death, and Infidelity
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