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A review by leahfoko
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
This book was really fun and unique. I really enjoyed the setup, that the book was split into 3 different sections. First the week developing the episode of the late night show the main character works on where she meets Noah, then a section written only with their emails during the pandemic and then a third section where they meet again and really develop their relationship. The structure of the book was really unique and intriguing, and the fact that it was set in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic was really timely and unique, something that will likely show up more in books now but obviously has not been seen before. It really captured the feelings of isolation and confusion about interacting with others during that time that I think we all felt.
Another thing I really liked about this book was that the relationship between the two characters when they meet up during covid was very realistically awkward. Lots of romances sort of making everything seem rosy and perfect and that is fun of course but I liked that their conversations were awkward and uncomfortable at times when the main character would make a joke in poor taste or would say something because of her insecurities that would make for an awkward situation. I also thought their honest conversations about alcohol were really cool to include and I appreciated the slightly awkward nature of those conversations as well because I think it speaks well to what it’s like to talk about something like that when you have a challenging history with alcohol. I liked the realistic nature of that, combined with the very practical description of what comes with dating a celebrity/the weird daily experience that a celebrity goes through as seen through Sally’s eyes. While of course aspects of the story are still not completely accurate and are definitely romanticized a little, I liked that the author made an effort to make choices that wouldn’t fit in the traditional romantic comedy in order to point out those flaws in many of those stories. I thought it was really well written and unique, and I had a lot of fun reading this book.
At times I felt that the descriptions of TNO at the beginning went on a little bit long and too into the details, but I think that might be personal preference due to the fact that I am not super interested in what the process of writing for a late night show is like so I wasn’t quite as engaged by that aspect of the story, but I think if that’s something you’re really interested in then that section might be a lot more interesting to you.
Overall this book had a really fun concept/story, unique writing style, and sweet romance. I would recommend!
Another thing I really liked about this book was that the relationship between the two characters when they meet up during covid was very realistically awkward. Lots of romances sort of making everything seem rosy and perfect and that is fun of course but I liked that their conversations were awkward and uncomfortable at times when the main character would make a joke in poor taste or would say something because of her insecurities that would make for an awkward situation. I also thought their honest conversations about alcohol were really cool to include and I appreciated the slightly awkward nature of those conversations as well because I think it speaks well to what it’s like to talk about something like that when you have a challenging history with alcohol. I liked the realistic nature of that, combined with the very practical description of what comes with dating a celebrity/the weird daily experience that a celebrity goes through as seen through Sally’s eyes. While of course aspects of the story are still not completely accurate and are definitely romanticized a little, I liked that the author made an effort to make choices that wouldn’t fit in the traditional romantic comedy in order to point out those flaws in many of those stories. I thought it was really well written and unique, and I had a lot of fun reading this book.
At times I felt that the descriptions of TNO at the beginning went on a little bit long and too into the details, but I think that might be personal preference due to the fact that I am not super interested in what the process of writing for a late night show is like so I wasn’t quite as engaged by that aspect of the story, but I think if that’s something you’re really interested in then that section might be a lot more interesting to you.
Overall this book had a really fun concept/story, unique writing style, and sweet romance. I would recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Excrement
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Addiction, and Death of parent