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A review by brendanhart
The Adulterants by Joe Dunthorne
3.0
I could recommend this to someone who is into dark humor, British satire, or depressing funny characters who are slowly watch their lives change and fall apart. If that doesn’t sound like you, feel free to give it a pass, if it is you, then you might really enjoy this one.
I feel lukewarm about this novel and I’m not sure why. I ended up crushing the entire thing in a day which is a not something which I often do. Within the start of the book we are whipped into a tense scene in which the main character (whose name I never seemed to be able to remember...) is presented with an adulterous scene with a long-time friend. We soon learn that this friend and her husband have been on rocky roads as of late. After the husband punches our protagonist in the face, him and his wife take a break and the husband comes to live with the protagonist and his wife while he tends to his broken heart. The novel starts on this exciting and enthralling first section. I was hooked! But throughout it seems to slowly fizzle out as the book continues. However, I couldn’t put the book down.
The novel is broken into different parts, which seem ill-defined except for the first which explains the often-hilarious hair-brained schemes of the husband to try and win his wife back. His cyber-stalking, his machismo tactics, and English awkwardness and combine for a fairly funny albeit depressing side-narrative of the couple trying to re unite. Then when a riot breaks out in the city we are returned to our protagonist and his struggling relationship with his wife. Reading through their relationship makes me feel tired. Which Dunthorne deserves credit for. He does a great job capturing the nagging terror of being inside of a slowly crumbling passive-aggressive relationship that avoids conflict at all costs. However, our character is too milquetoast to be exciting, too jaded to be relatable, and too ignorant to be lovable. However, I couldn’t put the book down.
By the time we reach the end of the book (which did have some twists and turns that I was not expecting) I felt kind of empty. Maybe that’s the point? It is not a jolly book full of optimism and sunshine, but I suppose the takeaway message is that part of being and adult is learning how to deal with all the shit that life throws at you, and learning to laugh it off. The message was good, and the story was interesting, but the characters were flat and the structure felt like it seriously lacked focus. But yet again, I couldn’t put it down. So if you’re into dark British humor that is strife with pessimism give this one a go!
I feel lukewarm about this novel and I’m not sure why. I ended up crushing the entire thing in a day which is a not something which I often do. Within the start of the book we are whipped into a tense scene in which the main character (whose name I never seemed to be able to remember...) is presented with an adulterous scene with a long-time friend. We soon learn that this friend and her husband have been on rocky roads as of late. After the husband punches our protagonist in the face, him and his wife take a break and the husband comes to live with the protagonist and his wife while he tends to his broken heart. The novel starts on this exciting and enthralling first section. I was hooked! But throughout it seems to slowly fizzle out as the book continues. However, I couldn’t put the book down.
The novel is broken into different parts, which seem ill-defined except for the first which explains the often-hilarious hair-brained schemes of the husband to try and win his wife back. His cyber-stalking, his machismo tactics, and English awkwardness and combine for a fairly funny albeit depressing side-narrative of the couple trying to re unite. Then when a riot breaks out in the city we are returned to our protagonist and his struggling relationship with his wife. Reading through their relationship makes me feel tired. Which Dunthorne deserves credit for. He does a great job capturing the nagging terror of being inside of a slowly crumbling passive-aggressive relationship that avoids conflict at all costs. However, our character is too milquetoast to be exciting, too jaded to be relatable, and too ignorant to be lovable. However, I couldn’t put the book down.
By the time we reach the end of the book (which did have some twists and turns that I was not expecting) I felt kind of empty. Maybe that’s the point? It is not a jolly book full of optimism and sunshine, but I suppose the takeaway message is that part of being and adult is learning how to deal with all the shit that life throws at you, and learning to laugh it off. The message was good, and the story was interesting, but the characters were flat and the structure felt like it seriously lacked focus. But yet again, I couldn’t put it down. So if you’re into dark British humor that is strife with pessimism give this one a go!