Shane Life

Love Monkey: A Novel
By Kyle Smith
RATING: 3 out of 10

I mentioned it before, so it should be no surprise when I say that this is my least favorite book that I’ve read in the past year and a half.

I had high hopes for the book. It was dubbed as the male version of chick lit, and I have read a few chick lit books, specifically the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella. I liked them and I was looking for something else since Nick Hornby’s last couple outings haven’t been all that great and I needed something light to read.

Perhaps it was my adoration for the TV show of the same name starring Tom Cavanaugh (of Ed fame), but I had some high hopes.

Boy was I wrong.

In Love Monkey, we find Tom Farrell, a copywriter at Tabloid, a New York - wait for it - tabloid newspaper. He’s a miserable case, which many of us can relate to…unlucky at work, unlucky in looks, unlucky in love, etc. He spends 80% of the book pining for a girl named Julia, who he meets and woos while she has a boyfriend from back home.

She’s very obviously unhappy in the relationship and he encourages that unhappiness by taking her fancy places and being witty (at least he thinks so). Along the way, she never really shows a lot of interest in him past friendship. He is, afterall, about 10 years older than her, and not very cool, despite his attempts at coolness.

Even despite this unrequited love that he claims overtakes him completely, he manages to date 3 other women at the same time, treating each of them with disdain and meanness…perhaps one of the most clueless men in the history of dating.

The book is based in Manhattan and when 9/11 happens, I was expecting a poignant turn. Not so. The main character really just brags about where he was when it happened and uses the story as a way to get laid, further cementing his place as the most unlikable main character I’ve read about in the last 2 years of reading.

The story comes to an abrupt end and you’re left thinking, “Is that all?” But wait…there’s more. A full 15 pages of information on the author, who like his literary likeness, Tom, can’t seem to stop talking about himself. Could have done without that.

Overall, I pretty much loathed this book. It was poorly written, it mixed metaphors, and the fact that it was turned into a failed (but likable) TV show is confusing, considering that it had absolutely nothing in common with the show except the characters names and the title.

Worst book I’ve read in several years. DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.