Review
If this is what writers of literary fiction are like, then may I never have the misfortune of becoming acquainted with one, let alone befriending one!
The narrator of Wonder Boys had been struggling for several years to complete his novel, a 2,000+ page train wreck which is nowhere near done. He spent the vast majority of the novel in some state of inebriation, either from booze, pilfered prescription drugs, pot, or any combination of the three. He was completely self-absorbed, not caring whether anyone got hurt as long as he got his jollies. And he hurt and disappointed plenty of people - his wife, his students, his editor/best friend, his colleagues.
What I honestly don't understand is how we're supposed to buy into the idea that such a narcissistic, lecherous, bloated, alcoholic, pothead slob could have a string of seemingly intelligent and successful women fall in so love with him that they genuinely get hurt when his sociopathic tendencies surface and he betrays them in the worst possible way. If I had been Sara, I would have quietly disappeared from his life and had the baby without ever telling him.
There really were no sympathetic characters in this book, which frankly, left me with nothing to like about it. And that angered me. There are so many books on my To Read list that I'm sure I would have liked better, and I wasted the better part of a week on this book.
And just so everyone understands how I rate books, I give 2 stars to books I finished but did not like. I reserve 1 star ratings for books I could not bring myself to finish (which I've done only once as an adult). This one came close to getting just 1 star.
The narrator of Wonder Boys had been struggling for several years to complete his novel, a 2,000+ page train wreck which is nowhere near done. He spent the vast majority of the novel in some state of inebriation, either from booze, pilfered prescription drugs, pot, or any combination of the three. He was completely self-absorbed, not caring whether anyone got hurt as long as he got his jollies. And he hurt and disappointed plenty of people - his wife, his students, his editor/best friend, his colleagues.
What I honestly don't understand is how we're supposed to buy into the idea that such a narcissistic, lecherous, bloated, alcoholic, pothead slob could have a string of seemingly intelligent and successful women fall in so love with him that they genuinely get hurt when his sociopathic tendencies surface and he betrays them in the worst possible way. If I had been Sara, I would have quietly disappeared from his life and had the baby without ever telling him.
There really were no sympathetic characters in this book, which frankly, left me with nothing to like about it. And that angered me. There are so many books on my To Read list that I'm sure I would have liked better, and I wasted the better part of a week on this book.
And just so everyone understands how I rate books, I give 2 stars to books I finished but did not like. I reserve 1 star ratings for books I could not bring myself to finish (which I've done only once as an adult). This one came close to getting just 1 star.
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