The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.

The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman, 242 pages


After years of struggling as a freelance writer and book reviewer, Nate is on the cusp of success. He's got a book coming out in a few months, and his essays have been published, and for the most part favorably received, in various literary journals. Where he isn't so successful is in the romance department. As an intellectual, Nate keeps telling himself that he's above superficially judging potential girlfriends; he does, after all, define himself as pro-woman and pro-choice, and generally appreciates a well-read woman who can hold her own in an intellectual argument. But when he starts a relationship with Hannah, another writer-on-the-brink who fits his "type" pretty well, Nate begins to question his motives. Is he just another superficial, moody jerk?

To this reader, the answer to that question is a resounding yes. I honestly didn't like this character a bit. He's judgmental and narrow-minded, yet keeps up this facade of being the exact opposite. Waldman's writing of a man's thought processes are wholly believable (at least it is from my female perspective). The problem I found, however, is that I honestly didn't want to know that much about a man's thought process. There may be some women who do (or at least say they do), but I'm not one of them. Another problem I had with this book was that the blurbs on the cover and in some reviews refer to it as genuinely funny. It's not. I don't think I laughed a single time while reading it, though that could be because I hated Nate SO. MUCH.

I guess this is supposed to be the flip-side of a chick lit book, as seen from the jerky guy who never calls the heroine back. I can see that, but I can also see fans of Nick Hornby enjoying this. Too bad I didn't.