Perhaps it is because of my non-expectations, but I found I couldn't really get excited about this book. There are some great points to appreciate: Cyd's cynicism, little Pat's Star Wars/Gangsta Rap obsession, Harry's Dad (whose name is mentioned but once and I can't remember it right now), and a couple of nuggets of wisdom buriedwithin. Other that that, it just seems like a story I've read before - possibly watched before - with a lot of the tired clichés that seem to pervade stories such as these (heroic new dad, vindictive ex-wife, doting grandparents, wary new girlfriend, etc.). Coupled with all that, the trite ending seems so out of place with the rest of the book, that I couldn't help but feel disappointed. Is this how guys really think? How they feel? If so, it's no wonder that the divorce rate is so high - it's not that they speak another language, but Tony Parsons would have us believe that modern men don't want to fight for anything - their wives, their kids, their jobs. My favourite character, funnily enough is Harry's Dad, a decorated WWII vet whose kindness and capability is what I kept hoping Harry would develop, but never does. I should have nothing in common with this man - he's a throwback who believes single parents are all welfare leeches and is as affectionate as a porcupine; but he finds a way to express his love without sacrificing his strength - something Harry never seems to learn how to do. All in all: a quotable disappointment.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Man and Boy: a novel by Tony Parsons
Full Disclosure: I picked up this book because I had finished my last one on my break and I had an entire lunch hour in front of me with nothing to read. Unfortunately, the most prominent display in Reader's Den was "Chick Lit" - ugh! - so I was forced to peruse the smaller display "(not) Just For Guys" with its usual fare of James Patterson and Tom Clancy and all those other testosterone-fulled texts. Hidden amongst them, stood Tony Parsons's unobtrusive Man and Boy. Just looking at the cover, I knew it wasn't your typical Guy Lit. Without so much as reading the back, I checked it out.
Perhaps it is because of my non-expectations, but I found I couldn't really get excited about this book. There are some great points to appreciate: Cyd's cynicism, little Pat's Star Wars/Gangsta Rap obsession, Harry's Dad (whose name is mentioned but once and I can't remember it right now), and a couple of nuggets of wisdom buriedwithin. Other that that, it just seems like a story I've read before - possibly watched before - with a lot of the tired clichés that seem to pervade stories such as these (heroic new dad, vindictive ex-wife, doting grandparents, wary new girlfriend, etc.). Coupled with all that, the trite ending seems so out of place with the rest of the book, that I couldn't help but feel disappointed. Is this how guys really think? How they feel? If so, it's no wonder that the divorce rate is so high - it's not that they speak another language, but Tony Parsons would have us believe that modern men don't want to fight for anything - their wives, their kids, their jobs. My favourite character, funnily enough is Harry's Dad, a decorated WWII vet whose kindness and capability is what I kept hoping Harry would develop, but never does. I should have nothing in common with this man - he's a throwback who believes single parents are all welfare leeches and is as affectionate as a porcupine; but he finds a way to express his love without sacrificing his strength - something Harry never seems to learn how to do. All in all: a quotable disappointment.
Perhaps it is because of my non-expectations, but I found I couldn't really get excited about this book. There are some great points to appreciate: Cyd's cynicism, little Pat's Star Wars/Gangsta Rap obsession, Harry's Dad (whose name is mentioned but once and I can't remember it right now), and a couple of nuggets of wisdom buriedwithin. Other that that, it just seems like a story I've read before - possibly watched before - with a lot of the tired clichés that seem to pervade stories such as these (heroic new dad, vindictive ex-wife, doting grandparents, wary new girlfriend, etc.). Coupled with all that, the trite ending seems so out of place with the rest of the book, that I couldn't help but feel disappointed. Is this how guys really think? How they feel? If so, it's no wonder that the divorce rate is so high - it's not that they speak another language, but Tony Parsons would have us believe that modern men don't want to fight for anything - their wives, their kids, their jobs. My favourite character, funnily enough is Harry's Dad, a decorated WWII vet whose kindness and capability is what I kept hoping Harry would develop, but never does. I should have nothing in common with this man - he's a throwback who believes single parents are all welfare leeches and is as affectionate as a porcupine; but he finds a way to express his love without sacrificing his strength - something Harry never seems to learn how to do. All in all: a quotable disappointment.
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