Book Five: The Man of My Dreams

The Man of My Dreams, Curtis Sittenfeld



Everything about this book seems like such a cliche. It's about a young woman growing up, chronicling her relationships--though more often than not, lack of relationships--with men. And, of course, there is the horrible father who she has unresolved issues with, and obviously plays a part in her distorted views of men. And there's the therapist and crazy cousin and bunch of other standard characters. However, Curtis Sittenfeld is such a freaking genius, that she can make all of this, still, a really good book. (I don't even need to say how good a book Prep was, do I?) I'm not going to say that The Man of My Dreams is a great book, but it was still quite good. I think it's the moments of truth and honesty that make up for the general triteness of the plot, when you see the character do something or say something and feel that it could have been you doing or saying that. Like, how does she get inside my head like that sometimes?

On the same theme, I totally hated the cover of the book. I read the hardcover copy from the library, which was even more embarrassing and made me feel as if I was reading the worst kind of chick lit.