Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Larry and the Meaning of Life by Janet Tashjian

Josh Swenson (aka Larry) has just lost his girlfriend and the presidential campaign in one fell swoop. Looking for some direction in life, he decides to study with Gus Muldarian, a spiritual guru. What starts out as a way for Larry to find purpose in his meaningless life, soon becomes his most important adventure yet.

Well, what can I say about this book? It's actually the third in a series, and I haven't read the first two, so the references to previous events held no meaning for me. I was definitely able to understand everything, but it would have helped had I read the first two books. I actually liked the book in the beginning: it was well-written and the main character Larry was really interesting. It was also the second book in a row I read that included footnotes (for the other, see An Abundance of Katherines), which made the book funny. But as the book went on some events started getting ridiculous, and I began asking myself if that would really happen in real life. Then by the end, there was a massive twist which blew any shred of reality left in the book out of the water. The plot was so unrealistic that I wondered if I had picked up a fantasy book. I'd recommend reading this book if you read the first two and liked them, but otherwise, stay away from this series.

4 out of 10.

Release Date: September 2008

1 comment:

asdfjkl; said...

I agree. (the first book wasn't that good either, the best part is when he faked his own death)