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A review by peedsreads
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
OH MY GOD. This book took me seven and a half months to read but it's my favorite book of the year. Curtis Sittenfeld is so smart and her writing ALWAYS kills me, but this is far and away the biggest hit for me.
I found the character of Sally to be one of the most relatable female characters I've ever read while also having a very different personality from me. She and I have different senses of humor and demeanors but similar interests, perspectives, and opinions of ourselves. She is the most confident woman in many rooms, but extremely insecure and self-conscious as well. It's a balance that people struggle to isolate in themselves, and certainly can't recognize in other people, but Curtis captured it and dissected it brilliantly in this book.
Romantic Comedy is a fantastical reality in that most of us can't even dream to be an SNL writer or to have a heart-throb pop star fall head over heals for us, but it is self-aware from start to finish and debates the whole time if this relationship is too-good-to-be-true. While it is a fantasy, it does not read as fan-fiction because of the disbelief along the way.
Sally is convinced she's not good-looking enough for Noah, and he is sure he is not smart or witty enough for Sally. They have insane chemistry and butterfly-inducing banter, but then they talk about it later in a candid way that melts my heart. This book is TEEMING with quotes that I will think about for years to come. Noah was so endearing when he said his favorite conversations were with Sally and that she made him a funnier man. That he was proud when he could have quips with her even if they weren't laugh out loud funny because he never has them with anyone else.
There is so much care and questioning about relationships and expectations. And the communication is incredible. Well the communication about communication that crescendos through the novel. Sally is a horrible communicator for most of the novel and self-sabotages as a result of her self-doubt in the most painful but ENTIRELY RELATABLE ways. I think her anti-therapy experience is crucial to understanding how she can be a functioning adult at 35 with these social skills.
The TLC in this book will melt your cold hearts. I am obsessed and will make no apologies for this being my new personality.
pen pals and realistic pen pals! The way they talk about their past too..... AHHHHHHHH!
also the handling of COVID? it was such an important part of the story without being traumatic, too triggering, or belittling of that shared human experience.
I found the character of Sally to be one of the most relatable female characters I've ever read while also having a very different personality from me. She and I have different senses of humor and demeanors but similar interests, perspectives, and opinions of ourselves. She is the most confident woman in many rooms, but extremely insecure and self-conscious as well. It's a balance that people struggle to isolate in themselves, and certainly can't recognize in other people, but Curtis captured it and dissected it brilliantly in this book.
Romantic Comedy is a fantastical reality in that most of us can't even dream to be an SNL writer or to have a heart-throb pop star fall head over heals for us, but it is self-aware from start to finish and debates the whole time if this relationship is too-good-to-be-true. While it is a fantasy, it does not read as fan-fiction because of the disbelief along the way.
Sally is convinced she's not good-looking enough for Noah, and he is sure he is not smart or witty enough for Sally. They have insane chemistry and butterfly-inducing banter, but then they talk about it later in a candid way that melts my heart. This book is TEEMING with quotes that I will think about for years to come. Noah was so endearing when he said his favorite conversations were with Sally and that she made him a funnier man. That he was proud when he could have quips with her even if they weren't laugh out loud funny because he never has them with anyone else.
There is so much care and questioning about relationships and expectations. And the communication is incredible. Well the communication about communication that crescendos through the novel. Sally is a horrible communicator for most of the novel and self-sabotages as a result of her self-doubt in the most painful but ENTIRELY RELATABLE ways. I think her anti-therapy experience is crucial to understanding how she can be a functioning adult at 35 with these social skills.
The TLC in this book will melt your cold hearts. I am obsessed and will make no apologies for this being my new personality.
pen pals and realistic pen pals! The way they talk about their past too..... AHHHHHHHH!
also the handling of COVID? it was such an important part of the story without being traumatic, too triggering, or belittling of that shared human experience.