Early Review: Happy Hour Is for Amateurs
As a LibraryThing member, I not only get to catalog my books in a manner that makes my inner OCD feel calm and satiated, but I also get to, through their Early Reviewers program, read books prior to their publication date and offer my own candid views on these works.
I recently finished my review of the upcoming Happy Hour Is for Amateurs: A Lost Decade in the World's Worst Profession, by an anonymous first-time author who goes by the handle of The Philadelphia Lawyer. For the benefit of those who don't typically look at my LibraryThing profile, I've reprinted the review I've written below, so that it might get a bit more exposure for those interested in the novel.
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The Philadelphia Lawyer wants to be the next Tucker Max. The reigning king of "fratire," unsurprisingly, even makes a cameo appearance at the end of Happy Hour Is for Amateurs, as if an obvious gesture towards the Lawyer's inspiration and aspirations. This book, however, is not nearly as evenly-developed as Max's, though its strengths do make it worth a read if this type of book is your cup of tea.
The book takes the reader through three years of law school and then a decade of employment in almost every facet of law practice. The chronological construction of the book is fairly obviously pointed out at first, but many of the early chapters, like in Max's book, seem to emphasize not the progression of time but the quality of the tale. By the end of the book, when chronology becomes much more important, the lack of cohesion becomes more obviously a weakness. It's not exactly clear whether the Lawyer just wants to share awesome stories or wants to tell the larger narrative of how he became disenchanted with law, which can be frustrating.
Strangely, the ultimate narrative of his move away from law is the most redemptive part of the book. The final 50 or so pages, as he slips into the meta-narrative of his foray onto his website and, finally, publication, is well-written and suspenseful, and since we identify with his character as something more than a narrator, we root for his success despite the book itself proving it to us. Sure, he makes several really bad decisions, but unlike Max, he's not a complete jerk, and this is the book's greatest strength.
Unfortunately, the book's greatest weakness is the content of his various tales, particularly those that take place after law school. The format of the stories becomes excessively familiar -- place a teaser at the start, develop the set-up, and then resolve the teaser at the end -- and the stories themselves become wearisome because of their general lack of interesting content. An early story about his attempt to bed three girls in one weekend, for instance, has no payoff save for the fact that he had sex with them all, and some were better than others.
In a bar (and a few drinks deep), one might be engrossed by such an escapade, but the types of stories that are bar-worthy typically involve some gross or humorous payoff, and far too many of the Lawyer's stories lack them. It also doesn't help that the most amusing of these stories are the ones involving sexual escapades, which tail off substantially when he meets his future wife. This leaves us with stories of office boredom -- which are fascinating forays into the underbelly of law, but as workplace satire fall far short of, say, Office Space -- and escapades with exotic drugs -- which likewise fall far short of, say, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Ultimately, the Philadelphia Lawyer does have some interesting things to say, but the book in its entirety is too touch-and-go to convey that interest. He is unafraid to wear his influences on his sleeve but finds himself struggling to live up to their examples. He has a few funny things to say but not nearly as many as he thinks he does. And yet, even in mediocrity, he finds a marginal amount of success. All of which adds up to a book that is not exactly memorable, but not exactly regrettable either -- though how great a compliment that is will depend on the reader.
I recently finished my review of the upcoming Happy Hour Is for Amateurs: A Lost Decade in the World's Worst Profession, by an anonymous first-time author who goes by the handle of The Philadelphia Lawyer. For the benefit of those who don't typically look at my LibraryThing profile, I've reprinted the review I've written below, so that it might get a bit more exposure for those interested in the novel.
------------------------
The Philadelphia Lawyer wants to be the next Tucker Max. The reigning king of "fratire," unsurprisingly, even makes a cameo appearance at the end of Happy Hour Is for Amateurs, as if an obvious gesture towards the Lawyer's inspiration and aspirations. This book, however, is not nearly as evenly-developed as Max's, though its strengths do make it worth a read if this type of book is your cup of tea.
The book takes the reader through three years of law school and then a decade of employment in almost every facet of law practice. The chronological construction of the book is fairly obviously pointed out at first, but many of the early chapters, like in Max's book, seem to emphasize not the progression of time but the quality of the tale. By the end of the book, when chronology becomes much more important, the lack of cohesion becomes more obviously a weakness. It's not exactly clear whether the Lawyer just wants to share awesome stories or wants to tell the larger narrative of how he became disenchanted with law, which can be frustrating.
Strangely, the ultimate narrative of his move away from law is the most redemptive part of the book. The final 50 or so pages, as he slips into the meta-narrative of his foray onto his website and, finally, publication, is well-written and suspenseful, and since we identify with his character as something more than a narrator, we root for his success despite the book itself proving it to us. Sure, he makes several really bad decisions, but unlike Max, he's not a complete jerk, and this is the book's greatest strength.
Unfortunately, the book's greatest weakness is the content of his various tales, particularly those that take place after law school. The format of the stories becomes excessively familiar -- place a teaser at the start, develop the set-up, and then resolve the teaser at the end -- and the stories themselves become wearisome because of their general lack of interesting content. An early story about his attempt to bed three girls in one weekend, for instance, has no payoff save for the fact that he had sex with them all, and some were better than others.
In a bar (and a few drinks deep), one might be engrossed by such an escapade, but the types of stories that are bar-worthy typically involve some gross or humorous payoff, and far too many of the Lawyer's stories lack them. It also doesn't help that the most amusing of these stories are the ones involving sexual escapades, which tail off substantially when he meets his future wife. This leaves us with stories of office boredom -- which are fascinating forays into the underbelly of law, but as workplace satire fall far short of, say, Office Space -- and escapades with exotic drugs -- which likewise fall far short of, say, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Ultimately, the Philadelphia Lawyer does have some interesting things to say, but the book in its entirety is too touch-and-go to convey that interest. He is unafraid to wear his influences on his sleeve but finds himself struggling to live up to their examples. He has a few funny things to say but not nearly as many as he thinks he does. And yet, even in mediocrity, he finds a marginal amount of success. All of which adds up to a book that is not exactly memorable, but not exactly regrettable either -- though how great a compliment that is will depend on the reader.
posted by Dave at 8/21/2008 01:19:00 PM
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