Book Review: The Ex-Boyfriend’s Handbook by Matt Dunn

Title: The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook
Author: Matt Dunn
Format: paperback, 354 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source: review copy from publisher
Published: 11/1/2010 by Sourcebooks

"It's not me – it's you."

When Edward Middleton hears those words from Jane, his girlfriend of ten years, he knows he's in serious trouble. Determined to get her back, Edward realizes he must learn how to make women want him again. But one thing is certain: if he's to be Jane's Mr. Right, he needs to turn himself around. From Atkins to waxing, Edward works his way through the makeover alphabet. But can he rise from the ranks of discarded exes, or will his journey take him in another direction entirely? With over 100,000 copies sold in the UK, this is a hilarious look at relationships from a man's point of view.

Why I Read this Book: I’ve seen The Ex-Boyfriend’s Handbook described as the male-equivalent to Bridget Jones’s Diary. I thought BJD was hilarious so I wanted to read The Ex-Boyfriend’s Handbook. I was even more curious to read a Chick-Lit book written from the main male character’s POV, figuring it would be quite a change from the norm. It was.

What I Liked: The book begins on January 16th, the day Edward discovers that Jane, his girlfriend of 10 years, has left him. The reader follows Edward through his 4 month self-discovery journey. Edward’s best friend, Dan, helps him through the process in a hilariously yet sincere (at least to Dan’s prospective) manner. These 4 months help Edward to assess and re-evaluate his relationship with Jane. The book ends on April 16, shortly after Jane has returned from her own self-discovery journey in Tibet. The whole time I was reading this book I wanted to know if they would get back together or not.

I grew fond of Edward’s character and I wanted to make sure that everything turned out right for him. He got a new insight to life and relationships. Edward really transforms himself, inside and out, and in the end he gets the HEA he deserves.

Dan and his ‘logic’ were most hysterical. Most of which was the blunt, honest truth. Dan doesn’t sugarcoat anything, nor does his mouth have a filter, he just tells it like he sees it. Dan’s analogies were sometimes spot on, sometimes not, but always down right hilarious.

Funny stuff that comes out of Dan’s mouth:

“You’re dressed like a scarecrow. And what do scarecrows do?”

“Cool jacket, Dan. How will they ever resist me?” [Edward] says, strutting up and down in front of the mirror.

Dan shakes his head. “Edward, it’s a nice jacket. Not a magic jacket.”

And here’s a word of advice from Edward’s personal trainer:

“If it jiggles, it’s fat.”

The funny part about this line is that it took place in a restaurant during the trainer’s assessment of Edward. No advanced equipment needed; just a jiggle test. These quotes still give me a good chuckle.

What I Didn’t Like: The beginning was a bit slow for me. But once Edward got over his woe is me pity party and started doing something about his situation, I was invested in finding out how his life was going to turn out.

There were a few times when I had to pause and think for a moment about what a particular word or phrase meant. Some I even had to Google. For instance: pint of snakebite (a drink of equal parts beer and cider), kerb (curb), boot of a car (the trunk), jumper (pull-over sweater), snog (kiss and cuddle) and aerial (antenna) – just to name a few. Nothing I couldn’t figure out but it did pause my reading from time to time.

Overall Impression: Fans of Bridget Jones’s Diary and Chick-Lit will love the male insight from Edward’s POV and the humor that comes along with it. They need to make of movie from this book! The Ex-Boyfriend’s Handbook would be a great Valentine’s Day read.

 

The Book Vixen’s Rating: