Official Review: Mating Rituals of Migratory Humans: A No...
Posted: 03 Nov 2013, 20:44
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Mating Rituals of Migratory Humans: A Novel of Sex, Restaurants and Redemption" by Jason R. Richter.]
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In The Mating Rituals of Migratory Humans by Jason R. Richter, the reader is guided through the daily life and struggles of the narrator (known only by a variety of nicknames). The reader encounters not only the narrator’s thoughts and memories but also his experiences managing a restaurant in a Colorado tourist town, his successes and failures pursuing women, his inter-personal conflicts, and his on-going feud with the owners of the local bagel shop. All of these factors escalate and intensify, coming together to eventually cause the narrator to stop and question the direction of his life and then decide what to do about it.
The whole story is told with humorous cynicism. It is typically a dry humor, slightly crass, but sufficiently tempered to remain enjoyable. By way of example, the first chapter is an exposition on how nothing is every truly a beginning, and ‘are you sure you really want to read this book?’ At no point does the author seem to stretch events or fabricate comments specifically for a laugh, but rather the overtone of the whole narration is just funny enough to be believable as the inner monologue of a good-natured non-goofball who is capable and indeed prone to serious and unselfish thought and action.
At several points, I thought this book reminded me of a Tucker Max memoir, but better. There were plenty of stories about sex and drinking, but the drinking episodes were typically far more under control, and the sexual encounters, though casual and anonymous, gave an overall impression of greater respect for women in general. It should be mentioned though, that this book does not shy away from profanity or frank discussion of sexual encounters, drug use, and pornography.
I appreciated that the story was connected, with a clear progression through time, allowing events to build and relationships to develop. This allowed the story to exist in two spheres: the internal and the external. Since the story was written as narration, the internal would exist regardless, but the fluidity and consistency of the events around the narrator permitted a clear external story as well. Thus, there were two primary conflicts, one for each dimension of the story. What is more, both conflicts were necessary for either to be resolved. I can’t say more, lest I give away the ending.
If I could, I’d give this book 11 out of 12 stars (3.7 for anyone who can’t do math), but I can’t do that, so for the offical rating I’ll round up to a full 4 out of 4 stars. My hesitance is due to the more crass elements in the story. I wouldn’t recommend the book to a child/teenager, and I wouldn’t recommend it to my grandmother. I would recommend it to adults whom I believe to be sufficiently mature to handle a little writing that dances along the border of obscenity at times. In all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I hope that there are others who may do likewise in the future.
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Buy "Mating Rituals of Migratory Humans: A Novel of Sex, Restaurants and Redemption" on Amazon
Buy "Mating Rituals of Migratory Humans: A Novel of Sex, Restaurants and Redemption" on Barnes and Noble
Share This Review
The whole story is told with humorous cynicism. It is typically a dry humor, slightly crass, but sufficiently tempered to remain enjoyable. By way of example, the first chapter is an exposition on how nothing is every truly a beginning, and ‘are you sure you really want to read this book?’ At no point does the author seem to stretch events or fabricate comments specifically for a laugh, but rather the overtone of the whole narration is just funny enough to be believable as the inner monologue of a good-natured non-goofball who is capable and indeed prone to serious and unselfish thought and action.
At several points, I thought this book reminded me of a Tucker Max memoir, but better. There were plenty of stories about sex and drinking, but the drinking episodes were typically far more under control, and the sexual encounters, though casual and anonymous, gave an overall impression of greater respect for women in general. It should be mentioned though, that this book does not shy away from profanity or frank discussion of sexual encounters, drug use, and pornography.
I appreciated that the story was connected, with a clear progression through time, allowing events to build and relationships to develop. This allowed the story to exist in two spheres: the internal and the external. Since the story was written as narration, the internal would exist regardless, but the fluidity and consistency of the events around the narrator permitted a clear external story as well. Thus, there were two primary conflicts, one for each dimension of the story. What is more, both conflicts were necessary for either to be resolved. I can’t say more, lest I give away the ending.
If I could, I’d give this book 11 out of 12 stars (3.7 for anyone who can’t do math), but I can’t do that, so for the offical rating I’ll round up to a full 4 out of 4 stars. My hesitance is due to the more crass elements in the story. I wouldn’t recommend the book to a child/teenager, and I wouldn’t recommend it to my grandmother. I would recommend it to adults whom I believe to be sufficiently mature to handle a little writing that dances along the border of obscenity at times. In all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I hope that there are others who may do likewise in the future.
***
Buy "Mating Rituals of Migratory Humans: A Novel of Sex, Restaurants and Redemption" on Amazon
Buy "Mating Rituals of Migratory Humans: A Novel of Sex, Restaurants and Redemption" on Barnes and Noble