Review of 28 Disastrous Dates: A (Mostly True) Humourous Memoir
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Skyler Grey
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- Latest Review: 28 Disastrous Dates: A (Mostly True) Humourous Memoir by Poppy Mortimer
Review of 28 Disastrous Dates: A (Mostly True) Humourous Memoir
[Following is a volunteer review of "28 Disastrous Dates: A (Mostly True) Humourous Memoir" by Poppy Mortimer.]
I really enjoyed reading 28 Disastrous Dates: A (Mostly True) Humourous Memoir by Poppy Mortimer. The book was funny, well-written, and deeply entertaining.
Each chapter begins with an amusing pseudonym for the man Mortimer is dating, which tells you a little bit about them (e.g. "Mr. Vegan" was a man she met on a vegan dating app), and a short fact file giving some basic information: her age at the time; where the date took place; how she met the person and how they asked her out. The fact file and name, however, don't reveal why the date went wrong, allowing the reader to speculate through the chapter until the problem becomes clear. At the end of each chapter is a summary of what Mortimer learned from the date, for example, that she needs her date to be truthful from the start.
The thing I liked the most about this book was its humor, it's well-timed and the jokes continually made me grin. Despite some of the dates being scary, the book's narration remained lighthearted and happy, which helped take the edge off some of the horrible behavior displayed by Mortimer's dates. Mortimer sharing her experiences in such an enjoyable way will be relatable to people who've interacted with horrible men before.
Another great thing about this book is the self-containedness of the chapters- while chapters do refer to previous chapters, it's in a limited way where it would still be possible to read them out of order. Additionally, chapters do not end on cliffhangers, which means that you're never stuck at the end of a chapter wondering what will happen in the next one. Given each chapter is also relatively short, it's easy enough to read one when you have a little bit of spare time without worrying you're going to end up not being able to find a good place to finish.
While very good, the book still isn't perfect. One criticism I have is that I think this book is less likely to be interesting to men- this isn't wholly a bad thing, I think it would be difficult to write such a good book with this theme that wasn't less relatable to men as the book hinges on experiences which many men are unlikely to have had anything similar to, however, it would be nice for someone to write a book that was able to both fully engage men and provide an "educational piece on how not to act in romantic situations" like the introduction suggests this book could. As it is, I think you will get the most out of this book if you have been in uncomfortable situations with men before, as you will be more likely to relate.
Overall, though, this book is well-planned and well-executed. Tasteful foreshadowing gives you just enough to let you guess what's coming, and just little enough to make you surprised when it happens. I found a single minor typo while reading through, but it was so small that it would be trivial not to notice at all.
I rate 28 Disastrous Dates: A (Mostly True) Humourous Memoir by Poppy Mortimer 4 out of 4 stars.
******
28 Disastrous Dates: A (Mostly True) Humourous Memoir
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
I really enjoyed reading 28 Disastrous Dates: A (Mostly True) Humourous Memoir by Poppy Mortimer. The book was funny, well-written, and deeply entertaining.
Each chapter begins with an amusing pseudonym for the man Mortimer is dating, which tells you a little bit about them (e.g. "Mr. Vegan" was a man she met on a vegan dating app), and a short fact file giving some basic information: her age at the time; where the date took place; how she met the person and how they asked her out. The fact file and name, however, don't reveal why the date went wrong, allowing the reader to speculate through the chapter until the problem becomes clear. At the end of each chapter is a summary of what Mortimer learned from the date, for example, that she needs her date to be truthful from the start.
The thing I liked the most about this book was its humor, it's well-timed and the jokes continually made me grin. Despite some of the dates being scary, the book's narration remained lighthearted and happy, which helped take the edge off some of the horrible behavior displayed by Mortimer's dates. Mortimer sharing her experiences in such an enjoyable way will be relatable to people who've interacted with horrible men before.
Another great thing about this book is the self-containedness of the chapters- while chapters do refer to previous chapters, it's in a limited way where it would still be possible to read them out of order. Additionally, chapters do not end on cliffhangers, which means that you're never stuck at the end of a chapter wondering what will happen in the next one. Given each chapter is also relatively short, it's easy enough to read one when you have a little bit of spare time without worrying you're going to end up not being able to find a good place to finish.
While very good, the book still isn't perfect. One criticism I have is that I think this book is less likely to be interesting to men- this isn't wholly a bad thing, I think it would be difficult to write such a good book with this theme that wasn't less relatable to men as the book hinges on experiences which many men are unlikely to have had anything similar to, however, it would be nice for someone to write a book that was able to both fully engage men and provide an "educational piece on how not to act in romantic situations" like the introduction suggests this book could. As it is, I think you will get the most out of this book if you have been in uncomfortable situations with men before, as you will be more likely to relate.
Overall, though, this book is well-planned and well-executed. Tasteful foreshadowing gives you just enough to let you guess what's coming, and just little enough to make you surprised when it happens. I found a single minor typo while reading through, but it was so small that it would be trivial not to notice at all.
I rate 28 Disastrous Dates: A (Mostly True) Humourous Memoir by Poppy Mortimer 4 out of 4 stars.
******
28 Disastrous Dates: A (Mostly True) Humourous Memoir
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
