I Just Want my Pants Back

I Just Want My Pants Back by David J. Rosen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Jason has a one night (ok, maybe two night) fling with a girl who borrows his Dickies for the walk home and then never calls him again. And he really just wants his pants back, though it is also possible that he wants something more. Hence, the title of this book, which plays out against the backdrop of New York City and seems to resemble a more comedic and raunchy take on Catcher in the Rye. Along the way he forms a meaningful connection with his older neighbor Patty, and he also prepares to be the officiant in a wedding for his friends. But he is young and confused and really has no idea where his life is going and his job is a joke but hey…isn’t that everybody?

I vacillate between hating the crap out of this book and begrudgingly giving it the due it deserves. I happen to feel the same way about a certain TV show that I enjoy but that is backed by a performer that I hate (I’ll just let you guess at that one). On the one hand, there is real value in a book that entertains and keeps the reader into it. On the other hand, the main character comes off as such an insufferable smart ass who has it so much better than he ever realizes (ahh, to be in your twenties and have no one really counting on you…) that I just had a really hard time caring about his story. But then again, maybe that is the whole point of the character’s journey. At times I had to overlook what was undoubtedly a flaw of a first-time novelist: trying too damn hard to be so damn clever. (Example: was it really necessary to offer such a detailed description of how dirty the urinal at the local bar is?) See, look at what a jerk I’m being. I’m picking it apart a little because I truly don’t have an answer for how I feel about this book. And maybe that’s what a good novel does.

The book was published in 2007, and so it is quite possible that future works avoid some of the pitfalls I’ve mentioned here. I give it four stars because in the end, the effort was worth the journey it took to get there.




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