Book Review #1

****: The Anatomy of Melancholy
by Matthew Selwyn

This was a disappointing read. I really wanted to like this book, especially as it was written by a young and obviously talented author. The book, while very well written, is mostly a rant dealing with sex and violence, with allusions or direct references to "American Psycho," "Lolita," "A Clockwork Orange" and "Fight Club." I found approximately the first half of the book redundant. But then at some point nearing the second half I realized that the events depicted were being told by an unreliable narrator and that this young Brit was a self-deluded loser, unemployed, hanging out with his mates, having cyber sex with his "girlfriend" Lexi and living with Mum and Dad. He also was being counseled and given meds by a mental health therapist. I kept waiting for something, anything to happen, a revelation on his part, a breakdown, a breakthrough. But there was no plot. And there was no arc. And it was just more and more of the same: a young man with an inflated ego, spouting passages of sex, violence and nihilism. Too bad.