What do you think?
Rate this book
The Thursday Night Men
Every Thursday night at 7 o’clock a group of three men meet in Paris. Each man’s life, his story, his situation, is as different from the others’ as can be. What unites them is heartache. Trouble, that is, with women. The meetings are held in a spirit of openness and tolerance. In an almost religious silence each man confesses while the others listen. Philippe is a philosopher of repute. Since the woman he considered to be his perfect mate left him, he has been dating one of the world’s most famous models in an effort to forget. Denis has been working as a waiter for years. Women have lost interest in him entirely and he is in a deep funk because of it. But one day a mysterious woman with a suitcase appears on his doorstep and moves into his living room without explanation, throwing his life into turmoil. Yves is a husband and a cuckold, who, after having discovered his wife’s betrayal, refuses to honor any and all forms of faithfulness. He is spending a lifetime’s worth of savings in search of pleasure.
In The Thursday Night Men, Benacquista gives his readers a variety of unexpected and amusing perspectives on romance, the relationship between the sexes, and friendship between men.
In The Thursday Night Men, Benacquista gives his readers a variety of unexpected and amusing perspectives on romance, the relationship between the sexes, and friendship between men.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 14, 2012
7 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
February 14, 2022
Added a few hours later: Merde. I didn't know what was happening even as I wrote this review. And now I almost want to give this book 5 stars just because of its Parisian atmosphere. Une tristesse infinie ce soir. (Written on 11/13/2015)
So we've all heard of chick lit. This, however, is dick lit. It's a soapy story with lots of coupling (though none of it particularly sexy) that follows 3 men on their emotional and erotic journeys as they quest for true love, or recoil from the hurts that women inflict on them.
I found it impossible to care for any of these unlikeable men, and one of the three plots in particular, which involves a man who turns to whores after his wife's infidelity, left a peculiarly bad taste. (Not the prostitutes per se, but the fact that our male savior ends up "fixing" each one, and in a few cases becoming the john these veteran sex workers can't help but fall in love in with, which seems just a little too much of a masculinist fantasy - but hey, this is dick lit - who am I to complain?!)
Another plot about a dumpy middle age philosopher who wins the heart of a super model is also the stuff of a --- (what's the male equivalent of bodice ripper? ) boxer shorts ripper?Anyway, it's a fantasy most Woody Allen but also tres tres francais, but not much more interesting for that.
On the whole, the book was not so much bad but tiresome. I enjoyed the Parisian setting and the somewhat intriguing set up (an AA type meeting for men with confessions about women to make) but spent most of the book trying to remember how it ended up on my Kindle in the first place.
So we've all heard of chick lit. This, however, is dick lit. It's a soapy story with lots of coupling (though none of it particularly sexy) that follows 3 men on their emotional and erotic journeys as they quest for true love, or recoil from the hurts that women inflict on them.
I found it impossible to care for any of these unlikeable men, and one of the three plots in particular, which involves a man who turns to whores after his wife's infidelity, left a peculiarly bad taste. (Not the prostitutes per se, but the fact that our male savior ends up "fixing" each one, and in a few cases becoming the john these veteran sex workers can't help but fall in love in with, which seems just a little too much of a masculinist fantasy - but hey, this is dick lit - who am I to complain?!)
Another plot about a dumpy middle age philosopher who wins the heart of a super model is also the stuff of a --- (what's the male equivalent of bodice ripper? ) boxer shorts ripper?Anyway, it's a fantasy most Woody Allen but also tres tres francais, but not much more interesting for that.
On the whole, the book was not so much bad but tiresome. I enjoyed the Parisian setting and the somewhat intriguing set up (an AA type meeting for men with confessions about women to make) but spent most of the book trying to remember how it ended up on my Kindle in the first place.
October 24, 2012
While reading this book I bought a compilation of one-act plays at the library booksale. I decided to read one called "If Men Played Cards as Women Do"by George S. Kaufman. It's a spoof on what the conversation would be if the men talked like the women would. It was fairly dated, but interesting to think about. But it was a spoof!
This book was kind of like that - but minus the spoofiness. What if a man wrote a book about men in the vein of "chick-lit". Ummmm. Well. It'd be a mixed bag, and I'm not really sure who it could be marketed to.
Here's the deal. This was a random pick off the new book shelves at the library. It comes from Europa Editions, a press that intrigues me but ends up being a hit or miss reading experience. This seemed well translated and was well written. Really nothing wrong with the quality of the book.
The beginning grabbed me and I thought it might be insightful. Well, those men's inner lives were pretty run of the mill, and just didn't fill out very well for me. Sigh.....no real twists there, just men being men. These men are sad and desperate and depressed and rejected. They have experiences that realize typical male fantasies concerning women & sex and then, well, let me say everything (and I mean everything) ties up nicely in the end.
This book was kind of like that - but minus the spoofiness. What if a man wrote a book about men in the vein of "chick-lit". Ummmm. Well. It'd be a mixed bag, and I'm not really sure who it could be marketed to.
Here's the deal. This was a random pick off the new book shelves at the library. It comes from Europa Editions, a press that intrigues me but ends up being a hit or miss reading experience. This seemed well translated and was well written. Really nothing wrong with the quality of the book.
The beginning grabbed me and I thought it might be insightful. Well, those men's inner lives were pretty run of the mill, and just didn't fill out very well for me. Sigh.....no real twists there, just men being men. These men are sad and desperate and depressed and rejected. They have experiences that realize typical male fantasies concerning women & sex and then, well, let me say everything (and I mean everything) ties up nicely in the end.
Want to read
August 18, 2017I won a copy of this through FirstReads!
September 7, 2012
I really thought that I will be disappointed after reading the first few chapters. When we were introduced to the characters and their relationship problems it seemed like the usual, average romance novel only with men as main characters.
Luckily I was wrong. After we got to know the situations of the characters, the book took a turn. It became more interesting and unique. We see the three men dealing with their problems while being in pretty unusual situations. All their situations represent to us their way of trying to go over heart break and it is done in a very clever way.
The book is just about how people get affected by the relationship failures and how it can change them. How they may become more cynical, unwilling to take a risk of relationship again or just go for any relationship with a person they would not have chosen before. In general we see both the main characters and also the secondary ones whose stories we hear at the meetings trying to reconcile with the dating world and love.
I like the tone of the book. It is not dramatic and very calm. I feel for characters even though none of the men has much in common with me and my view on life. This usually shows that a book is well written for me.
The ending was great. I loved the final chapter where the stories got wrapped up and the small twist in the epilogue.
I do recommend people to continue reading it even if the first chapters don't impress them, because it gets much better and brings some interesting thoughts.
* I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Luckily I was wrong. After we got to know the situations of the characters, the book took a turn. It became more interesting and unique. We see the three men dealing with their problems while being in pretty unusual situations. All their situations represent to us their way of trying to go over heart break and it is done in a very clever way.
The book is just about how people get affected by the relationship failures and how it can change them. How they may become more cynical, unwilling to take a risk of relationship again or just go for any relationship with a person they would not have chosen before. In general we see both the main characters and also the secondary ones whose stories we hear at the meetings trying to reconcile with the dating world and love.
I like the tone of the book. It is not dramatic and very calm. I feel for characters even though none of the men has much in common with me and my view on life. This usually shows that a book is well written for me.
The ending was great. I loved the final chapter where the stories got wrapped up and the small twist in the epilogue.
I do recommend people to continue reading it even if the first chapters don't impress them, because it gets much better and brings some interesting thoughts.
* I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
July 16, 2014
Or 4 1/2, and the category is literate fiction. Not Great Literature, but intelligent and touching, a warm view of where (hetero)men are in relationship to women, now. Not lol funny, but often bringing a smile to my face. The setup is a secret weekly meeting of about 100 men at rotating locations in Paris. There are a few rules: confidentiality; only one opportunity to speak; no interruptions or comments; and no leaving while someone is speaking. the subject is women and heartbreak. Three men get together one night for a drink, one having spoken and the others touched by what he said. They are a philosopher, a waiter, and a dual-pane window installer; their problems with women are are just as varied. Most of the book is given to the stories of what they do to ease the heartbreak. I won't go into what they do, but their solutions reminds me of a saying of one of my teachers (Dr. Bea Pressley): "Women mourn, men replace." The story ends suggesting that women have their own stories to tell on the other side of the scratch line.
June 17, 2016
Perhaps I missed the point. But I don't think there is one.
January 16, 2022
I was drawn to the premise for the book and really it could have developed into a fascinating and gripping story. Instead it trips on its own obviousness to fall flat on its face as superficial and designed to stroke the male ego.
The word that kept coming to my mind while reading this book was ‘dense’. The book tries so hard to come across as intellectually sophisticated by using dense, convoluted language that it actually sounds dumb at times and ends up not saying anything. Maybe this is a result of the translation that so often cannot capture the original nuances or perhaps it is just a case of writing that’s been wrenched to conform to an idea of an intellectual Parisian philosophical work.
I couldn’t connect with any of the characters and none of the main characters save one could recognize their own fault in the hand they were so called dealt; the result being that the men are shown to be pitied for their troubles but instead of coming across as relatable, I saw them as emotionally stunted narcissists.
Pity. Had the makings of something grand
The word that kept coming to my mind while reading this book was ‘dense’. The book tries so hard to come across as intellectually sophisticated by using dense, convoluted language that it actually sounds dumb at times and ends up not saying anything. Maybe this is a result of the translation that so often cannot capture the original nuances or perhaps it is just a case of writing that’s been wrenched to conform to an idea of an intellectual Parisian philosophical work.
I couldn’t connect with any of the characters and none of the main characters save one could recognize their own fault in the hand they were so called dealt; the result being that the men are shown to be pitied for their troubles but instead of coming across as relatable, I saw them as emotionally stunted narcissists.
Pity. Had the makings of something grand
March 31, 2022
I picked this book up randomly with absolutely no idea what it was going to be about, and after dragging myself through it i can safely say i wish i had left it on the shelf. This book was about men. And men are extremely boring. And also pretty stupid but i also knew that already so all of the profound points this book tried to make about men rlly missed the mark for me bc i simply didn’t care about any of the characters. I was also confused bc the main plot of the book basically disappeared halfway through. I feel like there were a lot of details missing that would have made this a good book and also so many unnecessary details in places where i simply did not need them. Basically I already forget what this book was about and the whole time I had to flip back to the first chapter to figure out who was who bc the three main characters weren’t interesting or distinguishable enough for me to keep their stories straight. Overall do not recommend, the little blurb on the back was more interesting than the entire book.
July 17, 2019
I always enjoy the perspective of the Europa editions novels - they tend to be the only translated novels I read. The Thursday Night Men is a European twist on “chick -lit”, imagining the roles reversed. In this case, the men are the ones who meet to share heartbreak and long relationship stories. It held my interest - well written and intellectually tongue-in-cheek - but It didn’t work for me. A lot of sexual fantasies strung together in the guise of men finding themselves. The picture perfect ending was a great mirror to the “chick-lit” customary happily ever after. A 3.5.
November 11, 2018
A weekly men's conscious group where you can tell your story only once. Four unfortunates find each other and live their fantasies and failures silently and without disclosure. Unexpected male sentiments.
October 5, 2019
Overall, I enjoyed the stories of the three male main characters. The surprises for me were the spots of comic relief and irony as well as the sensuality with which Benacquista details the sexual experiences of these men. Whilst I wouldn't read it again, I'm glad to have read it.
April 27, 2014
Sono indecisa se dargli 3 o 4 stelle. Raramente desidero che GR permetta la mezza stella, ma questo è uno di quei casi.
La storia parte da un'idea semplice: ogni giovedì un gruppo di uomini si raduna per parlare dei propri problemi con le donne. Una via di mezzo tra una seduta di psicanalisi e un raduno di alcolisti anonimi. La regola principale è tacere: a turno uno dei partecipanti prende il posto del narratore, dice quello che lo preoccupa e poi torna a sedersi tra gli astanti. Nessun commento, nessun consiglio viene espresso dagli altri partecipanti.
Tre di loro diventano amici e, desiderosi di avere una conversazione, si ritrovano a fine raduno al tavolino di un bar. Come lettori non ascoltiamo le loro confidenze o le considerazione riguardo le storie appena ascoltate, ma ci troviamo a seguirli a casa e a vivere con loro il presente di storie d'amore passate.
C'è il marito fedele tradito dalla moglie, che si è lasciata andare ad una festa aziendale. Nn volendo più legami si rivolge alle prostitute, per finire col diventarne una sorta di angelo custode che le aiuta nei momenti di difficoltà. C'è il filosofo che finisce insieme alla modella, pensando sempre alla sua ex. C'è il disinvolto che non si è mai attaccato a nessuna pur conoscendo tutte e che finisce depresso, subendo poi l'attacco della più normale delle donne che lo riporterà in carreggiata.
Temevo ci fossero anche tanti luoghi comuni, ma così non è stato, o comunque erano funzionali alla storia. Lettura molto, molto gradevole.
La storia parte da un'idea semplice: ogni giovedì un gruppo di uomini si raduna per parlare dei propri problemi con le donne. Una via di mezzo tra una seduta di psicanalisi e un raduno di alcolisti anonimi. La regola principale è tacere: a turno uno dei partecipanti prende il posto del narratore, dice quello che lo preoccupa e poi torna a sedersi tra gli astanti. Nessun commento, nessun consiglio viene espresso dagli altri partecipanti.
Tre di loro diventano amici e, desiderosi di avere una conversazione, si ritrovano a fine raduno al tavolino di un bar. Come lettori non ascoltiamo le loro confidenze o le considerazione riguardo le storie appena ascoltate, ma ci troviamo a seguirli a casa e a vivere con loro il presente di storie d'amore passate.
C'è il marito fedele tradito dalla moglie, che si è lasciata andare ad una festa aziendale. Nn volendo più legami si rivolge alle prostitute, per finire col diventarne una sorta di angelo custode che le aiuta nei momenti di difficoltà. C'è il filosofo che finisce insieme alla modella, pensando sempre alla sua ex. C'è il disinvolto che non si è mai attaccato a nessuna pur conoscendo tutte e che finisce depresso, subendo poi l'attacco della più normale delle donne che lo riporterà in carreggiata.
Temevo ci fossero anche tanti luoghi comuni, ma così non è stato, o comunque erano funzionali alla storia. Lettura molto, molto gradevole.
November 1, 2012
I won this book for free from the Goodread's First Reads giveaway.
"The Thursday Night Men" is a book about men's perspectives on their relationship failures with women. It is set in Paris and the men have weekly sessions to meet and discuss these complications in their lives.
The first few chapters were a little slow moving but I still found them to be very interesting. Near the middle of the book I had a hard time putting it down, especially when I reached the last 2 chapters.
The three main characters Denis, Yves, and Phillipe are interesting characters and each deal with heartbreak in a very different way. I enjoyed reading a book based on men's point of views on women.
The book is very well written and translated (author is french).
I would definetly recommend this book! Thank you Goodreads Giveaway for the opportunity to read it!
"The Thursday Night Men" is a book about men's perspectives on their relationship failures with women. It is set in Paris and the men have weekly sessions to meet and discuss these complications in their lives.
The first few chapters were a little slow moving but I still found them to be very interesting. Near the middle of the book I had a hard time putting it down, especially when I reached the last 2 chapters.
The three main characters Denis, Yves, and Phillipe are interesting characters and each deal with heartbreak in a very different way. I enjoyed reading a book based on men's point of views on women.
The book is very well written and translated (author is french).
I would definetly recommend this book! Thank you Goodreads Giveaway for the opportunity to read it!
October 30, 2012
I picked this book up on a whim from Book People in Austin a few weeks ago. I was intrigued by the title. I'm so glad that I did. It is written by a Frenchman and is translated beautifully into English. It focuses on three men, each who have their own story of their woundedness from women. They meet at a Thursday night group story telling session. At these meetings (of approximately 100 people) various men will stand and tell their stories. Each have been heartbroken or been the heartbreaker. The three main characters each begin a journey of redemption that begins and ends in entirely different places. One redeems others and some are redeemed themselves. But each story in itself is truly wonderful and fascinating. This was a lovely book that I am so happy to have read. I highly recommend.
September 11, 2012
The Thursday Night Men sheds a different light on man-women relationship from men's perspective. The characters are unique and the story unfolds with nice surprises. I found it was a slow-pace read in the first few chapters but then, I got caught in the story and picked up the book whenever I could... The last third of the story is particularly interesting and original. I'm glad I won this ARC from GoodReads Giveaways and I look forward to read something else from Tonino Benacquista.
I might even re-read this one in it original version, the "French feel" of the book is so present it had me constantly translating to French, wondering what words he used. (I'm a francophone so it was like watching an english translation of a French movie...)
I might even re-read this one in it original version, the "French feel" of the book is so present it had me constantly translating to French, wondering what words he used. (I'm a francophone so it was like watching an english translation of a French movie...)
September 12, 2012
I received this book for free through a First Reads Giveaway.
I loved this book! I liked how the characters' motives continue to elude me even though their actions were believable. I felt a connection to the characters, but not in the usual way. I could not relate to them, but I felt as if they were outrageous friends whose next move never failed to entertain me...the friends whose stories you tell again and again. It was refreshing to read a romance novel that lacked the typical sentimentality and that portrayed human needs and desires unflinchingly.
At times I could tell that I was reading a translation and some references were lost on me, but overall it did not negatively impact the reading. I would read more books by this author.
I loved this book! I liked how the characters' motives continue to elude me even though their actions were believable. I felt a connection to the characters, but not in the usual way. I could not relate to them, but I felt as if they were outrageous friends whose next move never failed to entertain me...the friends whose stories you tell again and again. It was refreshing to read a romance novel that lacked the typical sentimentality and that portrayed human needs and desires unflinchingly.
At times I could tell that I was reading a translation and some references were lost on me, but overall it did not negatively impact the reading. I would read more books by this author.
May 16, 2014
I received this through a goodreads giveaway. I was really excited to read this book, it sounded like a great concept, and it was interesting and quite entertaining but it has taken me one or two years to get this far in the book (am on chapter 8) and honestly I have no desire to continue reading on. I will give this another go in a month or so, and hopefully will give a more positive review. For now, I am having a hard time connecting with the characters, and the dialogues are a bit strange.....basically, I have no desire to pick this book up. I don't necessarily think it is a bad book, I just had a hard time getting into it.
October 4, 2012
It's Thursday night in Paris and once again a large group of men meet secretly in Paris to discuss their common ailment- heartache. One after the other, the three protagonists get up enough courage to tell their tales. We met Yves, whose wife came home drunk one day and confessed to having an affair, Dennis who is impotent and a virgin and Phillipe, who is a lonely scholar. Each attempt to solve their love problems in a unique way. Do they succeed or do they fail? Are all women the antagonists? Maybe they also are protagonists?
This delightful novel runs the gauntlet of emotions from sorrow, pain, loss,happiness, love, fulfillment,and laughter. I highly recommend it!
This delightful novel runs the gauntlet of emotions from sorrow, pain, loss,happiness, love, fulfillment,and laughter. I highly recommend it!
September 6, 2012
Elegant writing, charming and intelligent, with a bit of melancholy. I won't summarize the plot, you can read about it under the synopsis :)
An interesting look at modern relationships and romance, from men's perspective. The pace at the beginning was a bit slow, but then again it's not meant to be a fast read. Three main male characters you feel like you could care about.
I haven't read other books by the author but I think if you enjoyed Elegance of the Hedgehog (same translator), you should give this one a try as well.
An interesting look at modern relationships and romance, from men's perspective. The pace at the beginning was a bit slow, but then again it's not meant to be a fast read. Three main male characters you feel like you could care about.
I haven't read other books by the author but I think if you enjoyed Elegance of the Hedgehog (same translator), you should give this one a try as well.
January 22, 2013
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
I found it a bit slow to get into, but it started to pick up 1/3 of the way through. I really liked this book because it was about male/female relationships from a male's perspective, and not just one male, but a few with different circumstances.
I also felt this book was well written, lovely prose. I will read this again, as I picked it up and put it down quite a bit over a long period of time. If I read it over a shorter span of time, I will enjoy it even more.
I found it a bit slow to get into, but it started to pick up 1/3 of the way through. I really liked this book because it was about male/female relationships from a male's perspective, and not just one male, but a few with different circumstances.
I also felt this book was well written, lovely prose. I will read this again, as I picked it up and put it down quite a bit over a long period of time. If I read it over a shorter span of time, I will enjoy it even more.
August 13, 2016
I can't remember why I wanted to read this novel. C'était un roman très français. I liked how the scenarios were presented (a sort of a revolving close-third person POV of many characters). But would I read a book with a similar set-up, entitled "The Thursday Night Women"? Mais non. It wasn't misogynistic, thank god, but I still wanted to argue on behalf of the female characters. And why were there so many whores?
October 25, 2012
I got this book as a Goodreads giveaway - my very first!
I loved the concept, relationship stories from a male perspective centered on a Thursday night secret club where troubled men tell each other their stories. I just didn't love the execution. It wasn't until the very end that I connected with any other the three main characters at all, and by that time it just wasn't enough.
I loved the concept, relationship stories from a male perspective centered on a Thursday night secret club where troubled men tell each other their stories. I just didn't love the execution. It wasn't until the very end that I connected with any other the three main characters at all, and by that time it just wasn't enough.
September 14, 2012
This book is beautifully written. But I found it to be slow paced at first. I was very disappointed in the first few chapters. However once all the main characters were introduced I was intrigued by their unique troubles with woman.
I do have to say that I did love the ending. There was a twist in the plot that I did not see coming at all.
I do have to say that I did love the ending. There was a twist in the plot that I did not see coming at all.
January 8, 2013
I thought it would be an complete misogynistic romp, based on the book description and title, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's how three very different men meet and learn how to cope with their respective failed love lives.
December 22, 2012
Did not finish the book (rare for me). Was well written, but not my cup of tea. Possibly a little too graphic?
Read
May 22, 2021Loving this. The language....is amazing. I feel like I'm reading it so slowly just to relish how he conveys a thought, but the book is going by so quickly.
Very, very good. I recommend.
Very, very good. I recommend.
August 22, 2015
Ironico e divertente, tre storie parallele di tre uomini e delle loro pene d'amore ed esistenziali
December 30, 2015
2 stars.
July 25, 2016
It just couldn't engage me, lost interest and I'm guessing I will not finish it, so I'm letting it go. I'm selling a used book, anyone j retested? :p
April 21, 2016
Got to page 121. Enjoyed it mostly until page 80 when I realised it wasn't going anywhere. Abandoning it now. Too much good stuff out there to waste any more time on this
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews