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Laura and Lila were college roommates—one brooding and Jewish, the other the epitome of golden WASP-dom. Now it's ten years later, a day before Lila's wedding to Laura’s former boyfriend, and as the guests arrive, Laura finds herself the only one not coupled up. Struggling with the traditionally thankless role of maid of honor, Laura realizes for the first time why she can't stop thinking about her long, tangled relationship with the groom. And it appears that he is not entirely ready for the altar himself. Unfolding over two days off the coast of Maine, The Romantics follows the shifting allegiances among an unforgettable set of characters.
In film producer Niederhoffer's wan second novel (following A Taxonomy of Barnacles), a love triangle takes center stage among an amorous group of nine Yale friends known to each other as "The Romantics." As the group reunites for the marriage of Lila Hayes and Tom McDevon at a Maine estate six years after graduation, Niederhoffer omnisciently narrates the rivalry between wealthy blonde Lila and raven-haired Laura, her maid of honor and former roommate-"the Nick to Lila's Gatsby." Laura and Tom dated early on in college, and their continuing relationship haunts Tom and Lila's over the ensuing years, which naturally causes friction. After the rehearsal dinner, the entire wedding party, minus Lila, embarks on a raucous evening of drinking and reminiscing. Neither the characters nor the story convince as Niederhoffer repeats thin stereotypes in a vain attempt to strengthen the plot: Laura the ethnic outsider; Tom the complex man yearning for an uncomplicated relationship; Lila the uncomplicated beauty with all of the necessary social accoutrements. The rest of the cast serves as background noise in this forgettable postcollegiate exercise. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
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Paul Dehnert
reviewed The Romantics on February 21, 2010
The Romantics
Horr-i-ble.
Admittedly, I only read this book because I knew there was a movie coming out and I like doing the comparison. I haven't even seen the movie yet and it is guaranteed to be better than this. Sometimes I enjoy reading crap, like when I'm on a beach and don't feel like thinking too much. It's the same reason I occasionally watch reality TV. But this hits a new low. Nothing at all about this book is likeable.
It's very clear from the shallow, WASP-y characters who sniff coke and all have sex with each other that this book was written to be made into a movie. If you are writing for a movie, please, write a screenplay. Seriously. But, come on, at least try to make me feel like you're trying to write a book.
Crappy lines abound. I didn't even need to mark them. Here, I'll flip through now and pull out some best of the worst:
1) "Tom faced Laura, shaking his head, his clothes as soaked as his soul" (277).
2) "Musical highlights included songs such as 'Mein Minesweeper', 'Rosie, I'm Riveted', 'Uncle Sam, I'm Your Man,' and...'Nuremberg Trials and Errors' (170).
3) "She stood in the doorway in pink pyjamas, a petite variation on an angry general" (192).
And don't even get me started on the annoying overuse of the passive tense littering the beginning of this sucker. (See page 13, for example.)
No. No. No. I have a copy here if anyone would like to take it off my hands.
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