Against Love: A Polemic

Not as interesting or as sexy as it promises...

After you read the first chapter you start to get the sense the writer has nothing else to say, really, but thinks she's clever and witty enough to stretch it into a book. And she's a bit too in love with her own wit. The turns of phrase and puns she likes seem cute and clever at first, then feel tiresome: Like watching a dog and pony show and seeing the dog leap onto the saddle for the fiftieth time.

A Funny and Engaging Read

I loved this book! It's really funny and so easy to relate to. I recommend reading it on a cross country flight. It will keep you laughing and will definitely help to make the time pass quickly going from coast to coast!

Kipnis nails it --- and Lord help us all

Every straying thought you hoped you'd forgotten, or at least numbed; each self-deceiving lie you've told yourself to salvalge some semblance of internal order; those coping salves we've applied to our self-inflicted (but just couldn't help it) wounds of infidelity and disinterest -- all come in for totally on-target disrobing, probing, and wryly clever group 'self' deprication. Unmasking the enemy, naming it, and showing how it works are the first steps in managing the shadow, secret, and often endlessly sad side of our relationships. I'm simply relieved that Kipnis had put all the self-spells and disingenuous reasons for breaking vows and promises in the open. She wisely refrains from assigning blame and sentences, gently but continually asking if this is what we really want. Or need.

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