Feel free to judge this book by its bright green and purple cover (and
the fun, retro cartoon graphics on the inside). It is what it is: a
lighthearted look at the dating game.
Many anthologies of the "true-story" genre seem anything but. You'll be
pleased to learn that there isn't one delivery boy or horny
brother-in-law in this one. For the most part, the book's 22
contributors write about themes that are universal (unrequited love,
one-night stands) or at least within the realm of possibility.
That said, the sequence of the stories in no way tracks the behavior of
real men, moving as it does from love ("Looking for Mr. Right") to sex
("Strange Lovers and Loving Strangers")
to more sex ("Odd Encounters"). The first section deals with themes that
will be familiar to anyone who didn't grow up under a system of arranged
gay marriage. Marc J. Heft's "Missing Paul" offers a hilarious account
of an online encounter and the embarrassing misunderstanding that ensues.
Patrick Barnes' "Skin Deep" makes a case for the doubtful old saw that
looks aren't everything. In "The Right Man," Jameson Currier defends his
refusal to settle for less than his ideal. Sam Sommer's "Don, the Pizza"
examines what happens when the sex is great, but nothing else.
The essays in the second section of the book, "Strange Lovers and Loving
Strangers," all have to do with encounters that seem too good to be true
-- and are. In "Past Perfect," a personal ad leads to a night of bliss,
and a postcard. Barry Lowe's "Room With a View" deals with a three-way
that goes awry. And "Apple Tree," by Wayne Hoffman, poses the question:
when is a relationship really over?
Some of the most entertaining stories come at the end of the collection,
"Odd Encounters" (or, "What Was I Thinking?"). Featuring characters as
diverse as a hostile Italian-American mother, a rock 'n' roll groupie,
rivalrous siblings, and a lecherous Italian couple, it's probably best to
discover these on your own.
The writing in this collection ranges from amateurish to pretty good, but
that's kind of beside the point. What it has to offer is a comforting
reminder that we're all in the same boat when it comes to finding and
keeping a mate. For all the diversity of the essays, most of them are
infused with a guarded optimism -- all of these writers have been around
long enough to shed their Technicolor vision of romance, but none has
entirely given up hope.
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