You know when you’re half way through a book that is so good that you don’t know whether to devour the rest, or try to slow down and savour it, knowing that when it’s over, you’ll be devastated? That was Romantic Comedy for me and of course I devoured it … over the Easter weekend to be specific. She’s my new Sally Rooney and this book was a bit like when I read Normal People. I have gone on to read her 2016 novel Eligible, which is a modern take on Pride & Prejudice, and had already read Rodham, which really painted Hilary Clinton in a new light for me. Anyway, you get my gist. Sittenfeld is my new fav author and I intend to read all of her work in the coming weeks. I see that even Reese loves her too!
But back to Romantic Comedy. Its name sort of gives away the premise … girl meets boy, girl and boy fall in love, an obstacle gets in the way until girl and boy find a way back to each other. Throw in the setting of a quasi ‘Saturday Night Live’, the idea that really hot female celebrities often go for average looking men, but the reverse rarely happens, and how the main character Sally overcomes this when she meets musician Noah. It’s witty and fun and so much more than just a romance. Sittenfeld is superb at conveying the many little thoughts that can trouble the mind and uses them to create relatable characters that the reader loves.
Marisa Jones Author 