I received a free copy of this novel through Goodreads giveawaysThis book is hilarious, absurd, and surreal. I snorted, rolled my eyes, laughed out loud, groaned, and I absolutely did not want to put it down; in fact, I barely did, except to sleep. I also never once predicted what would happen next, which is always a real joy.As with most books I receive for free, I went into this blind; I didn't read any reviews, and I skipped the back cover summary as well. (I would read all books this way, if I could afford it.) I did notice a blurb from Bret Easton Ellis, though, which piqued my interest. I did look over the cover, which I quite like.The narrator in this novel is third-person omniscient, and the voice is disinterested, almost bored, with short, terse sentences. Without such a unique, intriguing plot, the voice might not have been effective, but in this case, it was. I enjoyed it. The voice simply laid everything bare for the reader, without unnecessary flourishes or additions. It wasn't exactly cold, but it was...dispassionate, maybe? Regardless, the narrator didn't become its own character in the story, which, in this case, I appreciated.The characters themselves were almost always universally loathsome. Self-absorbed, for sure. Bizarre. Suffering from myriad undiagnosed mental issues. Just plain awful. But so intriguing. You were never quite rooting for any of them, and this novel is like a car crash of terrible people that you just can't look away from, and inside, you're hoping that the ambulances drive away slowly, with the lights off, because the people inside don't have a chance, they're already gone.The situations these characters wind up in are so far removed from "normal"; they travel through bizarre, meander in absurd, and sometimes settle down in the downright surreal. They are what make up the enjoyment of this novel, and the utterly unlikable characters are the reason they work, along with the flat narrative tone. Without that, it would seem merely silly. Which, granted, it sometimes does, though not in a bad way. However, it goes beyond mere silliness. This is the first I've read of this author, and I can't wait to read her other works.Brief plot intro/synopsis below, possible (light) spoilers.Lynn owns an art gallery whose walls have hung bare for months. Not because there are no good artists, but because she cannot find it in herself to desire any art. She can't desire anything at all, in fact. One of her friends suggests she get an addiction, and then, after experiencing it herself, suggest that no, an addiction won't do it, she should get hit by a truck. That would make her appreciate life and desire things again. Instead, she looks out her window and sees Arthur, the man who has been stalking her; following her everywhere, sending her gifts and notes. She thinks he looks truly alive, and decides it's because he is filled with desire. She thinks, maybe, if she stalks someone, she can capture some of that desire.Thirty-seven minutes later at the bakery, she picks a man she's seen around the neighborhood as her stalkee. His name is Roland. She forces herself to follow him. She sends him notes, copies of the ones her stalker sent her. She's determined to do everything her stalker does, because he looks so ALIVE.Arthur, being completely in love with Lynn and completely devoted to his stalking, notices her stalking someone else. She follows Roland, he follows her following Roland. He is overcome with jealousy. The three of them walk, one after the other, through the city, each of them often pausing to give money to a homeless man. His name is Ray. He used to be a psychologist, but he was arrested and de-licensed after his curiosity disorder got the better of him. He uses all his willpower to stop himself from asking questions of these three people, but can't help himself from offering encouragements.The following is the catalyst to the plot, more spoilery than the rest.(view spoiler)[Soon, Arthur follows Lynn following Roland to Roland's gym. He signs up to be Roland's racquetball partner. He has to find out why she prefers Roland to himself, not knowing that really, she prefers nothing. Soon after, he sends her a Polaroid of himself, nude. She sends it to Roland, who is very confused as to why he is now in possession of a naked photo of his racquetball partner sent to him by his stalker. This sets everything into motion. (hide spoiler)]
MISSING - Hanan's utter desire to read. If found, feel free to douse Hanan with it. Reward: Aforementioned person promises to not stalk you after the ordeal. A rather uneloquent (why isn't this a word again?) missing poster finally peeled off today thanks to Love Creeps. Damn, I owe you one Filipacchi! THIS WAS SO GOOD. My reconciliation with books doesn't necessarily mean I have reconciled with my vocabulary so please excuse this as i'm at a literal loss for words, a consistent nag ever since I fell into that atrocious, appalling, contemptuous reading slump- it was more of an uncomfortable fetal position - and for the life of me I could not get on my feet and jovially gallivant in my favorite book, let alone a new one. I'm just ecstatic to have finally snapped out of it, so it may blur my judgement a teensy bit. Alright, to be completely honest, after a 100 pages or so I had detected a possible roadkill, you know that author who takes a loooong drive with her plot, speeds off under the bluest sky but then she runs a little low on gas, she's now driving way under the speed limit and somewhere in between her plot falls off her jeep but is tethered to its seat with a flimsy....something, and the author doesn't even realize that she's dragging it and roadkilling it. Yeah, THAT. I still do believe Love Creeps would have been better off a little shorter but I'm sure I would have been hungry for more (pretty sated at the moment). Even the abrupt ending - which would have otherwise gnawed at me with annoyance - isn't bothering me whatsoever, how could this possibly end anyway? (Judgement-blurring 99% through???) ugh I absolutely loved it, period. It was like watching my favorite quirky foreign film for the first time.
What do You think about Love Creeps (2006)?
There are only a few characters in this book, and I found myself interested or horrified by them in turn. The gallery owner who is bored with her life, the French man she stalks to find interest in her life, or her stalker the accountant. (With a few supporting characters, one of whom ends up being more interesting than the characters themselves.) They're all caricatures of themselves, but there is some depth to each. Not much, but some. This is definitely a fluffy fun beach read sort of book, but it had quite a few twists and turns that made it worth reading in a day.
—Jenine
Lynn, a Manhattan art gallery owner, has a stalker, Alan. But he's the least of her problems. Far worse is the awareness that she has lost her desire. Nothing in life interests her any more and her gallery walls are empty. Her only desire is to desire - which frankly does not count. Galvanized by an off-hand comment from her assistant, she decides to find a person of her very own to stalk and plumps for the blandly handsome Roland. Alan is perturbed to find his beloved stalk-ee following another man and so stalks befriends Roland to find out just why he is so fascinating. These events occur early on in this ridiculous and very funny novel. I was chuckling out loud at its contrariness and cleverness. I'm only giving this 3 stars because some of the characters became so obnoxious that it was painful to read at times. Plus, I am ambivalent about the ending. However, I do recommend this as a fun read and will check out the author's other titles. I think the story would make a great movie and hope that somewhere in screen-writer land someone is putting together a treatment.
—Bunnyhugger1
Love Creeps is a social satire that cleverly skewers everything from urban romance in the twenty-first century to obsessive-compulsive disorder, from twelve-step programs and the culture of victimhood to the curious inner-workings of social currency.At the outset of the story, schlubby CPA Alan has been regularly stalking willowy NYC art dealer Lynn. Lynn has lost her zest for life and decides to imitate Alan’s ardent stalking behavior to reawaken her own desire. At random, she chooses Roland, an unpleasant French lawyer, as her victim. The three stalk each other around the city, while being observed by Ray, a disgraced psychologist who has been reduced to panhandling in the neighborhood of Lynn’s art gallery.The direction of the obsessions changes several times over the course of the story, as does the see-sawing fortunes of the four main characters. Over and over, author Amanda Filipacchi demonstrates the hilariously counterintuitive nature of the modern mind - such as Roland’s being spurned by his stalker, Lynn, awakening his ardor or Lynn’s walking out on an important gallery opening, heightening the buzz as a result of her “mysterious” behavior or Alan’s delight at finding out he was the victim of childhood sexual molestation so that he has something to blame for his unhappiness. Ludicrous as these scenarios may seem, none is really so far from reality. Nothing is sacred – mental illness, addiction, depression, sexual misconduct, suicide, even murder. It’s all here and, in Filipacchi’s deft hands, funny as hell.This is richly funny stuff. I read this on the train going to and from work each day and on many occasions, I had to hold myself back from laughing out loud.
—Blake Fraina
