Love Is A Four-Letter Word: True Stories Of Breakups, Bad Relationships, And Broken Hearts (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
I picked this one up for the Kate Christensen story and was totally sucked in. Funny how everyone has bad, good, humiliating memories about the people in our past - and how easily all that comes back when reading someone else's version, especially with a glass of wine in hand. Very good.*Still, on that mountain I learned something invaluable: there are two types of people. The first kind pretend to know things they don't, the second kind choose to ignore things they do. I'm the second kind.* - Amanda Stern I keep a handwritten list of books that I want to read. I'm not entirely sure how this book ended up on that list, but when it did, I listed it (as I usually do) only by the beginning of the title; anything after the colon was left off.So when I was looking through my list recently for a book that would likely be a quick read, I picked this one because it's relatively short and I thought it was stories about love. I had long since forgotten that it was about love gone bad. Still, when I picked it up from the library, I decided to go ahead and read it anyway.Simply put: this book is depressing. The way people treat each other in relationships totally sucks. That some of these authors thought it would be a good idea to put proof of their bad behavior down on paper is beyond my comprehension. Some of them came off like real jerks; others came off like total nut cases; and nearly all of the rest showed how entirely too-self-aware most modern writers are (in my opinion). Ugh.The good news is that it is in fact a quick read. I finished it in a matter of hours over the course of two days. And I must have enjoyed at least one story because I'm giving it 2 stars. Also, it made me feel good about myself that I've managed to comport myself in all of my relationships with a modicum of dignity and respect.
What do You think about Love Is A Four-Letter Word: True Stories Of Breakups, Bad Relationships, And Broken Hearts (2009)?
This is an interesting but uneven collection of memoirs about relationships and break-ups.
—helen95
Dave White's essay is absolutely hilarious and one of the best in the book.
—Jacob
I kind of give it 2.5 stars. It was just sort of meh.
—Wojtek
