I didn't realize this was the final novel of a trilogy until I was already fifty pages into it. I suppose I could have set the novel down and attempted to find the first two, but I was having too much fun being led unexpectedly through the dysfunctional world of Sam Callahan. Sam is a thirty something wealthy guy who is just enough worried for the world to still be relatable. His flaws are many but primarily include attempting to rescue distraught women through his..ahem...oral prowess. He's a sucker for a lost soul and this novel opens just after his second ex wife Wanda leaves him in his own 240Z, pool boy, and his dead grandmother's jewelry to boot. With nobody nearby to save, and with encouragement from his fast living teenage daughter from his first marriage, Sam embarks on a quest to meet his fathers. Yes, fathers. Sam's mother had revealed to him that he'd been the product of a group rape by HS football players who then stood around in a circle and urinated on her. Sam's daughter Shannon believes him finding these five men, figuring out which was his real father, and then beating him up should cure the cloud of depression and hatred of men that follows Sam everywhere. Off he goes...This is a fast moving story and jumps from scene to apparently unrelated scene rapidly. It's not bogged down with as much melodramatic emotion as you might expect from a plot so "out there" mainly because Sam is a typical guy and doesn't really express that. The scenes included give the bare minimum to make an impact and it just feels real and believable for that reason. We really believe that one of his potential fathers would be more interested in a game on tv than on the fact Sam is there in his living room. We believe in the private detectives and the blackmail attempts and the fact that he's sleeping with a woman who could be his stepmother by force while also falling in love with who could be either his half sister or his cousin. No matter down which wacky alley Sandlin leads us, we believe we're really there because we believe that Sam is honest from the start. Included throughout are what I can only call zingers, or one or two line sentences that sum up the human condition (or a portion of it) so well that you're impressed by the shortness of them. "Manic depressives have all the luck; they soar between crashes. The best us regular depressives can do is battle our way up to normal every now and then," or "And stupid mistakes are much more interesting than wise conduct" are just two of similar truths to be found in this novel.I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a quick paced read about a good hearted screw up or those that are interested in how a single person's actions can effect so many different people.
Tim Sandlin wraps up the GroVont trilogy in style with Social Blunders. In some ways, this is the weakest book of the trilogy--picking up the story 10 more years into the future and returning to Sam Callahan as the narrator, book three is not as believable as the others. The characters all find themselves in rather unlikely places in life and some of the episodes border on slapstick. Beyond that, the secondary characters are not a well drawn in the earlier books. Yet, Social Blunders overcomes these flaws for two main reasons. First, its king-hell hilarious--probably the funniest book of the series. Sam's voice has lost none of its distinct charm as he's moved into his thirties (although he simultaneously acts older and younger). Second, like the best parts of the first two books, its got a heart of gold. As the story moves into its final act, its nearly as touching as the first two books. In the end, although fans could probably spend time with Sam, Maurey, Lydia and the gang as often as Sandlin might care to write about them, things end on a perfect note, leaving little hope or need for another chapter in a truly wonderful series.
What do You think about Social Blunders (1997)?
Sandlin's principle characters are in their 30s and the action has migrated out of GroVent for the most part to North Carolina. Sam Callahan's the principle focus again in search of his "true" father amongst the five candidates from Lydia's past. This version is largely comical with scenes that made me laugh out loud. I am really looking forward to Lydia, the fourth recently announced novel in the series forthcoming in Spring 2011. In the meantime, I will be fitting in Sandlin's other backlist titles coming from Sourcebooks, Sex and Sunsets and Western Swing.
—Bill P.
Some good metaphors but essentially crap. Sorry to be so blunt but if you are investing 300+ pages, I assume you want to learn something.. To grow.. To be intrigued.. Well I learned about a guy who holds on to his past and learns that it is in fact a fake past. That - to me- is sadder than holding on to a real past. I wish it had more depth than the rather grotesque and fake story of his fertilization. And then the negative lifestyle that he had - being a bank to those undeserving. I mean- it was just depressing.. And long.. And nothing compared to jitterbug. Maybe some of Robbins other books.. But please don't compare it to jitterbug. There is nothing like it. And to compare sandlin to Jack Kerouac .. That's just insulting to "on the road".
—Marina Furmanov
Rollicking raunchy raucous debaucherous dysfunctional good time fun-- with genuine heart and emotion mixed in for good measure-- I absolutely love Tim Sandlin's books. The two I read previously to Social Blunders had me laughing out loud on many occasions, and though not as funny as Western Swing or Skipped Parts (which had me laughing out loud on page 1), SB is still a heck of a ride. Light easy to read fare, character and dialog driven, Sandlin is a master at illuminating the human condition from a lightheartedly dysfunctional perch. Tackling serious subjects such as suicidal misfits, rape, teenage pregnancy, infidelity, divorce, broken families, and unconventional parenting (to say the least) Sandlin brings heart and warmth to a slew of sometimes squirm inducing scenes and scenarios. And although I don't consider his work 'deep' by any stretch, it is compelling (often in an absurd way) and certainly emotional at times. And the characters... oh the characters... I loved them all... even the dirtbags... and the main character Sam Callahan, well it was fun to reconnect with him (20 years older than he was in Skipped Parts) and despite ALL his tragic flaws and social blunders, I simply couldn't help but cheer for him.I've heard/read comparisons of Sandlin to Tom Robbins (which I can sort of see) but I consider him more of a cross between Tom Perrotta and Christopher Moore, but with a voice uniquely his own. Certainly not for everyone, but highly recommended to those who enjoy a little fun in their dysfunction.
—Don March
