Customer Reviews

The Committee: Man's Inner Voices and Who Left the Toilet Seat Up?

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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this book is so funny, real, and helpful that i bought 10 of them for gifts i also plan on giving one to my therapist i'm sure she will be happy to promote it!

At last, someone who has the courage to admit they have voices in their head too! In reading this book, it was as though I got to go on a guided on tour of the human mind. On the adventure, I got to see that I'm not the only one who hears voices that contradict each other making daily decisions quite difficult.

At times I laughed so hard I should've gotten up to use the bathroom, but didn't because I didn't want to put the book down to do so. Bob, the main character, has so many....shall I say challenges....that if I were in his shoes, I'd be deep into some kind of addiction. Yet somehow he can laugh at himself so I didn't feel so bad when I did too.

Man or woman, your best friend or coworker, that girl you've been wanting to talk too yet you couldn't find a good excuse to, they all deserve to indulge in this hilarious take on life.

I loved this book. It was funny but also a book can make you take a look inside of yourself. The main character Bob, a loveable loser, is struggling to do the right thing, but like we all can, is searching for the easy way out. The Committee members, Ego, Sex, Fear, Guilt, Finance and Relationships are so typical of men and the way they think.

I found myself cheering for Bob and suffering through his three-steps forward, two-steps backward progression towards his goals of finding a new career and saving his marriage. The interference of the Committee members made the process hilarious and many times I found myself laughing out loud, something I normally don't do when reading.

A great book for entertainment and one I'm putting on my shopping list for friends who continually have "Men" issues (most of my friends!).

I started reading this and stopped when it became clear what "the committee" was. I thought it was exceedingly dumb. But I started reading again and began to get interested in the life of Loucks's not very attractive narrator/protagonist despite the fact that he had the cultural sensitivity of a used car salesman, and was not half as funny and clever as he imagines.

I got used to the style and to the kind of person Bob Johnson is. He's the kind of guy who is not as substantial as he would like to be. He has self-doubts. He is attractive to women, but can't seem to build and keep a relationship. He drinks too much and he's a bit of a sexist pig. He has some insight into himself, but instead of taking responsibility for his actions he has a "committee" inside his head composed of the following guys, Sex, Ego, Relationships, Finance, Guilt, and Fear that he blames for his troubles. And of course they blame one another. There are subcommittee members as well, such as Self-Esteem, who tend to further gum up the mental modules.

As the novel opens Bob's life is in turmoil. His Internet business is bombing out, he's in trouble with the IRS, his third marriage is on the skids and he seems unable to take any kind of constructive action. Abruptly there appears a new sort of CEO of his brain, who dresses in fancy suits and likes to be called Robert. He is taking charge. He begins to interview the various members of the committee. Ego worries about not being macho enough or looking good enough, and feels slighted when the wife makes him do housework. Sex is always trying to look up someone's dress and push the "erection button." Relationships worries about being social and having friends and saving the marriage. Guilt does what guilt does and Fear gets scared a lot.

Loucks does a good job of making each committee member unique and clearly distinguishes them from one another. He offers some good insight into the workings of a subclass of the beta American male. His prose is readable. The dialogue is authentic and funny at times. I think the device of the committee allows Loucks to reveal aspects of his protagonist's character that would be otherwise muted or drowned out by what would be the consensus that we usually think of as someone's "personality."

There is an authentic kind of lime green stucco, white trim/pickup on the front lawn/beer belly/silicon tit/dog neighborhood feel to some of this. The denizens are Las Vegas types who are tired of dealing cards or waiting on tables who missed out on college degrees and now at forty-something are trying to get solvent in the Vegas real estate boom. Loucks has a keen eye and ear for the indigenous Las Vegas culture.

We have to appreciate the protagonist's honesty about himself even though it is filtered through "The Committee." Yes, the "Man's Inner Voices" part of the subtitle is an important part of this work. Being a man myself I can say for the women who might read this, yes, it's really that bad.

This is a novel, but is also billed as "Humor/Self-help." It is humorous and well written and for some it may even be helpful. This might also work as sociology.

Ladies, ever wonder what goes on inside your guy's head? Bill Loucks has broken the code of silence and allowed us to peek inside. You'll never again have to ask your guy what he's thinking because you'll know!

Guys, buy this book and READ it!! You'll laugh your a$$ off as you follow Bob and his Committee through the ups and downs of his life. I won't tell you you'll learn something, but you might ...

Once I started reading, I didn't put it down until I had reached the back cover. I had to know what was going to happen next to Bob, his Committee and the people he lives with. Now I'm waiting impatiently for the next book from this author.

You know you want to read this! I'm recommending it to everyone!