Customer Reviews

The Dictionary of Failed Relationships: 26 Tales of Love Gone Wrong

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is one of those books you pass around to girlfriends like a life preserver. I think that if you lose your sense of humor in the love arena, you are in big trouble, so I loved this book's intent: to make women (and men?) laugh over the trials of Cupid and other such fantastic events. Many of the authors have written favorite books of mine, or short stories. Highly recommended.

"Who needs Webster's? This dishy dictionary is so much more fun!" --Cosmopolitan.

Well, I had to check it out, and for the price I would say it is the best little book out there as a gift to any girlfriend or guy friend who wants to see how the other half thinks. A surprisingly gifted array of writers contributed to this -- and how wonderful that they did. Many,many laugh out loud passages and more than one enlightening moment. Just a delight!

Out of the 26 stories, there were but a few worth reading, including Jennifer Weiner's poignant tale. But it's the last story that made reading all the mediocre stories worthwhile - an excellent payoff.

My dearest girlfriend is 30something & still single at the time of this writing. I've spend 12 years listening to her "I can't believe that man!" stories. She's dated some incredible guys who turned out to be big creeps. She might not have 26 personal stories, but she's up there.

I thought this book might be a "see you're not alone" sort of book to humor in anguish or tease in fun. I was woefully wrong. She has never been anywhere near as unintelligent as some of the 'heroines' in this book. God forbid she ever comes close!

After reading the editor's blurb at the beginning and then several chapters, I'm glad to see they classify it as fiction. The editor's comment (which I couldn't find a second time to quote & didn't want to waste extra energy trying) that she wanted to write something more then "Bridgette Jones" type relationship ignorance. I laugh. These stories make Bridge look like a winning-at-love intellectual.

This book contains numerous examples of poor choices, lots of sex and sticky situations. As an editor myself, I cringed at the poor quality of writing and wonder about the target audience. The 50¢ I paid for it at a book sale was too much.

As I picked up "Dictionary of Failed Relationships," I was unsure about whether or not I was going to enjoy it. I had just finished "Fear of Flying" by Erica Jong for a book club I belong to, and I didn't want to cloud up any of my thoughts and feelings before the meeting. Well, this book helped me to define my thoughts and feelings more clearly -- both for myself and for the club. Isn't that what a dictionary is supposed to do?!

This book is excellent . . . it is funny, it is intelligent, it is witty, and it is absolutely worth the price. I enjoyed the different points-of-view from each author, and the introduction by the editor was absolutely hilarous! I can't wait to share this with my daughter(s) and/or nieces when the time is right.

It has been a year since I broke up with my boyfriend and am still a resident in Heartbreak Hotel. I often read chick lit because the authors of the aforementioned genre - or at least the good ones - write heartbreak quite well. The Dictionary of Failed Relationships is a fun little gem that features every aspect of relationship traumas from A to Z. My favorites are "Regret," by Jennifer Weiner, "Dagenham," by Anna Maxtet, "Green," by Susan Minot, "Justice," by Kathy Lette, "X," by Suzanne Finnamore, and "Zero," by Erika Krouse. Each one of these authors uses witty, insightful and sharp dialogue that will make you laugh and nod in agreement with the female protagonists. As previously mentioned, my lovelorn experiences made me pick up this book. This is a great antidote to a broken heart. I, for one, loved The Dictionary of Failed Relationships and I'd like to encourage Meredith Broussard (editor) to release another volume!

OK. Enough. Enough of the never ending whine emitting from women, (smart, clever, savvy women) on the landscape of literature. OK, you were hurt. We've all been there and, unfortunately, may be there again. The stories in this "dictionary" (a big whatever) are entertaining, somewhat enlightening and well written. Check out Jennifer Weiner's piece about her father, amazing. However, Broussard's (editor) revenge is best served cold. It, too, is well written and humorous on certain levels but, all over the biggest and most annoying whine in this anthology. Come on, ladies. Use the talent and brains for some growth. I imagine, once the glut of Chick Lit has had its day, that many of the women in this anthology will remain on the literary lanscape and will contibute terrific, enlightening literature.

Just like truffles, this book is best read in SMALL doses if read at all. Tuffles after all, are rich and taste great but, they aren't really good for you. This book depressed me. I can conemplate my own relationship failures without reading about others failures.

I bought this book because I thought it would be funny and well, good. Im sorry to say, it's weird. And I've never written a review of any book before so I don't mean to be rude, but these stories are just way too abstract and so far from the point. Most of them don't even tell what happen in the relationship but rather what happened in the girls mind. There are a couple worth reading but you could just thumb through it on the shelf. If you're looking for a good cry or laugh, this book won't give it to you. This book is simply filled with a lot trying to be too good writers instead of just telling what happened with the realtionship. Ok, Ok, I'm not a writer, but I honestly was excited to sit and read this book and lighten my mood and it just flopped. I would not recommend it.