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I Just Want My Pants Back: A Novel [Paperback]

David Rosen
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)

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Book Description

August 7, 2007
Now a new MTV series, from acclaimed director and executive producer Doug Liman (“Mr. and Mrs. Smith, “Swingers,” “Go,” “The Bourne Identity”)

Jason Strider is a twentysomething young man with an English degree from an Ivy League university, a very small apartment in New York, a vapid job as a receptionist at a casting agency—and no particular idea what to do with his life. On most evenings he gets stoned and goes out, sometimes with his long-time best friend and wingman Tina and sometimes alone, if not to get laid then at least to get hammered enough to really regret it the next day and be late for work.
 
Then one night Jason has athletic, appliance-assisted intercourse with a cute girl named Jane—and ends up lending her his favorite Dickies jeans. Many unanswered e-mails and text messages later, he is reduced to the plaint “I just want my pants back.” How he does, in a most unexpected way, find those pants and how he is forced to face his immaturity—and mortality—are at the heart of this smart, raunchily comic and deeply affecting novel.

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Editorial Reviews

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A Look Inside I Just Want My Pants Back

Premieres Thursday 2/2 @ 11/10c on MTV.


From Publishers Weekly

Jason Strider, the slacker-hero of former ad-man and MTV series creator Rosen's screwball debut novel, is a recent Cornell grad more interested in marijuana, booze and quick lays than his boring job or romantic relationships. The carnal drought he's been experiencing is mercifully ended early in the book with a bout of athletic sex involving his refrigerator and a bar pickup named Jane, who departs after a second hook-up wearing his favorite pair of Dickies. His quest, then, to retrieve the pants occupies the bulk of the book. Along the way, Jason gets assists in the process of personal growth from his ailing next-door neighbor, Patty, and old Cornell buds Eric and Stacey, who ask Jason to perform their wedding ceremony. By the end of the tale, Jason has begun to mature and comes back into contact with his beloved pants in an unexpected yet appropriate fashion. Rosen deftly keeps the exploits of a shallow hero moving along-and more impressively, makes readers care what happens to his caddish narrator.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Broadway Books (August 7, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 076792794X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0767927949
  • Product Dimensions: 0.6 x 5.3 x 7.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #284,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

The book was very fun to read. Mo Ibrahim  |  4 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 36 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Good news for first time novelists June 21, 2008
Format:Paperback
If you are a budding novelist, but worry about getting your work into print - take heart in the fact that Broadway Books, a division of Random House published "I Just Want My Pants Back: A Novel." The bar has been set pretty low.

Pros:

Pleasant writing style, essentially conversational
Some humorous bits
A little sleazy sex
Some realistic depravity

Cons:

There are not enough interesting ideas to support 226 pages of text.
The passage of time has been substituted for a plot
Characters, including the protagonist are poorly developed
No issues are resolved

I can't help but feel that Rosen's, "I Just Want My Pants Back" is largely autobiographical.
It reads like a diary chronicling a series of very, unexceptional events in a young man's life.
As a reality show template. "I Just Want My Pants Back." may appeal to some TV producers.

Used copies of I Just Want My Pants Back: A Novel are available on Amazon for 22 cents. The shipping will cost you more than the purchase price.

A marketplace testimonial if ever there was one.

Caslo
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Jason Strider is a loser, and he's lost. He has an Ivy League English degree, but rather than taking a step forward, he's content to just skate by in zombie-mode with a meaningless job at a small-time casting agency where he spends half the time fighting hangovers, and the rest on instant messenger. He spends his evenings getting plastered, stoned, and then searching for a similarly inebriated woman who he can convince back to his place for a nightcap. A particular one-night stand, Jane - who was part of a run-in with a refrigerator and a wild-cab ride - borrowed jeans from Jason upon waking up, and the story truly begins. Life for Jason is repetitious if anything. He's just like many others, except he cares more about his favorite pants than most else, and he wants them back. Unfortunately, Jane won't return calls, texts, emails, or IMs. Through this dilemma, along with being asked to act as a rabbi (i.e. Universal Life Minister) at a friend's wedding, the book follows Jason from one humorous ordeal to the next, through the promiscuity, booze, and sleaze of the New York single life.

Essentially, it's about a post-college man drifting through life until he knows what he wants to do. At the first true turning point in life, when one must truly move into individuality and responsibility, when the growing up happens, Jason struggles with his lack of ambition, his dead-end job, his rampant drug use, and his misunderstandings with the fairer sex. He also manages to add the difficulty of dealing with and relating to a terminally-ill friend along the way, which clearly affects him deeply.

Reading "I Just Want My Pants Back" reminded me quite a bit of the movie "Knocked Up". The protagonist in each is a reefer-smoking slacker who lacks direction.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Perspective! October 21, 2011
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
First of all, I hate that there aren't "abstracts" for most of the books here, so I'd like to give a general outline for those thinking about buying the book, without giving much away. This book is a first person account of a very average guy named Jason, who some would call "down on his luck." He is a college graduate, but working an entry-level job at a casting agency where he shows up late and hungover most days of the week. He has two friends getting married who ask Jason to conduct the ceremony, which involves him going to classes held by a Rabbi at his nearby Synagogue. This prompts some comical interactions and wonderful inner dialogue for our protagonist. Jason takes his audience through his drug and alcohol induced adventures of sex, lust, loneliness, and loss. It was incredible how the author's writing style matches the level of lucidness and intoxication perfectly. As a reader I felt stressed when he was stressed, high when he was high, etc... Whether you take drugs or not, it is fascinating to experience the changes in thought patterns and physical control that comes with controlled substances. Jason loses his favorite pair of pants in a "tryst" with a girl, and agonizes about them throughout the story. We follow him through several encounters with women, some ending rather abruptly. The story deepens with emotion when Jason begins a friendship with an older woman in his building who shares her wisdom and her drugs with him. I think her character (Patty) is responsible for giving Jason more drive and meaning in his mediocre life. In many ways over the course of the book she teaches him life lessons and gives him a kick in the ass to get his life together.... Read more ›
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny book September 15, 2011
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had accidentally purched this book and thought great this one probably will end up badly. To my surprise it was one of the best mistakes I have made in a while. A must read for those living and dating in the city of NY
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Original, Young, & Entertaining November 15, 2008
By CJM
Format:Paperback
The cover WILL get you noticed if you read this in an airplane. As someone in her 40s, I enjoyed reading about the bar scene of the young adults fresh out of college. Also the means of communication--texting, instant messaging, etc.--and the strategies around them were really fun. The protagonist is such a funny, shameless, original voice. His relationships with his circle of friends are warm, nuanced, and complicated. His search for affection is hilarious. His descriptions of living in New York and St. Louis were very specific and nuanced, which kept this novel fresh from cliches. I look forward to reading more from this young, promising novelist!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars Excruciatingly Overwritten
I won't rehash what other reviewers have thoroughly discussed, only say that I agree with the majority of other two-star reviews. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Larin Rimsky
5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo!
Actually being broke and single in NYC can't possibly be this much fun or else everyone would instantly stop complaining about being broke and single in NYC. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Andrew
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars
This book is funny, insightful, and funny. Yes, I said funny twice. You will see why once you read it. I laughed out loud on almost every page. Read more
Published 11 months ago by alexatietze
2.0 out of 5 stars Cotton Candy
This book made me like I was the only sober person at a party. It made me feel out of touch for not understanding why I should care about the seemingly insignificant problems of... Read more
Published 15 months ago by J. Bosiljevac
5.0 out of 5 stars If you like the series you'll love this novel.....
This is awesome...I can't seem to put this down you can definitely and probably will definitely read this book in a day and re-read it again. David J. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Latanya M. Whitehead
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Read and Good Look into NYC Life
The book was very fun to read. A bit too much on the drug use for my taste, but it was a realistic look into how (Jewish) young (Jewish) Manhattanites live. Katie
Published 16 months ago by Mo Ibrahim
2.0 out of 5 stars Great seller. Book sucked
Before I start I would like to mention that the seller was great. Fast shipping and great price. Would definitely buy from this seller again. Read more
Published on March 4, 2011 by Brandeng
2.0 out of 5 stars Unsatisfying
The book started out somewhat appealingly, but by the middle it just began to seem dull and tedious. Read more
Published on May 23, 2009 by A. J. Emmons
2.0 out of 5 stars I Just Want My Money Back: A Disappointment
Let me start by saying that I wanted to like this book. The description made it look like a more updated incarnation of McInerney's "Bright Lights, Big City. Read more
Published on August 8, 2008 by Caris O'Malley
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