Customer Reviews

Things I've Learned from Women Who've Dumped Me

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Feeling kind of down, I escaped into my local bookstore and this was the first book that caught my attention. I read several of the stories and found most of them quite amusing and well-written. One of them, called something like "Sex is the Most Stressful Thing Ever Created in the Universe" by Dan Vebber especially stood out. It was hysterically, laugh-out-loud funny, and really lifted my spirits. I honestly think that particular piece is some of the best writing I've ever encountered. Depending on the individual, this could make a very nice gift to cheer up a friend going though the agony.

TILFWWDM is, on the whole, a delightful collection of essays focusing on the lamentations of men who found themselves at the receiving end of some rather memorable, if painful, dumps. While this may sound depressing rather than hilarious, most of these men adhere to the maxim of looking back and laughing, and as many of them are professional comedians and comedy writers, the end result is often extremely amusing.
The book suffers from the same drawback any collection of essays or short film festival will, in that there is so much range, not every piece is going to be suited to every person's tastes. This is, however, also a plus side, as the wide range of essays ensures there's something in the book for everybody who isn't a humorless stick in the mud.
I for one only disliked two of the essays in the book, and one of those was out of intense jealousy.

Definitely check it out, it'd make the perfect gift to give to the guy you're about to dump.

What initially drew me to this anthology was not the topic (men discussing their failed relationships) but rather, I was very excited to see that many of the contributers are some of the best comedians/comedic writers around today. Stephen Colbert, Patton Oswalt, Andy Richter, Will Forte, Bob Odenkirk and Dan Savage are just some of the guys who found it in their hearts to submit tales of their dark and torrid romantic pasts to paper for the amusement of us all. And while these essays certainly are amusing and left this reader chuckling out loud at various points, there is a serious aspect to all of these recollections and each author will spur readers to ponder the power of romantic attachments--both past and present--and why we never really seem able to let go of our memories and how these former flames have helped (for better or worse) make us the person we are today.

Because I could not get them to go out with me! Just kidding, but I loved this book, I was laughing until the very last page. I don't know, maybe it's because I have had a lot of bad things happen to me or I used to be so negative, but whatever, I really enjoyed all of the essays and it is kind of hard to find connection with each and every story you read, that's why this is a collection, some for you, some for me and some for others, but thankfully, they were all for me. I love it!

I am the author of:

One Boy's Struggle: A Memoir: Surviving Life with Undiagnosed ADD

Ben Karlin is a very clever man, and he has some very clever friends who contributed to this book. Why they want to talk trash about their past relationships I just don't know, any more than I know why I read it. All in the name of entertainment, I guess. The authors' credits include the comedy news tabloid The Onion, The Colbert Report and other Comedy Central shows, and an array of screenwriting and comedy writing experience. Very clever men.

And you know, I'm sure most of them really love women, or respect them, or at least don't hate them. I'm fairly sure it's just the premise and structure of the book setting the misogynistic tone. Even when cataloguing their own mistakes that caused the dumping, the writers always allude to the behavior or personal characteristics of the dumper as being key to the whole mess. The women get no right of rebuttal; true, Ben Karlin's mother introduces him in the foreword, but she also blames the women who dumped her son as "fools and idiots."

One writer brooded about his baby daughter "hating him" until the day she said her first word -- "Daddy" -- and all was forgiven. Another contributor describes his revulsion at the physical characteristics of his first girl (actually his brother's girl, but never mind that ...) and then realizes he's trying to bat for the wrong team. In one of the more poignant lessons, we learn that "girls don't make passes at boys with fat ...." Oh but why dwell on it, because eventually he trimmed down and got married. According to the dedication of this book, "This one's for the ladies." Are we supposed to apologize? Sympathize?

Why three stars? I did my best to filter for the fact that I don't enjoy such a cutting style of humor. And with that borne in mind, I have to say that it's a very funny book in its way.

Linda Bulger, 2008

Humor is something that is very individual, and while I have a pretty good sense of humor, I found this book to be lacking. Several of the essays contained within it were laugh out loud funny, although the majority were either just humorous or attempts at humor that failed. There were several essays which I think were supposed to be serious, but it was hard to tell.

One redeeming facet of the book were several heartfelt and sincere stories about relationships; in particular the one by Bob Kerry.

I can't say I learned anything from this book, and I didn't get a good laugh either. Maybe another reader will think it is hysterical, but for me it wasn't worth the money. If you want to read it, it might be best to check it out at a local library and see if the humor is your style before you plunk down your money to buy it.

As a woman who's been married for 30 years to two different men and is now approaching 4 years of singlehood, I listened to this book with the hope of better understanding the male side of a relationship, the illuminations perhaps enabling my next liaison to be a long and satisfying one. After finishing "Things I've Learned...", with great sadness, I lament I'm not a lesbian.

A hilarious collection essays documenting the authors experiences on the emotional rollercoaster of their dating lives, sprinkled with some great comedy in between. Once again, this book shows that perspective is everything in life - every time it happens, it feels like it's the end of the world, and yet, looking back, it almost always seems so absurd. A great read and highly amusing!

For the most part, this is a quick read and the fact that each essay is only a few pages long means you can read it in spurts. The talent amassed is impressive, and for the majority of this book, the essays are humorous. The two best essays are by Stephen Colbert and Neal Pollack, and they make up the meat of this sandwich of essays.

Colbert's and Pollack's were the two laugh-out-loud essays (out of around 20) with the rest running the gamut between funny down to amusing. There's a couple of the more old-fashioned tales that seemed a bit out of place in this collection, but the book gets points for getting so many unique and talented essayists together. The writing formats are pretty wide-ranging as well, which further heightened the value. Some took the format of a letter, one a transcript of phone conversations, and others were just straight essays. Still, while the book was an enjoyable read, by the time I got to the end I was disappointed that the overall level of the book didn't match the quality of the two submissions in the middle.

I hate to leave a boring review of such a funny book, but those guys are the comedians, so I'll leave the jokes to them. There wasn't a single story that didn't make me laugh. They weren't all throw-your-head-back-and-cackle stories, but they all had merit. Plus, I learned a lot about women and how to keep things in perspective.