An Abundance of Katherines

June 23rd, 2010

Aren't you excited? I know I am because today is the first ever book review blog from Along For the Read. For my first book, I chose An Abundance of Katherines due to the fact that I just finished reading it. I am going to try out a format that I have developed for my review and see how it goes.

Characters: Colin Singleton: child prodigy/anagram extrordinare/eternal dumpee
Hassan Harbish: somewhat devoted Muslim/self described "funny guy"/Colin's best & only friend
Lindsey Lee Wells: Gutshot native/dater of TOC/friend to the "oldsters"
TOC, JATT, SOCT, and Katrina: assorted friends of Lindsey Lee Wells
Hollis Wells: Mother of Lindsey/owner of tampon-string-making-factory

The Plot: Colin Singleton, recent high school grad, has been dumped by 19 girls all of which have been named Katherine. When the novel begins, Colin has just been dumped by Katherine XIX and has reached a state of emotional crisis in his life. A child prodigy, Colin is now certain that he will never obtain "genius" status now that Katherine XIX has dumped him and that he is no longer a child. Hassan, who is Colin's best friend, cannot stand to see him like this; in order to help Colin recover from his shock, Hassan proposes a road trip for the two of them. Their road trip takes them to Gutshot, Tennessee, where the two friends stop to see the grave of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and where they ulimately end up staying. There they meet Lindsey Lee Wells, a girl of mulitple personalities who wants to just disappear in life, who contrasts sharply with Colin who is obsessed with "mattering". Colin and Hassan stay with Hollis and during their stay, Colin developes a theorem that can predict how long relationships will last. However, as Colin, Lindsey and Hassan learn more about Gutshot through a town rememberance project, each learns that there is more to life than what they had originally thought.

What I liked: Most importantly, I liked how fresh and different An Abundance of Katherines was. I had never read anything like it from the characters to the plot. The book had humor, but to a point. While there were parts where I was laughing out loud, like when Hassan and Colin got attacked by a hornet nest, there were parts with genuine emotion and sadness, like when Lindsey and the boys visted the assisted living facility to visit Mabel Bartrand. The book was a lot like life; huge ups and downs but through it all an underlying message to just go for it and that you can "matter" in a lot of ways.

What I didn't like: To be honest, there wasn't much I didn't like about An Abundance of Katherines. However, I didn't like that Colin was so desperately into Katherines to the point where he dated nineteen. I am aware that it is an essential part of the story, but I wanted to leap through the pages and shake him screaming "ENOUGH ALREADY!" But anyway, the only other thing I really didn't like was the relationship between TOC and Lindsey. I loved Lindsey: she was a great character and person. I just didn't see the relationship between TOC and Lindsey at all. In the end it didn't matter, but still I just couldn't understand their relationship dynamic; Lindsey was far too good for him.

Overall: On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 9.5. The writing was fluid and cohesive, the footnotes were hilarious and I found all of the characters believable and amusing. The only reason this book didn't get a ten was because of the previously explained Lindsey/TOC dynamic.

Whewww! With one post under the belt I have to admit I feel pretty good!