First of all, I need to preface this by saying that I really love Daniel Handler's writing style. It's one of the best most fluid things I've ever experienced. He leads you into a character's thoughts and actions with this wonderful almost stream-of-consciousness style of verbs and adjectives and nouns that is absolutely a pleasure. You get glimpses of it in A Series of Unfortunate Events, when the narrator will go on a bit of a tangent, but in Why We Broke Up it is the main method of exposition. And I love it. And if you don't love it and can't get over it, then you should go away because there's nothing I can do for you here.
I wish I had read this book when I was still a teenager. It is really the perfect coming of age story, and more than that, it is a perfect story of a person discovering herself, which is something people can and should be doing at any age. To talk about any specific parts would almost be giving it away; besides, it all flows so beautifully, why would you want to spoil it? I will say this: the way the main character Min handles herself, she is accessible to anyone at any age. Of course, the scenarios and experiences she has are relevant to anyone who ever went to high school or fell in love or was abandoned or abandoned someone else. If you haven't done any of those things ever you should probably reassess your life or get off the internet or something. Anyway, Min is a wonderful mix of insightful and foolish and her diatribes and discussions are really enjoyable. You know how the story ends when it begins, but the way you're drawn through it is an incredible testament to strong characterization, writing style and conceit.
Each "chapter" starts with an illustration by Maira Kalman of an object in Min's box of things that she kept during her relationship with Ed. And Min chronicles each object and its part in the tale of why they broke up. Instead of being vignette-ish, these objects work chronologically to paint a complete picture of a relationship gone sour in ways that are both predictable and heart-wrenching. We all make mistakes, and often, we make the same mistake: the mistake of not being able to see what's right in front of us and eventually discovering it. Sometimes the thing we missed works to our detriment, and sometimes to our benefit, and that is part of what Why We Broke Up was about.
I also really would like to leave quotes from this book all over this review because they're so good. But I don't want to spoil anything (like I said) and pulling things out seems wrong. You need the whole flow to get the power of the emotion behind it, so I'll give you this one instead: "Chestnuts in stuffing tastes like someone chewed up a tree branch and then French-kissed it into your mouth." This is true and not a spoiler. Everyone should be warned.
Read Why We Broke Up. Really really do. You should check it out at your local library. Or come to my local library and check it out from me. I'm returning my copy today, so you can have it then. And then we can talk more about it once you've read the end.
XOX
Reading next: This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel (I couldn't help it. I sat at the circ desk at the library for at least 45 minutes reminding myself that I had told my brother I would read World War Z so we could talk about it, but the cover of this book is so appealing, and guys I seriously judge books by their covers... It enticed me, and now I'm here reading a book about teenage Victor Frankenstein instead of one about our apparently inevitable zombie doom. Oh well.)
