Julie Langsdorf

I feel that trying to assign a single rating to a book (or play, movie, etc.) is very frustrating. I can't reduce my feelings about it to a simple number. That is very true in this case. Much of this book is a five. I found it very funny and it was very well observed about modern suburban life. It is based in a fictional Maryland suburb, apparently based on Kensington, and it rang true for me. It also allowed me to step back and view myself through a character who became unhealthily obsessed with the wrongs being perpetrated in the neighborhood. It is not a side of me that I'm proud of and the distance of reading a fictional version allowed me to more clearly see how I need to tamp that down. It was essentially Ahab for 21st Century America and since I HATED "Moby Dick" (sorry Ms. Ledyard) this was much more enjoyable and effective. But, and you knew there was a "but" coming up, I got tired of EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER doing bad things, often very bad things. There were a few times where I just didn't think that the character as they had been presented would be capable of the action described. At some point you want to like someone, at least a little bit. I also felt that the ending was just a little too neat for all the craziness that had preceded it. So those parts come in at three stars. I averaged it out to four. I laughed a lot at this book, definitely found some insight into myself through Ted, and I'm happy I read it.… (meer)