My Thoughts
Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley was a delight from start to finish. For me, a five-star book is one that I was immersed in and didn’t want to end, which is how I felt while reading this book. I sometimes feel that I should reserve five-star ratings for books with literary value or of great importance. However, I also feel that if I just adore a book while I’m reading it, then that is just as worthy of all my stars. Anyway, I just loved this book!! I’d read a book of essays by this author years ago (I Was Told There’d Be Cake), and remembered that I liked her writing. Yet somehow, inexplicably, I never kept on following her career and reading her books. Well, that will now be corrected!
This book is often hilarious, and the writing is immensely pleasurable. Almost every page had some little gem that I found interesting, witty, true to my internal feelings, or just magical. To me, it wasn’t so much where the story was going (although I was interested in that too), but how the author described things or the main character’s internal thoughts. That is the best kind of writing, and you don’t come across it all that often.
Attempt at Plot Overview
The plot itself is a bit odd. Our narrator, Lola, goes out for dinner with some former colleagues. During dinner, she runs out to pick up some cigarettes and bumps into an ex, which triggers thoughts about their past relationship and what went right and what went wrong. You see, Lola is engaged but she’s a bit unsure about whether her fiancé is the right one for her or if she settling because she wants to be loved. The next night, Lola runs into another ex. Then sees another on the street. What is happening? Well, it turns out that something IS happening that is bringing all these exes into Lola’s life again. This part of the book is a bit fanciful, but (as I said) I was willing to go anywhere this author wanted to take me.
In the end, the book has something to say about relationships, closure, dealing with our pasts, and the art of letting go of people. Nothing earth-shattering, but the writing … oh the writing … is what makes this all worthwhile.
A Little Excerpt
Below is just one little bit that I highlighted. There were hundreds more I could have gone with but you just ought to read this book yourself. I mean, this is the type of throwaway description you get while reading. It was quotes like this that kept me amused and smiling throughout the book.
“These were easy sacrifices for the sight of my best friend and my fiancé enjoying each other’s company. But whenever I walked in on just the two of them talking, it was like watching a daisy and a stapler trying to hold down a conversation.”
