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'Love' can't save this book
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It's been years since friends Lea, Dan, Ben, Shawn, Cort, and Alex have all hung out together, but Lea and Dan's wedding brings the six friends together for one more "memorable" and awkward night complete with a soundtrack full of 80's and 90's songs. Throughout the night secrets are revealed and hearts are broken. That's the premise for Love Will Tear Us Apart by Sarah Rainone. It's a mix tape/ high school reunion. It's Singles meets VH1
The mix tape portion of the book is great, if not genius. Rainone really nails the music nostalgia on the head, referencing Nirvana, The Grateful Dead, and Radiohead. The title of the book is also a Joy Division song. It would have been nice to listen to this soundtrack while reading the novel (like in Nick Hornby's Songbook).
The problem with the book lies within the relationships of the characters. None of them are even remotely likable. Lea and Dan are "perfect" and exist only in the background to fuel the plot. Rainone never gives them a voice like she does for the other four. Ben, Shawn, Cort, and Alex all fall victim to their two-dimensional stereotypes. Ben is the skirt chaser/jock, Shawn is the requisite confused gay guy, Cort is the hippie, and Alex is the druggie. It's hard to understand why these guys are even friends or what ever kept them together (besides the high school hookups and drugs).
Love Will Tear Us Apart will inevitably draw compressions to Hornby's books, but it's no Songbook.. If one really wanted to listen to a lyrical mix tape, they would be better off read Hornby's High Fidelity or Rob Sheffield's Love is a Mix Tape. Despite the reviews, Love Will Tear Us Apart is not heartbreaking or hysterical. It is about as memorable as Now That's What I Call Music! Volume 3. Despite the fact it was on my summer reading list, I'd advise you to read Hornby or Sheffield instead.
Sound off: Have you read it? What did you think? Am I too harsh or am I dead on with my review?
Want a soundtrack to read by? Check out my Literary Mix tape Side A and Side B.
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