Dad of Divas' Reviews: A Gentleman's Guide to Graceful Living Review

Monday, August 3, 2009

A Gentleman's Guide to Graceful Living Review

I was recently approached to review the following book: A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO GRACEFUL LIVING [W. W. Norton & Company;June 29, 2009] by Michael Dahlie.

The company explains it as a story which:
was awarded the 2009 Pen Hemingway Award. In this
darkly hilarious and moving novel, a bumbling Manhattan father of two,
Arthur Camden, must rebuild his life after his adulterous wife leaves
him and he runs his family's import-export business into the ground.
Hailed by Janet Maslin of the New York Times as a "discreetly charming
book", Dahlie's story is especially inspiring in this current time of economic struggle, as it portrays a father who turns to his children for support as he tries rebuild his life after hitting rock-bottom.

After reading most of this book, I would have to agree with Janet Maslin's thoughts on the book, at least somewhat. I found the book to be an easy read. The main character Arthur becomes on of those bumbling characters and fathers that you can love and sympathize with even through all of the ups and downs that he is going through within his life.

The author does a fine job at keeping the experience true to life for his readers using vivid imagery and experiences that you can somewhat relate to (though I am in any way close to the Manhattan elite).

As a reader you also find yourself rooting for the main character Arthur's through his initial misery and negative experiences that he has had and is working to bring himself back from. You will find yourself cheering Arthur on to the very end and continue to hope for his success in the future.

If you are interested in this book, you can find it on Amazon for a reasonable price.

After reading the book, I have no qualms in giving the book a 9 out of 10 in readability and likability on my Dad of Divas scale!

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1 comment:

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I thought this was a pretty fun read!