My Old Man

I don't have alot to say about this except that I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, right from its double-entendre title (which I presume was intentional) to the very end. As to comments by others about how well (or how poorly) her characters were "drawn", and how likable they may or may not have been, I can only say that I found the entire journey enjoyable and I love her writing style. Finally, while this is not really a criticism, but just an observation, I found that the book was affected the old conflict which is sometimes inherent in first-person narrative novels which relates to the dichotomy between the narrator and the writer, especially where the narrator is a deeply flawed character (such as in this case). In other words, on one hand, the author herself obviously wants to tell a great story and to do so, she must (and in this case does) employ great storytelling skills, as well as lots of humor and insightful observations--by no means an easy thing to do. On the other hand, the narrator through whom the author speaks, Rachael, is in many ways a total mess of a person with many "issues" to deal with. If Rachael really had all of Sohn's gifts, one suspects that she would not have had at least some of the problems she does.

Miss Sohn has written a very funny and inciteful novel. It is most certainly a third cousin, once removed of "Portnoy's Complaint". Sex and it's complications are present along with religion, divorce, the geography of Cobble Hill and bartender jargon, and, oh yes, love. I laughed out loud. What more do you need to know?

Amy Sohn's "My Old Man" is funny and smart! Sohn made a neighborhood in Brooklyn (cobble hill) into a main character of the novel against the backdrop of love and family. The books is about different generations finding love and themselves. The hilarity of a dysfunctional family is written with warmth and comedy.

this book really helped me think about and deal with my own parents divorce

Finally. This is the kind of book I love. I am so unbelievably sick of chick lit and how it has become the new Harlequin. It's gotten so that you have to beware of any book written by a woman for fear it'll be inconsequential crap. Not this one. You can tell by the art on the cover that this book understands itself and it's place in history. I say history because I think Amy Sohn is actually a pioneer of women writing about sex. Why? BEACUSE SHE MAKES IT REAL. It's sort of like Lolita, a couple years later, from Lolita's point of view. Sure old men lust after young chicks, but what do young chicks see in Old Men? This book explains it in the hottest, sexiest, funniest ways. It's dark, it's light, It's so dang bold, it's spiritual, it's frivolous, it turns you on and most importantly it's one you can't put down. I love when that happens. I just went on vacation and this book became my best friend and secret lover. I read it sitting in the sun by the pool but also stayed up late at night even when I was tired before bed because I had to know what happened next.