A Question of Attraction

Rating:
Summary: A style similar to David Sedaris
Review: Thank God People magazine decided to review this book! Otherwise I would have never discovered this gem of a read. Basically it is a story of a guy named Brian whom reigns from a working class background with working class friends. He manages to excel academically and is the only one in his family or friends who gets the opportunity to attend university.

Brian is excited and apprehensive of this new chapter of his life. His lifelong dream has been to play the infamous "University Challenge". Instead of seizing opportunities of university life he continously strives to make the dream of making a televised appearance of "University Challenge" a reality. Along that path he falls in love with fellow Challenge teamate Alice. Although she finds him amusing, you know from the beginning that such intense feelings are not mutual. Brian is also torn between economic classes. He wants to fit in with the upper society classmates in college, yet does not want to snub his blue collar friends.

What could be interpreted as mundane, ordinary plots and charactors, manages to blossom into such an entertaining read. The writer David Nicholls manages to deliver such vivid details and description. Quite simply, he is a gifted and highly entertaining storyteller. Perhaps I have a personal bias as I attended college in 1985 just like the main charactor. The anetdotes and descriptions brought back numerous memories.

I am a huge fan of David Sedaris. Although the content and topics vary immensely, I identify similar writing styles. I feel that writer David Nicholls manages to deliver the same succinct execution of humor, irony and love towards the flawed charactors which they write about.

Rating:
Summary: Another 21st Century Brit Classic
Review: Yet another great British writer who writes with humor and great observation. Set in the eighties and gives a superb insight into life at University.