The Ex Factor (The Ex-boyfriend's Handbook - Matt Dunn)

Member Name: duskmaiden

Product:	The Ex-boyfriend's Handbook - Matt Dunn
Date:	02/05/09 (156 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: easy to read

Disadvantages: bit predictable in parts

As the old song goes "Breaking up is hard to do". Edward Middleton, the her of "The Ex Boyfriend's handbook" by Matt Dunn can certainly sympathize with this. After over a decade together his girlfriend Jane has suddenly upped and left him to find herself in Tibet for three months taking most of the furniture from their flat with her. She suggests he refinds himself as he's become stuck in a rut and "let himself go so she's letting him go". Edward has three months to sort himself out and regain the love of his life. Can he do it? Thus is the beginning of a fairly enjoyable e comic romp through blokiness, speed dating and make overs with some nice poignant moments.


Set in contemporary trendy Brighton (which is very recognisable and accurate from the three days I have spent there) the Ex Boyfriend's Handbook is a slice of "lad lit" similar to authors such as Nick Hornby, Tony Parsons and Mike Gayle. I bought my copy for a pound in a charity shop because I liked the idea of a male perspective of a relationship break up but also wanted a light easy to read comic novel. and that's what I got. I liked the format of the book. Its written almost as a diary with date headings in the first person. this suited me, as I find it easier to get inside a character's head and understand them. I found it super easy to read. I managed to finish all 406 pages within a week which is pretty good going for me.

What made the book for me even if they were a little bit cliched were the characters. Edward is your Mr Nice and average guy on the street.. He may be a bit out of shape , out of style and stuck in a rut but he is also loyal if a bit unappreciated by his girlfriend, boss and best mate. He is likable, and blokey enough without being a Neanderthal. I did care enough about him to want to see him through the three month period that spans the book to see whether he got the girl he wanted. hr would be the sort of guy I would date. One thing that did annoy me was that at times I found him to be too easily pushed around and this I wanted him to stop being such a door mat and stick up for himself and cheered him on when he eventually did.

On the other hand there is his best mate Dan who is a complete contrast to Edward. Dan is a presenter on a daytime antiques show and a minor local celebrity. He's the type who would attend the opening of a paper bag if it brought him publicity He is also vain, insensitive,and thinks he is God's gift to women when he is not. He is such a comic character as he is such a deluded poser who you just want to slap half the time but he genuinely is fond of Edward and does want to help him in his quest to get Jane back . I loved the scenes between the two in the bar pondering over the mysteries of women and scheming scheming whilst Wendy the barmaid puts her tuppence ha'ppeny worth in whilst being a sarcastic adversary to Dan.

The humour in this book works to an extent. I did find myself giggling a bit, especially in the speed dating scenes and as said the banter between Wendy, Dan and Edward in the pub. but it was not laugh out loud. There were a lot of set pieces and visual humou that would work really well if this was made into a film ala the duck incident in Nick Hornby's "About A Boy". However I found some of them too predicable and could see some of the situations coming a mile off. I also sort of guessed the end although I did have a couple of options in mind. i suppose this is a criticism of the plot in general that it was pretty predictable but not totally.

One thing I wondered was who the target audience was for the book? I would guess at the same market as the aforementioned Nick Hornby or Tony Parsons but it is not quite in the same league. However I am not so sure about that , as I found the plot to be quite girly with boy loses girl and boy wants to get girl back. It can be quite soppy and poignant in places. Then again so can most men behind their macho exteriors. Its interesting to note Matt Dunn thanks two well known chick lit authors Freya North and Chris Manby in his acknowledgments , so perhaps this is aimed at the slightly more sensitive man and also the girls who want a male lead and perspective in a chick lit plot.

I probably would recommend "the Ex Boyfreind's handbook", as it was fairly amusing and enjoyable although it is not the most original book in the world. . It would make good holiday reading, as there are very few deep issues apart from the two sexes understanding each other which actually is a very tricky one to understand. Will I read the sequel "Ex-Giirlfri3nd United"? I'm not sure maybe if I saw it in a charity shop or in a library as I would not go out of my way to buy it full price.

Summary: chick lit with a male lead