my Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You review

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You: A Novel by Peter Cameron

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


You know, this book is kind of one of the ones that you're more excited about reading than you are after actually having read it. James is one of the most frustrating protagonists ever. He hates everything. His peers, his parents, his life, college(he hates Stanford more than Brown, by the way), his life...did I already mention that? Well, he hates it double.



In fact, one of the only things he doesn't hate is his boss, John, who he has a crush on. Well, no, of course he doesn't say or even acknowledge that he has a crush on John during the entire novel, but we as the reader just know. In fact, he likes John so much that he says John is one of the only people he can stand/likes being around in general.



What does he do about this? Well, instead of proclaiming love (I told you, James doesn't love anything), he creepily searches Johns internet history (okay, okay, he only presses the back button a few times, but still) and sees that he's been on a website called gents4gents. Now, any normal person? "Wowzers! If he's so desperate for relations that he's going on an online website filled with weirdos to find love then that means I have a chance!! Now to go woo him!~~"



James?



"LOLZ I think I'll make an account on here that's the perfect match of what John is looking for, pose to be him and get invited to a restaurant to meet him. LOLOLOLOL. Of course, I'll show up to said restaurant as myself and not as this hulking hunk I pretended to be online to HUMILIAAAAATE John! LOLOLOLOLZZZZ! *super serious* But of course, we all know it's only a joke, amirite??? EHEHEHEHEH?"







Of course he doesn't decide to show up to the party as himself instead of the hulking hunk until later. But, still. My point stands.



It's not like James is stupid. He knows what he's doing. He's just tactless. He doesn't know how to treat people. He honestly seemed to think that he and John would just laugh it off. He isn't an asshole. He's just terribly misplaced and misguided.



But that doesn't stop the urge to falcon punch him from coming on chapter after chapter after chapter after chapter.







Ahhhh. Much better.





This book requires a lot of patience. Too much patience for the average person.



2.7 stars.