Book (not) Bingo #9
The Anti-Heroes by Jen Lancaster
Once upon a time, Dr. Emily Nichols-the academic kind, not the physician kind-was an eco-crusader who was shot with water cannons, hunted by poachers, and chased by a bulldozer. Now? Action Emily lives in a bland condo with gray walls and teaches disengaged students at a university alongside a risk-allergic boyfriend, asking herself every day: How did I get here?
Then one afternoon Emily and her best friend, people-pleasing real estate agent Liv Bennett, witness an attempted robbery at their local coffee shop that is foiled by a yoga mom wielding a baby stroller. Their hero attributes her bravery to a mysterious class called Fearless, Inc. Its enigmatic and dizzyingly muscular instructor, Zeus, is now fully committed to helping Emily and Liv overcome their fears, too-one thrilling self-help lesson at a time.
Along with a ragtag group of other wimps, Emily and Liv must embrace the passionately unconventional methods of the leader to harness their powers, gain a bracing new perspective on life, act on their impulses, and be the no-holds-barred anti-heroes of their dreams.
At the beginning of almost every month, I meander over to the “First Reads” section of Amazon to look at the monthly free offerings of newly published books. I think I’ve mentioned I rarely download one, because the selections usually don’t appeal to me. However, once in a while, I do download one - whether it appeals or not - simply because it’s free, and I feel I should take advantage of that. The Anti-Heroes is one of those books.
Although I’d never heard of her before this month, Jen Lancaster is described in advertisements and reviews as a New York Times best-selling author. She reportedly wrote a number of well-received memoirs and self-help books before turning to novels. This encouraged me to hope that she would have good mechanical writing skills, whether or not I liked the book’s characters and plot.
In that respect, I wasn’t disappointed. Jen Lancaster does write well. There are no issues with grammar, punctuation, word usage, or overall story flow. Since such is not a given anymore, even with best-selling authors, I appreciate it.
I also grew to like some of the characters as the story progressed, although the first few chapters were a slog. The chapters alternate between the points of view of Emily, a former environmental activist turned college professor, and Olivia (Liv) a real estate agent. The two women have been best friends since their years as undergrad college roommates and, now in their early thirties, they are both unhappy with their lives. The source of Liv’s unhappiness is apparent from the beginning: she’s the kind of person who can’t assert herself or say “no” to anyone, so everyone in her life (except Emily) takes advantage of her. The source of Emily’s unhappiness is less clear in the beginning, although eventually it’s tied to a trauma during her “activist” years.
There isn’t a great deal of plot to The Anti-Heroes. It’s primarily a personal growth book. Which is okay, except that the story really, really drags at times. The introductory chapters, in particular, are so boring I almost quit reading more than once. “Listening” to a character moan, internally, about how awful her life is gets very old, very fast, and those introductory chapters are long. It wasn’t until the end of the fourth chapter, when there was the first hint of Emily’s traumatic backstory, that anything about the book sparked my interest. I continued reading mainly to find out the details of what had happened to her.
Editorial blurbs and several reviews described this book as “witty” and “hilariously funny.” Perhaps I’m too old to appreciate the author’s humor (I’m seventy and the target audience seems to be twenty-somethings) but I didn’t find the book particularly witty or funny. It had some amusing parts and a touch of mystery, and I did grow to like some of the characters, but that’s the strongest praise I can give. The amusing parts were at least partially overshadowed by the boring parts - the pages and pages of “why does my life suck so badly” as well as long drawn out “lectures” from the two point of view characters, in Emily’s case about environmental causes and in Liv’s case about real estate. Yes, I understand the planet is in serious trouble, but I read novels to escape the world’s problems for a short bit of time. And, yes, it’s somewhat important to know that Liv didn’t just fall into a real estate career because it was the easiest path; she actually loves real estate. But I didn’t need to read so many minute details about the flooring and fireplaces and other selling points of the houses she was showing.
Bottom line: I’m not sorry I chose this book. I’m sure I liked it more than I would have liked the other freebies on offer. I’m not even sorry that I spent part of two evenings reading it. I can’t really recommend it, though … unless you happen to be a twenty-something with a high tolerance for pop culture references, environmental lectures and detailed real estate listings.