Rating: 3 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
On the advice of his therapist, Viktor begins keeping a journal. In it, he writes about the daily trials and tribulations of a fifty-something man just trying to keep it together. This is no mean feat when he’s recently had his heart broken by his now-former lover. Viktor may live in New York City, but starting over in the world of romance is something of a minefield. For one thing, Viktor’s a bit choosy when it comes to men. He may be over fifty, but he’s still got some standards. Plus, he’s been experiencing trouble with stamina in the bedroom. Of course, these are issues he ought to discuss with his therapist and doctor…but Viktor isn’t convinced either man has the solutions he needs.
Against a backdrop of a tumultuous love life, Viktor’s friends are going through rough patches emotionally and Viktor himself finds his publishing job isn’t nearly as secure as he’d like. Really, what is Viktor supposed to do when his friends keep making questionable choices? And how is it his fault that a good manuscript is hard to find nowadays? When did life get to be such a big pile on? And what can Viktor do about it? Clearly, the trips to the therapy couch aren’t as impactful as Viktor would like…but maybe if he stops focusing on everything that is going wrong, he can finally focus on the things that are going right.
I chose this book for Older/Younger Hero Week in our Reading Challenge Month. Given that I think people “of a certain age” are under-represented in many venues, I was eager to find a book that focused on someone into or past mid-life (which, for the purposes of this challenge, was set at 40). The main character in Confessions of a Gay Curmudgeon is somewhere past 50 and the biggest age-related topics seemed to be his flagging sexual performance and, to a lesser extend, job security.
The book seems to flow around three aspects of Viktor’s life: his friends, his work, and his love life. I bristled at how Viktor ridicules his friends. One of his friends is a dog person and when the dog dies, the friend is inconsolable. Viktor refuses to support his friend (who just wants to take a walk in the park on a dog-related anniversary) because Viktor has a first date with a man he picked up in a grocery store. This is apparently the friend who consoled a distraught Viktor when Viktor’s 12-year relationship ended. Viktor seems to hate that this friend is a dog person who prioritizes being a dog parent over finding the next hot date…and Viktor calls this (and all his friends) moronic in the love department. Similarly, at work Viktor is quick to invent mean names for the managers (who, admittedly, are little more than caricatures of corporate bigwigs). In one of these scenes, we learn Viktor cannot use a smartphone—a fact which leads him to losing out on signing a big author to his publishing company. For me, scenes with Viktor’s friends and at his work serve merely to reinforce to me that he goes beyond the “curmudgeon” mentioned in the title and firmly establishes himself in the “mean girl” or “asshole” category. For these reasons, I was unable to feel any sort of connection or sympathy for the MC.
The third aspect of the book focuses on Viktor’s lovelife. One positive about this thread is that it challenged my own ageism. Viktor is fifty plus and there are two men whom he engages romantically/sexually (at different points in the story). The first prospective boyfriend is Lloyd, a forty-something gay man Viktor meets in the supermarket. They hit it off personally, but end up being sexually incompatible. The second prospective boyfriend is Casey, a twenty-something curious man and for whom sex with Viktor is his first experience with same-sex sex. While both relationships end without a match for Viktor, they did highlight that he has some strong internalized sex hangups (bottoming, for example). Again, I was constantly checking myself and trying to not be overly judgemental about a fifty-ish man trying to have a serious relationship with a twenty-something man. For what it’s worth, the Casey/Viktor relationship didn’t feel anything like a sugar daddy scenario, but rather that these two men honestly liked one another.
Overall, however, I just did not find the style of writing or the events very engaging. The combination of vitriolic main character with too slice-of-life/stream-of-conscious writing was a huge miss for me. In point of fact, I wasn’t exactly sure this was even supposed to be a story in the epistolary style. First, Viktor seems to be able to write anywhere and everywhere. Second, the author includes chapter headings, which spoil the data entry titles apparently given by Viktor. While I think there is a reasonable balance between the three aspects (work, lovelife, friends), I didn’t feel like these aspects built towards anything. Nor were the characters or events sufficiently entertaining to capture my attention—I literally stopped reading several times to pursue my e-library to find snippets of old favorites, just as a treat to get me motivated to finish the slog.
This review is part of our Reading Challenge Month for Older/Younger Hero Week! Leave a relevant comment below and you will be entered to win one of FIVE $20 JMS store gift cards from JMS Books! Commenters will also be entered to win one of our three amazing Grand Prize book bundles. You can get more information on our Challenge Month here (including all the contest rules) and more details on Older/Younger Hero Week here.
This sounds more like an aging man’s journey, rather than a romance. And indeed he does not sound likeable to me.
I’m gonna pass on this. Thanks for reviewing, Camille.
I think you summed it up pretty well: an aging man’s journey. It’s too bad I didn’t feel like there was some growth in the character, that probably would have gone a ways towards softening the MCs sharp edges.
I don’t get why older men and brusqueness go together in so many stories lately. If they were female characters, they’d be dismissed as harridans or crones, but I guess guys aren’t expected to express fears and unpleasant feelings anyway, so it’s okay? Sheesh…
Well, I think “crotchety old man” is an actual trope…and the title of the book clearly indicates the MC starts off “brusque.” But I never got the sense that he learned to cope with his fears and unpleasant feelings, he just relives them in his journal. It’t not really satisfying when the MC seems not to change at all…
I hate mean characters, so this definitely isn’t the book for me.
I hoped the MC would have a sort of epiphany about his, er, curmudgeonly ways but that felt sadly lacking to me.
The idea behind this book sounds interesting, but I lost interest when I heard about the 20 something guy. Having no experience I just can’t see what they would have in common.
I thought there were several interesting ideas in the book, but wasn’t a fan of their execution. And the big age-gap relationship just left me bumfuzzled. Viktor was developing serious feelings for the younger guy, but the younger guy was literally trying to figure out if he wasn’t strictly straight. Not that younger guy was leading MC on, but…I just never felt there was much to build a relationship on in the first place.
I kind of like the sounds of this one. Sorry to hear it just wasn’t that engaging though.
There are a lot of interesting elements! The “story told via journal entires” and the dumped-at-fifty main character are two stand out characteristics. I wasn’t a fan of the story, but if you enjoy slice-of-life stories that focus on the ups and downs of someone’s life rather than a problem/climax/solution story line, you may like this!
Hmm, this does sound like a disappointing read since Viktor is more of a curmudgeon times seven. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Camille.
Yeah, I was surprised at how…well, mean he was at times. I was hoping he’d eventually mellow out (ideally because some big life changing event happened), but I never really got that impression.
Too bad. When I read about this book I thought it would be fun. I love irony and sarcasm, and I thought that would be what I would find in this one. But the line between sarcasm and “assholery” is really thing, so it should be tread carefully…
Thank you for the review, Camille
I think it’d be hard to capture sarcasm in a book presented like it’s the journal of the MC…he should be allowed to be as mean as he wants, I guess. I just hoped some event in the book would lead him to a change of heart but I didn’t really get that impression.
The blurb sounds interesting enough.Too bad it didn’t live up to your expectations.
Yeah. I was drawn in by several elements…heart broken MC, older guy, told via journal-entries. I just didn’t feel like Viktor never really understood how…entitled or mean he was.
Yeah, this is the reason why I like to read reviews before buying a book.
A lot of time the blurb is the best part of the book.
Trix’s comment made me laugh, but mainly because it’s so true. 🙂
Well, this is just my review of the book (I’ve loved works others have hated and vice versa). But if you’re not a fan of slice-of-life stories or ones that seem to lack character growth or meaningful plots, you may want to skip this one.
ha ha ha 🙂
Oh dear, i bought this with a voucher as the title did catch my eye. I shall be interested to see how I go!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Camille. I have a feeling that I would mirror your thoughts so I’ll pass on this book.
I’m glad you tried one out specifically with an older MC because of that under-representation. I’m not a fan of curmudgeonly characters as the total focal point because they come off as too caustic for me, but I love when there’s another character who they care about who softens that aspect or gives us insight into their value. It’s too bad this one didn’t measure up for you. I would have liked the journal aspect done well.