Tuesday, October 2, 2007

So go read the funny book!


Denis Cooverman has spent his school years (especially the critical pubescent years) sitting behind the exquisite Beth Cooper. Year after year, classroom after classroom, sitting in excruciating love, tumescence and devotion.

His big chance finally comes at graduation, in the guise of his valedictorian speech, where he finally and publicly declares his undying love for you, Beth Cooper. An unwise decision? Yes, in all probability, but it's a decision that is destined to change his entire life -- or at least the rest of graduation night, which is nearly the same thing.

Anyone who has survived adolescence, whether as a geek, a jock, the head cheerleader or a Goth, can find serious, important, life-affirming hysteria in I Love You, Beth Cooper. Larry Doyle, who is apparently young enough to remember the wrenching violations of high school and old enough to view it with amusement instead of agony, is a very funny writer, and Evan Dorkin is a very funny illustrator (each chapter features a new and more ravaged portrait of Denis -- see here ).

So, remember, I don't do book reviews any more. This is your only warning. Go get this book and read it.

2 comments:

Franiac said...

You sound like a book reviewer or something.

J. said...

If you liked I Love You, Beth Cooper, you might like Jeffrey Brown's Clumsy.