EDIT 11/20: okay, okay. this book stuck with me in a way i wouldn't have expected so here we are for another read and i have some different opinions. yes, nick was obnoxious, yes i originally thought this book was doing something wrong in having his issues be more cruel than naomi's but upon reflection i feel like that's actually something really interesting about this book. i'm absolutely not defending it, but naomi was making him unhappy which made him act shittily, and that feels real in a way that makes the payoff of this book that much better.

I initially picked this up from the library because I'd been told over and over how funny it was.

I got to reading and about 50 pages in I just Could Not understand the hype, but then finally, very abruptly the tone shifted, and I started loving the story. Naomi and Nick were just so funny and adorable and this was so close to being a five star read except except except.

Naomi's crimes, according to Nick, were that she didn't love him anymore and that she was distancing herself from him. Nick, on the other hand, was a certified asshole who made numerous sexist comments and clearly expected Naomi to be a good housewife. He was holding a grudge for passing up a job opportunity because Naomi didn't want to leave her job (as if the "sides" here aren't exactly the same) and he was an unforgivable dick to Naomi's friends.

It irked me that this was seen as a relationship that was failing equally because of both of them and that Nick's assholeness was never really addressed at all, although he did change by the end.