Tell Me It's Real

Note to self: T.J. Klune is just one of those authors that people love but are not your cup of tea, AT ALL. I've tried, really. I read [b:Into This River I Drown 17213054 Into This River I Drown T.J. Klune https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1357498784s/17213054.jpg 23695986] and [b:Murmuration 30119403 Murmuration T.J. Klune https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474343141s/30119403.jpg 50544949] and I didn't see what all the fuss was about. Then I tried [b:Bear, Otter, and the Kid 12156759 Bear, Otter, and the Kid (Bear, Otter, and the Kid, #1) T.J. Klune https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347434774s/12156759.jpg 17127576] and scratched my head over that one too. But this one was on sale, and everyone was so excited about a later book in the series that had just been released, so........And it's just not working for me. I find Klune unfunny and self-indulgent. Paul's stream of consciousness rambling narration is exhausting and annoying. And if Vince is really “dumb as a box of rocks,” how does he hold down a job and manage his life? And what is so dumb about him, besides the fact that he thinks Asia is a country and doesn't recognize Paul's “Freddie Prinze Junior” movie reference? His character is wildly inconsistent.But what really bothered me was the author's casual misogyny. Every time Paul has a bout of self-doubt he calls himself a vagina or otherwise equates himself with a piece of female anatomy to indicate that he is less than a man (as opposed to different but equal). And he also dabbles in a bit of racism with a tasteless “sassy black woman” joke and other racial stereotypes. That's not funny, it's lazy and offensive. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me four times, I finally conclude that I don't like T.J. Klune's work, and will let others whose opinion I respect breathlessly await his upcoming releases while I give them a hard pass.