Book Review: Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

 

Written by Safa Alhassan 

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld, released in 2023, is about a 35-year-old woman named Sally Milz. She’s a sketch writer for a late-night live comedy show called The Night Owls, set in New York City. Sally is divorced, and the book keeps reminding us that she’s just an average-looking woman, maybe not even good-looking at all. To me, it seems like she doesn’t love herself enough to think she’s pretty, and that’s a big part of her problem.

At first, I thought her job as a sketch writer was cool. I mean, I’ve never heard of that job before, so I was curious about it. But as the story went on, Curtis Sittenfeld gave us way too much information about Sally’s job. There was so much detail about her work that it got boring and hard to keep reading. I felt like the writer was going overboard with all the stuff about her job, and it made the story lose focus. Instead of diving into Sally’s personal life or emotions, the book was taking another dimension into a part of her life that is the least interesting. It was frustrating because the story became scattered and rushed.

There were too many side characters, especially at Sally’s job, and it was hard to keep up with all their names. Most of them didn’t even add anything to the story. The only names I could really remember were Noah Brewster, Danny, and Viv. All the others, especially at her job, felt unnecessary.

Now let’s talk about Sally’s personal life. She’s had a failed marriage, and she’s hooking up with random guys she meets on dating sites. Her life isn’t glamorous at all, and on top of that, she doesn’t seem to be working on her self-esteem. She’s constantly looking for outside validation, even though she tries to act like she doesn’t care. Sally has this theory that average-looking men can end up with really beautiful women, but the reverse doesn’t happen for women like her. Honestly, I don’t agree with that at all. It feels like she’s desperate for attention, and it’s kind of sad. Also I think it's very vain and shallow to tie love and relationships to looks. It doesn't make sense.

Then she meets Noah Brewster, a handsome, famous pop star who guest stars on her show. Noah seems like a great guy, but Sally believes he’s way out of her league. The romance between them is supposed to be the heart of the story, but it didn’t work for me. There wasn’t any real emotion or connection between them, and Sally’s constant self-doubt made things even worse. It felt like the writer was holding back, and the romance felt flat and forced.

The book had potential, but Curtis Sittenfeld spent too much time giving us unnecessary and boring details about Sally and didn’t give us enough of her personal growth. I wanted more depth, more feelings, and more from her relationship with Noah. I also wanted to know more about her past. Who was she before her divorce? The only thing I really liked was how the book captured the hustle and bustle of New York City. The energy of the city and the entertainment world came through nicely, and that was cool. But aside from that, the rest of the book went downhill for me.

Overall, Romantic Comedy is just “meh.” Sally Milz could’ve been an interesting character, but the story got too bogged down by her job and didn’t focus enough on her as a person. The romance with Noah Brewster never really took off, and there wasn’t enough emotion to make it worth the read. I wouldn’t recommend this book unless you’re really into stories about the entertainment industry or work-life stuff.

The best part for me was seeing New York life in the book, and I still think Sally is a beautiful name, even though the character didn’t live up to it.