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A review by the_bookish_fiend
Why We Broke Up by Maira Kalman, Daniel Handler
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
"Why We Broke Up" centers two teenagers, Ed and Min, as they navigate the complexities of budding relationships.
The story begins with a box, full of memoirs from a broken relationship, plonked down outside Ed's door. Their brief romance is strung together by each trinket, antique movie tickets, stolen sugar, a toy truck all stand testament to their love.
Our narrator Minerva details the significance of each item in a letter addressed to Ed. She works her way backwards towards the inevitable doomed end of the relationship, reflecting on the accumulation of things that went wrong. We navigate the story through her thoughts, winding through run on sentences and the poetically romantic language of love and heartache.
I enjoyed the narrative style of the story, and the central characters of Min and Ed perfectly capture what it is like to be young and naive and in love.
However, there aspects of the book that are quite problematic. Throughout the book, Ed continuously uses the word "gay" as an insult to masculinity and throws around other homphobic slurs. Eventually Min corrects him saying
"You. Must. Stop. With the f** stuff"
Despite correcting Ed, the primary focus of her concern doesn't seem to be the use of the slur itself but rather that it's often used in relation to her friend Al , who isn't gay. When later on in the story one of Ed's friends asks "can I say gay?", Min responds with "Sure, you're not my boyfriend"
While Ed's use of the word "gay" in negative light as well as other homophobic slurs may have been built in to demonstrate the influence Min eventually has on his character, they are unnecessary in this story. None of the characters are part of the queer community, nor is any part of the story dedicated to queer representation. The readers would still be able to see the effect the characters had on each other without the author resorting to the use of homophobic slurs.
While overall the book is an enjoyable read, the casual homophobia is really harmful and takes away from the story.
The story begins with a box, full of memoirs from a broken relationship, plonked down outside Ed's door. Their brief romance is strung together by each trinket, antique movie tickets, stolen sugar, a toy truck all stand testament to their love.
Our narrator Minerva details the significance of each item in a letter addressed to Ed. She works her way backwards towards the inevitable doomed end of the relationship, reflecting on the accumulation of things that went wrong. We navigate the story through her thoughts, winding through run on sentences and the poetically romantic language of love and heartache.
I enjoyed the narrative style of the story, and the central characters of Min and Ed perfectly capture what it is like to be young and naive and in love.
However, there aspects of the book that are quite problematic. Throughout the book, Ed continuously uses the word "gay" as an insult to masculinity and throws around other homphobic slurs. Eventually Min corrects him saying
"You. Must. Stop. With the f** stuff"
Despite correcting Ed, the primary focus of her concern doesn't seem to be the use of the slur itself but rather that it's often used in relation to her friend Al , who isn't gay. When later on in the story one of Ed's friends asks "can I say gay?", Min responds with "Sure, you're not my boyfriend"
While Ed's use of the word "gay" in negative light as well as other homophobic slurs may have been built in to demonstrate the influence Min eventually has on his character, they are unnecessary in this story. None of the characters are part of the queer community, nor is any part of the story dedicated to queer representation. The readers would still be able to see the effect the characters had on each other without the author resorting to the use of homophobic slurs.
While overall the book is an enjoyable read, the casual homophobia is really harmful and takes away from the story.