My Most Excellent Year--(please include it next time around!)

The group who chose to introduce My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger to the class made a smart choice. This group's presentation truly sparked an interest that made me want to read this novel. They proved that the novel has a lot to offer and that it would spark great conversation amongst class dicussions (and would make for great blog posts, as well). Call me a sucker for a good (or quirky) love story, but I really like the idea that the book follows the lives of 3 young men who are on the edge, then over the edge of falling in love. I think that the book would really get the class excited and feeling good rather than depresed as did some of the novels we read this semester. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao for instance, is well-written (in my opinion) and while I liked the novel, I do believe that it was a bit of damper on the overall mood of the class. The story of the fat, dungeons and dragons loser made me feel bad for him and while he cannot seem to find love or acceptance, it made me feel depressed and reminded me that there are actually people out there like that. These thoughts made me sad and did not exactly make me want to continue on with the novel. An online review of My Most Excellent Year mentioned that the love and relationships portrayed in the novel create a warm and fuzzy feeling that can be compared to the classic film, It's a Wonderful Life. This is one of my all-time favorite films, (it always makes me teary--but in a joyful way!) and I think that any novel that brings forth such warm relationships and such a great storyline should be included in this class. The group mentioned that there are several themes to the novel, and while I do not remember everything they mentioned, I do know that I took note at the time that this was the novel I would vote for and the one I hope will win. :) I'm going to check this book out over Christmas break and read it! Thanks for the great presentation, to this group.