Frustrated Young Men

Frustrated Young Men, John O'Brien, Pulplit Publishing, 2003

This is a first book from a recent Harvard graduate. These stories deal with real-life subjects, like depression, love and loneliness. One story looks at parts of growing up and being a teenager about which society has a tendency to forget. Another story is about a man who carries on a friendship/relationship with a young woman with bulimia, to the displeasure of his live-in girlfriend. A third story is about a young writer searching for himself. In short, each of these characters runs smack into this thing called "life." These stories look at how they deal with it.

This very short book belongs in that large gray area of Pretty Good or Worth Reading. There is nothing "wrong" with these stories, and the writer has lots of potential (I would be interested in reading his next book), but this book almost reaches the level of Recommended.