The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook

I recently finished a book by Matt Dunn titled  The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook: Eddie will do whatever it takes to become her Mr. Right.  Kind of a long and obnoxious title, but it's an absolutely hilarious, insightful, and surprisingly real book. I picked this book up on a whim while I cruised through the library a couple of weeks ago.  I've been knocking out about two books a week lately to the point that my brain is pretty fried from reading.  I've taken a break these past couple of days, but I'm planning on returning to form today.  Anyway, as I perused through the fiction section this yellow book with an interesting title stuck out to me.  By reading this title you're probably thinking how sad it is that in my long slump of singleness I've consulted a self-help book for relationships, but I assure you that is not the case.  I picked up the book and flipped through the first couple of pages, and it hooked me right away.

The story takes places in Brighton, which to my knowledge is either a suburb or section of London, yes? Pause for internet research...Nope I was wrong, it's a small and cute-looking coastal town in East Sussex, Great Britain.  So the story begins with Edward arriving at home to realize that nearly all of his furniture and his live in girlfriend are gone.  To clarify any confusion, Edward's girlfriend Jane wrote him a note to assure him that he had not been robbed but that she left him.  Edward immediately confides in his good friend Dan, who helps Edward conclude that Jane likely left him due to  his weight gain, his lack of career advancement, and an overall lack of care for himself.  Basically over the ten year relationship Edward let himself go.  Once he realizes what he did wrong, Edward vows to make significant changes in his life in an attempt to win Jane back.

Phase one of Edward's plan is to get back in shape, so he hires an attractive female trainer named Sam who pushes him to his physical and mental limits.  Not only does Sam help Edward get into shape, but she also provides insight to help him better himself, in order to appear more attractive to Jane.  In addition to exercise Edward begins to make other changes with his wardrobe, appearance, and car, in an effort to completely bounce out of the stagnant life that he had fallen into.  As the story progresses as does Edward towards his final goal of completely changing his appearance and attitude towards life, and he begins to make strides in all phases of his life.  Not only is this book inspirational, relateable, and realistic, but it's extremely funny, and Matt Dunn does a great job of writing in characters that both compliment and challenge Edward.  I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a change-of-pace read.  I was really blown away by how much I liked this book, especially since I just picked it up on a whim on day in the library.  This book may be hard to come by in the US, but I plan on purchasing a copy from Amazon.com sometime soon, and if you know me and want to borrow it I'd be happy to lend it out.  Here's a link to Matt Dunn's website which lists all of his works.  Enjoy:  http://www.mattdunn.co.uk/.