LETTERS TO MICHAEL

by Michael Block ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1979

Remember the unhappy unmarried guy who purchased a $3,100 ad for a wife in the New York City subway system and subsequently received coast-to-coast (even international) press coverage? Though the ad itself drew poorly, some 8,000 letters followed hot on the heels of the media hullabaloo, and the blissful recipient eagerly weeded them out for this book. Despite the author's haphazard stab at such classifications as ""I Will Take Thee, Michael,"" and ""Singles Bars and the Single Life,"" most of the epistles say the same sorts of things: singles bars are meat markets, you're right to value family life, gosh it's hard to write this, etc. The correspondents are generally unvarying in their flattery, self-consciousness, and bewilderment at ""other men's"" values. Bluntness serves for an occasional, most welcome bit of comic relief--as in ""I know that sex isn't everything, but in my case I wouldn't really know"" and ""Unfortunately, my father is very rich."" Block dated about 40 of the applicants, but alas, the ""chemistry"" wasn't right. One letter alone targets the sad perceptions behind Block's newsworthiness: ""The majority of men I know are willing to spend $3,100 to get rid of their wives, but you're the first one I've heard about who is willing to spend $3,100 to find one."" An unremarkable collection of mostly unremarkable voices.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1979

Categories: NONFICTION