It’s been a long time since I just purely enjoyed a book as much as this one.
First, HarperCollins did a great job with the overall look and feel of the book. It’s bound in a sort of black faux-leather, has a bright red bookmark ribbon attached, and the pages are edged in gold. If you hold the book up sideways, you can almost see yourself in the reflection. The overall impression is that of a somewhat sleazy bible; undoubtedly intentional, as I’m sure there are a lot of young men out there who have made this the primary book in their lives (at least for a time). Inside, you’ve got acid-free paper, velour-red end-pages, interesting chapter motifs, illustrations that fit the overall mood of the book perfectly, and flawless editing. I paid the full twenty-four dollars for the book, and it was worth every penny.
Second, Neil Strauss is a very good writer. This is the first time I’ve read his work, but I will definitely pick up more of his books in the future. He works for Rolling Stone as a sort of pop-culture reporter, and has written books on various personalities within it. Strauss seems like a very cool Everyman, which is the perfect place to start from with a book like this.
The Game tells the story of his two-year metamorphosis from Average Frustrated Chump to Master Pick-up Artist. Although you can glean quite a bit in the way of tips from this book, it’s not really an instruction manual. Rather, it tells a sort of allegorical forbidden fruit story, what happens when you actually get the power to accomplish something that most people only dream of, and the fallout. Unlike allegories, though, everything in this book actually occurred. It is an illustrative exercise in the old saying, “Beware what you wish for… because you might actually get it.”
I would recommend this book to anyone, male or female, who is interested in learning how the bar scene really works, or good writing, or a good story, or exploring an interesting sub-culture. Have the scales fall from your eyes at the content or be horrified at how easily you might be manipulated in a social setting, but either way you won’t be bored.
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