This was an enjoyable book, even if I am still a bit baffled by it and can’t figure out if it was a 3 star or a 4 star read. It’s half comedian/actor memoir and half pop sociology in the vein of a Freakanomics or Malcolm Gladwell book. Ansari didn’t want to write just another celebrity memoir and he was fascinated by the new ways technology is influencing society’s love lives, so he teamed up with NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg. Together they took on a massive research study by interviewing and surveying hundreds of people, visiting four continents, tapping into the power of online research, and consulting with the world’s leading sociologists. Ansari weaves his own personal dating experiences and insights throughout the book in-between presenting the results of their research and telling anecdotes of people they studied.
Honestly, I would never have read this book if it had been a straightforward memoir. The memoir market is saturated and each one I read seems to get more pointless and inane than the last (cough cough, looking at you Poehler). But I was intrigued by the premise of a sociologist and a comedian writing together. The result was fun, but a bit uneven in places. Modern Romance never quite seemed to find its footing because it was (sometimes awkwardly) shifting between the two writers and their unique styles. Still, I have to give them credit for trying something new and fresh. This is definitely unlike any other book I’ve read or am likely to read.
I opted for the audiobook version and didn’t regret it. There are some charts and pictures in the hardback that I obviously couldn’t see in the audio version, but I never felt confused or like I was missing out on anything. Ansari’s animated delivery kept me interested the entire way through. Also, his voice helped ease some of the transitional awkwardness between comedy sections and research sections. Final verdict: read this book, especially if you’re a sociology or Ansari fan, but choose the audiobook version or borrow the hardcopy from the library.
