Tomcat in Love
by Tim O'Brien
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Book Summary Information
Author: Tim O'BrienEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998
ISBN: 0767902025
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Broadway
Book Reviews of Tomcat in Love
Book Review: "...but words will never hurt me"
Summary: 4 Stars
Tim O'Brien is a master storyteller. Time and again his novels plumb the depths of the human psyche and heart, trying to figure out what makes his characters tick. And more often than not, his characters are broken individuals, in search for who they truly are. Thomas Chippering, the narrator of "Tomcat in Love" is exactly that - a broken man who must come to terms with his broken marriage, as the only life he has ever known crumbles around him. Yet while sharing themes from some of O'Brien's other works, "Tomcat in Love" is a departure due to its comedic nature.
Thomas Chippering is a professor of linguistics, and a dashing 6'6" self-professed ladies man. His world revolves around words, is built of words, is destroyed by words. After losing his wife, childhood sweetheart Lorna Sue, to the arms of another man, Chippering swears to do everything in his power to seek vengeance - to win her back and then dump her as she did him. Complicating matters are Chippering's new mistress, Mrs. Robert Kooshof, and his personality in general. You see, Chippering believes himself to be a god in women's eyes; he enjoys and treasures seemingly harmless flirtations and indiscretions, believing that these women adore and swoon over him. In reality, these women find him lecherous and harassing, his wandering eyes (and sometimes hands) unwelcome intrusions into their lives.
"Tomcat in Love" follows Chippering as he tries to win back his former wife, while his entire life crashes down upon him. He is forced to question his so-called 'way with women' and examine what he really, truly wants in his life. He is a laugh-out-loud funny narrator, witty with words and obsessive about telling stories, and also sometimes maddening in his blindness to what he truly is. He is shallow and self-centered, making one see what women loathe about him and wonder what some women ever saw in him to begin with. However, all of these elements make Chippering a true O'Brien hero, if hero he can be called. As usual, he is chased (literally) by the ghosts of Vietnam, and uses his stance as a 'war hero' for defense when desperately needed. Thomas Chippering is not all that he believes he is cracked up to be, and when his life falls to pieces, O'Brien does a masterful job of navigating the tricky waters of his recovery, or at least what passes for recovery.
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