‘Whatever Love Means’ And Why It’s Perfect For A College Reader
At the risk of sounding like a bore, I read a lot, and of all the books that I have read ‘Whatever Love Means’ by David Baddiel is by far the best one yet. The story is a capturing, dark, twisted, sweet, emotional and funny love story between the main character, Vic Mullan, and his best friend’s wife, Emma. It follows this man as he tries to deal with life, mental health issues and addiction. Vic is the kind of guy we all know, he has no real goals, no sense of life, but he lives. He’s the kind of per- son each of us have, the characters in this book are so painfully real that it almost feels as if you are being watched. I read this in one sitting in awe.
The story is very complicated and honest as it talks about real people's problems, about how love can fall apart and how life is a tricky thing to negotiate. ‘What- ever Love Means’ is also very honest about the connec- tions between sex and death, focusing on a large-scale, nationwide tragedy and comparing it to a small-scale, local tragedy. All though this is a tragedy, there is a twisted love story at its heart,. Its a love story about freindship, about sex and about marrriage. The relationship dynamic be- tween all the characters; Vic and Tess, Joe and Emma, Emma and Vic, Joe and Tess, Tess and Emma are all so individual, all so twisted and real that it gives the story a very grounded feel, it make the story feel as if they are real people, they live their lives this way day in day out. The particular relationship between Vic and Tess is the most interesting, because they are mutually inlove, but they are also mates. In the fourth chapter, Baddiel uses the phrase “a soul so familliar, Vic believed it was his own” to descibe Tess. It’s an odd paring because they are both very masculine characters, even though Tess is the female she is the domaninant one in the relation- ship. Their dynamic is an honest viewing of a modern relationship, its healthy and toxic all at the same time.
The reason I think that this book is perfect for the college reader is because we can relate to Vic. Many stu- dents have no idea what they’re going to do, who they’re going to be; Vic is very much like that in many ways, he has no idea where he’s going, he doesn’t know who he is. There are so many things for him to know, for him to decide in this book that even though he is in his early thirties, people who are yet to face the real world can find a sort of comfort inside the character of Vic, they can see themselves inside of him in small pieces. Vic is the kind of bad person you want to see succeed, he’s awful in his own way, but he is also love- able, he’s the kind of character every college reader needs. But, all of this is not why it is perfect for the college reader. Baddiel has successfully created a book that is so real, so moving that it almost prepares you for what life will be like beyond our education. No, there aren't many morals, there isn't a definite message to this story but it is an honest tale; there are no sugarcoating or fairytale ideas in this book, it's the every common person's story. There is nothing particularly extravagant or extraordinary about the book, but it has also got a touch of magic to it.The book focuses on rather taboo things to us, it talks of sex and real-life issues, one of the centrel themes of the book is greif and what it can make someone do, how it can morf a persons mind set into doing something they often wouldn’t.
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease