Much Ado About Loving

by Jack Murnighan

Learn about love through the great novels, e.g. Pride and Prejudice, The Bell Jar, The Great Gatsby, etc.

Genres: Nonfiction, Books About Books, Humor, Self Help

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Smalltown Hoosier by birth, central-Illinoisan till college, then some semiotics at Brown, an Orwellian stint in Paris, a Ph.D. in Medieval Lit from Duke, and finally New York's Chinatown. And now that i've hauled all my books to my 6th-floor walk-up, i'm staying put.

Reviews

[Audie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh god, what if reading is actually to blame for not only my neuroticism, but my crap love life too?

[Milanie Howard · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is seriously mislabeled as Literary Criticism. If I had found it in the dating section or maybe the humor section, I wouldn't have been so horribly disappointed. When the dating column writer wrote, the chapters were more like the stories girls share with each other about dates gone very wrong; mildly funny, but what does that have to do with literature? Well, she could find a classic novel in which the characters vaguely resembled the "types" she encountered in the world of dating. And when the literature professor wrote, it was to explain how his favorite book gave him false information about how men and women interect in the world. While his readings of the literature were a little more in-depth, mostly he just seemed kind of sad.

Honestly, I didn't hate the book; after all, I was amused enough to keep reading until the end, and I am always interested to see how people connect the best literature to real-world situations. I was just so disappointed to find myself reading a dating advice book when I was expecting an actual critical analysis about love and dating and how it is represented in the literature we all love. The real shame is that if I had seen this book presented as dating advice with the clever device of comparing the mistakes we all make in love with those of the characters that have helped shape our culture, I probably would still have picked it up, had a laugh, and given it three stars. It's just not what it is convinced it is.

[Shay Leszinske · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating comparison of classic literature to the modern world . A must read if you are in the fast paced dating race.

[Rand · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring execution of a dumb idea.
This is the kind of crap that should stay in a glossy magazine.

[Vashti · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book ended up being completely different from what I expected - it is more of an "advice-column, self-help book" than an analysis of our "favorite novels". However, I enjoyed the writing style and found both authors to be pretty funny. I have a few friends I'll be recommending this one to.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

The two authors droned on about their lackluster dating lives and tried to make it relevant to classic works...just dreadful. A must skip read!

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cheers for the discussion and the help in rounding out my tbr shelf. Some chapters were more successful than others, and I'm not at all sold on Jack's take on Pride and Prejudice in particular, but it's an interesting thought and I'll consider it in my next reading.

Can I point out that all the section titles are riffs on Shakespeare's romances (makes sense in a book titled Much Ado About Loving, right?) but there's no discussion of those great stories and their driving relationships, even as a brief introduction to the section. That made me sad, and I fear the book is poorer for it. Also, why have a "Jack/Maura says" response after some chapters, but not others? It seemed randomly applied.

Can I be honest? I liked reading Jack's analysis better than Maura's, though I thought she was quite successful and entertaining in telling her own stories and lessons learned mingled with these classic works. But you could tell when she lost focus and resorted to her comfort zone as a magazine writer and wrote as if her readers were encountering this discussion, not in a book, but in a magazine. It's the difference between 'hey, you, I want to tell you this thing that happened that reminds me of something wonderful in Dickens' and 'hey, 2.3 million readers of Glamour, here's an observation dulled down so it won't fly over the heads of 80 percent of our audience!' It got tedious. It's a book about books -- go for it Maura.

Best line of the book? It's from Jack, discussing the Bagnet's relationship in Bleak House... "In other words, they're pretty much the coarsest salt of the earth, adding depth and flavor to everything they come in contact with." It's one small but brilliant observation.

New books to tackle: Howards End, Bleak House, The Great Gatsby, The Brothers Karamazov, Tropic of Cancer, and War and Peace.

[Weronika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book on goodreads giveaway and I enjoyed reading it. Although I'm skipping the chapters about books I haven't read yet. I don't want them ruining the books for me before I read them. But the ones that I did read have some funny advice and look a little deeper at the characters of the books.

This book goes further into the main character of a book to try and teach the reader about love. And how either under different circumstances or in reality most love stories wouldn't work out. And that we shouldn't base our love lives according to books. There's no perfect prince charming that's going to ride in on a white horse. I think it's a great way for readers to get a different perspective on their favorite books.

It's a great book for people still looking for love, on the other hand if you are in a relationship like I am, this book might just have you second guessing you loved one. And sometimes that's just not a good thing.

[Sharla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an interesting way to explore advice on relationships and dating -- via the characters and authors of classic literature. It was a refreshing read, and I found myself agreeing with many of the perspectives of the authors. Also, it was an interesting flow of the book to have alternating essays from the male and female authors.

I marked several sections discussing characters and their choices and flaws or nuances, but this section especially struck with me:

"And there are people -- I fear I am one -- who never stop experiencing the world this way, who, even in the throes of what we call love, still feel a separation and an itch for something closer. ... Like cracked decanters, some of us can't stay full, and there remains a bit of faraway sadness behind even the richest joys."

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is there anything that great literature can't do?

According to Maura Kelly and Jack Murnighan* it can teach us some very important lessons about love. I tend to agree.

Kelly and Murnighan take turns writing the chapters and telling us about their hits and misses in the dating world. They share the triumphs and the failures. All along they tie their romantic adventures to the stories and lessons in classic literature.

The chapter names made me chuckle and inspired me to keep reading:

Love in the Time of Online Dating
Why Too Much Emailing Can Be Dangerous

Overly Great Expectations
Why Idealizing Someone Can Come Back to Bite You

The Brief Wondrous Life of My Last Relationship
Are Men Genetically Coded to Cheat?

I'm quite fond of books about books and this one was a delight to read.

*Why aren't these two dating? I wondered that throughout the whole book!

[Tan Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seeing some of the very negative reviews of this book here, I'd mentally braced myself before starting, in case I found this book "trashy" so as to speak. Turns out, just as the authors have subtly hinted about relationships, sometimes it is about the balancing act of expectations, though this time it is on the part of the reader. Some chapters I resonated with deeply, some chapters I vehemently oppose (I am sticking to Jane Eyre for her decision though I stress I'm no prude), some chapters simply not applicable or yet to be seen. Nevertheless, I appreciate and throroughly enjoyed the efforts of the authors by incorporating the wisdom behind so many classics, into the realm of modern romantic relationships, albeit in a more quirky and light-hearted manner. Indeed the written word is essentially the story about us.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book on a whim a few years ago because I thought it was a fun little novelty of a book for a first year English major. But low and behold, I've turned back to these essays, and the novels they draw from, constantly over the past few years of my early 20s; and I've no doubt I will continue to do so over the years as I continue to navigate my young adult life and (lack thereof?) love life. I think as long as you don't take it too seriously it can be a fun read. Rather than approaching it as a self-help book or literary criticism, think of it more as having a conversation with your bookish friend who relates all of their love life advice to the latest classic they finished reading for their Survey of English Lit class.

[Melissa Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading this book that I won in a giveaway. I was pleasantly surprised at how funny this book was. I absolutely hate literature and would never ever read a long boring Jane Eyre book, so I would like to thank the Authors for kinda summarizing these types of stories. I appreciate you putting these novels into words that someone like me actually understands. LOL

I enjoyed hearing your points of view about dating, and now understand that I am among the many whom have had not so good relationships!

A definite must read!!

[Kunal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an ok book. Gives a lot of good advice about dating, relationships, different signs you see in both men and women that tell you whether or not you should be exiting or staying in a relationship. It is written in a interesting way as each chapter rotates between a male and female author so can see how people think about different scenarios and situations from both the female and male perspective. Overall, had some useful information, but is not a page turner by any means and I personally was not able to relate to most of the situations discussed in the book.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written by two authors that take turns discussing dating and relationships through novels such as The Bell Jar, Farewell to Arms, The Sun Also Rises, Anna Karenina, etc.
While reading the book it gave me a desire to read the books they mentioned that I haven't yet read. What I didn't like about the book was the snide political comments of the female author that irked me, but the final straw was the one about the right to kill babies that ruined the book for me. The book would have been so much better if she'd kept her parenthesized opinion out of the book.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and easy read that combines love of classic literature with modern relationship advice. What would Elizabeth Bennett do in a world of instant messaging? Which couple would live happily-ever-after in Once Upon a Time for Dickens? The paired authors Jack and Maura write in response to these sort of questions, and along the way dish out some sound dating advice in case the reader finds themselves pretty clueless in love. The chapter titles alone in the book are delightful, and the writing keeps up with this fun standard.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an alright book due to the references to "traditional" books dealing with relationships and love. Such books as "Pride and Prejudice" and many others. This book would be better read by a person who is not in a relationship and who is looking for ways to deal with/change that. I found that being in a relationship already, I could not relate to some of the topics/discussions of the authors. It was a good read for the references or if you aren't in a relationship.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads.com giveaway. I had a real tough time with it. I liked the writing style of the co-authors and found parts of it humorous but I could not get into the content. I think it is because it is so far from where I am in my life. I have been with my husband for 17 years (I was 19 and he was 20 when we began dating) so I could not identify with much of what was written. I think some would find this book very appealing but it just wasn't for me.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I probably would have liked it better from the outset had I NOT started it around Valentine's Day. Because it was too much advice for someone with a rather pathetic dating life. Coming back to it in September was much better.

I like Murnighan's chapters more than Kelly's - probably because I LOVED Beowulf on the Beach and was looking for more of that.

So a good book, decent read, but not as good as I expected.

[Richard Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Designed to be a women's guide to "dating expectations," the "gander" can find much in common. Surprisingly, thirty-one "favorite novels" act as the teachers. Authors Kelly and Murnighan take a light-hearted view as shown by chapter titles such as "Jane Erred," ""Farewell to Charms," and "Madam Ho-Vary." Mostly written as banter makes for easy reading. Haven't read the novel? No problem. Each chapter provides a brief plot synopsis.

[Mollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not usually a fan of any sort of self-help/advice book, but this one was pretty awesome. I liked the premise of using characters in classic novels to show the difficulties of finding and keeping love. I also enjoyed the personal stories that the authors used. Overall, very enjoyable.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A single's guide to how literature has influenced our collective views on relationships. Found some comparisons lacking such as the possibilty that Great Expectations makes us all want something that is not only impossible but when we have it we realize we don't really feel we deserve it.

[Kyanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm always annoyed by people analyzing literary characters as if they are real people--or even worse, telling them what to do. Of course I know that Gatsby had messed up relationships. I don't need someone to tell me that, or to tell me not to fall for a guy like Gatsby. Duh.

[Jennifer Ware · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from goodreads.com for free. Good facts that I can share with my teenagers and entertaining.

[Deirdre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hooray Maura!!

[Amanda Nan Dillon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. They read a lot of the classics to write this book, which is impressive to me, but it seemed a little empty.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book. A combination of literary analysis and relationship advice. Most of the advice was good, even if told in an amusing way, and I have some classics that I want to read now.

[Liisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a fun light read. It gave dating and relationship advice culled from the pages of several great novels. It's made me want to go back and read some of the books they commented on.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really creative idea. I loved the comparison between literary romance issues with current ones. I enjoyed reading it and the different perspectives on the literature

[Yj · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun.