Reproduction is the Flaw of Love

by Lauren Grodstein

It's a Saturday morning in Brooklyn. Joel Miller, age twenty-eight, stands outside his locked bathroom door. Behind it are his girlfriend Lisa, a Dixie cup, and a pregnancy test. While she stalls for time, Miller is left in his hallway to wonder and for the results of the test, for the pieces of his addled life to come together, for some kind of divine intervention to guide his actions when Lisa finally emerges.

Thus begins Lauren Grodstein's beguiling debut novel, a wise, wonderfully assured journey deep into the heart of the commitmentphobic male. Awaiting test results that could determine his future, Miller finds himself replaying all he has seen of love so far. There was his father Stan's awkward balancing act between doting father and failed husband, and his mother Bay's refusal to accept that Stan was never coming back. There was his playboy friend Grant's devastation upon falling for the one woman he couldn't have. And most of all, there was Miller's own prior relationship--with Blair, the aloof beauty he can't stop thinking about, the one who got away. With past and present colliding in his hallway, Miller begins to realize just how little he really knows about intimacy, love and potential fatherhood--and more important, about what he's going to do next.

Reproduction is the Flaw of Love fearlessly charts the romantic odyssey of one endearing New York bachelor, and in so doing illuminates some universal truths about family, loyalty, devotion, and love.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Novels

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 29, 2004

About the author

Lauren Grodstein is the author of the upcoming A Dog in Georgia, the Read with Jenna pick We Must Not Think of Ourselves and the New York Times bestselling A Friend of the Family.. She directs the MFA program at Rutgers University-Camden.

Reviews

[Nitrorockets · Rating 2 out of 5]

I came across this book browsing at my library's "new books" shelf. At first I thought I'd like this book but was incredibly disappointed. This is the author's debut novel, her style is great but, I was not pleased with the story.

The book takes place in a Brooklyn apartment one rainy Saturday afternoon. The main character, Joel Miller, whose perspective is leading the reader through his thoughts and mostly fears of potential parenthood. He waiting outside the bathroom door of the apartment he shares with his girlfriend as she takes a pregnancy test to determine their fate as parents. To occupy his time we are taken through the memories of his life. At 28 years he is still finding his way in the world torn between what he can't have and what is facing him now. His life has been dominated by his father's departure and his mother's mental illness filling his mind with fear, fear of being responsible for a child. Fear that he may be a horrible parent. Afraid that he may inflict emotional damage on his child similar to what he experienced.

He dwells on the memory of a wealthy girl that stole his heart but has since left him. I suspect that by interpreting the male perspective on grief, love and heartbreak was a difficult task for a female writer. I suppose I didn't like the book as well as I had hoped because of the disappointment. The character was grateful for all the good things about his girlfriend but he finds it troubling that, taken as a whole, they are no comparison to the girl who came before her. I was disappointed that considering the relationship with his girlfriend was going well until the pregnancy scare that he wimped out and pretty much made an effort to give up on them. I became very disappointed because this made me realize that many men all over the US are experiencing this daily and are too wiling to run away.

What a depressing book, certainly does not boost the trust in men. It would and should make women feel more self conscious and wry of themselves and men.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do all books set in New York have to have a gloomy undertone? I mean, is it a requirement? If this one hadn't been so depressing, I would have liked it more.

[Mashasunkid · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's rare when a title of the book sets off the reaction in your brain before you even start reading. Nature intended physical pleasures as a motivation for reproduction. Human sophistication, however, added a mental component to the process, shifting it out of the INSTINCTS ONLY category and pushing babies out of the picture. Lust was pronounced a sin, passion was pronounced a virtue.
Alright, now I was afraid the book wouldn't stand up for its name.
It wasn't at all what I expected, and that's partially why it was fascinating. A simple guy who turns out to be oh-not-so-simple, a story how people we love and people who love us sometimes are not the same people. A story of a messed up childhood that makes normal life taste too plain, too boring.
It reminded me of "500 days of Summer", "a story of a boy meets girl, but not the love story".

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Lauren Grodstein's first novel, and it's pretty good for a debut book. I loved the way she structured it: The main character (Miller) is waiting outside of a bathroom to hear the result's of his girlfriend's pregnancy test. And he waits and he waits. During the waiting, the author unfolds the story of Miller's life, and it's not until the end of the book that the results are revealed--and so are the effects on their relationship.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly good. I picked this up randomly in the library mostly because the title was ridiculous, but it turned out to be an engaging read. Grodstein has an ear for dialogue, and I liked the flashback structure of the story. I laughed a little at how very much the product of a Columbia MFA it was (lists!), but the people were real and the dialogue witty.

[Patricia Geller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mainly liked this book. It lagged at times but for the most part the characters felt real. Miller tells the story in vignettes as he is waiting for the results of a girlfriend’s pregnancy test. His family was difficult but both ordinary, depressed but loving. I will check out her other books. I liked the plot twists and some of the characters a lot.

[Marsha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the other book by this author that I’ve read but was disappointed with this one. Humorous title, but a very depressing story.

[Greg Bascom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joel Miller, most everyone refers to him as Miller, will be 29 next month. As the story opens, Miller waits outside the bathroom door in an apartment in Park Slope, Manhattan, while his girlfriend, Lisa, procrastinates over taking a pregnancy test. The reader correctly assumes that the author will not reveal Lisa's condition until the end of the novel. Meantime, this third person narrative explores Miller's back story from his point of view. We meet his mother Bay and his father Stan, his best friend Grant and his ex girlfriend Blair who, so far, is the love of Miller's life. His story is interesting and the reader learns what to expect of him if the test is positive.

The acknowledgments page begins with, "Thanks to Elliot Grodstein, for teaching me what I needed to know about how a guy's mind works..." Elliot did a good job. Grodstein's male characters deal with angst and anxiety as men are apt to do. Her female characters are as men perceive women, enigmas. The story is enlightening, even for a guy.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have reread this a few times and never like it any better or worse. I don't buy what the main character, Miller, has to offer to either of the romantic interests. The story is told with a series of flashbacks, and each one has its own title. At times, especially with the shorter vignettes, this got annoying. The book would have a handful of subtitles on each page. There are also numbered lists, with titles like "Things To Notice While Shopping In A Grocery Store With A Beautiful Woman." It gave the book the feeling of a writing exercise.

[Kelly Hager · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is completely unlike her other novel, A Friend of the Family.

Miller and his girlfriend Lisa might be about to become parents. The novel takes place during the time while he buys the test and then while they're waiting for results. While he's waiting to learn if he's about to be a father or not, he reflects on his life, his ex-girlfriend Blair (who he still loves) and Lisa.

I think A Friend of the Family is the better book but this is the easier read. Either way, both are worth reading.

[Bronwyn Rykiert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joel Miller, who is known only as Miller is waiting for his girlfriend Lisa to take a pregnancy test. She is in the bathroom through the whole book, waiting for the test results as well as getting ready to go out for dinner with friends. While this is happening we hear Miller’s life story with his parents, his best friend Grant and his earlier girlfriends, especially the love of his life his ex girlfriend Blair.

It was an okay story.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has recently been published under the abbreviated name The Flaw of Love. This is a great book. Lauren Grodstein is my favorite new author. The story was wonderful. The characters were real and believable. The ending was honest. Just a very good book. Can't wait til she comes out with another one.

[eb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the structure a bit problematic. The present-day scenes are boring, and the pregnancy test drags on for the entire book. But Grodstein nails (I think) the mindset of a youngish male Brooklynite, and I love the way she finds beauty in quotidian sights like the carp painted on the side of U-Hauls.

[Rhonda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ummm...OK.
Boyfriend goes to drugstore to buy girlfriend an at-home pregnancy test kit. While she's in the bathroom, DELAYING, he waits outside the door for what seems like HOURS and HOURS and the entire book is his thoughts of fatherhood, his past girlfriend he never got over, etc. waiting for her to take the test.

Boring....

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman writes about love & relationships from the voice of a somewhat geeky young man. Going thru the troubled marriage of his parents to loving one woman too much and then another not enough. Also touching on losing the ones you love and the different ways we all deal with what was or may have been

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story is told as a series of flashbacks while Joel Miller waits to learn if his girlfriend is pregnant. It's a story of vignettes, really. I kept thinking that ex-girlfriend, Blair should also have a book narrated by her. Her story seems interesting....

[Barbara Pizarro · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book a year ago. It wasn't bad or good. Nothing really stood out for me. I thought it was witty and interesting point of view. It was an easy read and the writting was fine. If your looking to read something light and funny this would be a good pick

[Elise Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific book. The entire story takes place in the front of the bathroom door where the protagonist is sitting, waiting for the results of his girlfriends home pregnancy test. He goes back through his life, looking at what he calls his narrow escapes.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I heard the author read from her latest novel about a month ago, so I decided to check out her earlier novels. This book is a good early effort by an obviously young author; a quick read, nothing particularly mind-blowing. But it did leave me curious enough to want to read her later offerings.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out strong, but I felt it lost its way somewhere in the middle. I was really interested in the problem posed at the beginning and the couple the book opened with. I found myself less interested in Miller's history.

[Julie Moffitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, but it kind of dragged on and I didn't like the end--seemed kind of abrupt.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

quirky, good

[Alissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

good. almost a character study. Unusual writing style - no chapters but short vignettes, makes it a quick read

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following the protagonist through his current crisis via childhood and adult flashbacks proves to be quite engaging.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, easy, and enjoyable, yet depressing and not in an enlightening way... kind of a "feel bad" book with nothing gained in the end.

[Jamie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was with this book until the end, then it just made me feel sad.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the most earthshattering premise, but it had good moments.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but it was hard for me to connect with the storyteller.

[Beth Shields-Szostak · Rating 2 out of 5]

1st edition

[Klaudyna Z. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book and would recommend it. I didn't like that you had to wait the entire book to find out whether Lisa is pregnant or not but the ending was satisfying and I was happy for Miller.