2018 Beyond the Classics discussion

The Last Girlfriend on Earth

Simon Rich once again dazzles his audience in his collection of short stories titled The Last Girlfriend on Earth. Rich uses comedy to present his ideas about love and relationships. His ‘out of the box’ writing forces the reader to use their imagination to comprehend his work. The Last Girlfriend on Earth is similar to Rich’s book, Spoiled Brats, which is also a comical collection of short stories. However, The Last Girlfriend on Earth definitely has some stories that are not meant for all readers. Although the material is easy to comprehend, ideas such as sex and booze may not be the best for young readers. Just like Spoiled Brats, The Last Girlfriend on Earth wouldn’t make it onto my list of favorites, but I did enjoy the book as a whole.

Simon Rich brilliantly composes his collection of short stories by separating them into three categories. Since The Last Girlfriend on Earth is about falling in and out of love, each other the three sections are titled Boy Meets Girl, Boy Gets Girl, and Boy Loses Girl. Each section contains short shorties that truly embody the title of that section. As the reader moves through the book, it is easy to notice similarities in ideas or characters, even though each short story is different from the next. I enjoyed this writing style because it made the short stories seem more like they had a connection, therefore it read more like a book than individual stories. This choice by Rich also allowed the reader to stay more involved with the story and feel connected, rather than have to learn about a whole new concept every few pages. Rich’s decision strengthened the book overall and helped keep a smooth yet quick pace to the book.

Most of the stories in The Last Girlfriend on Earth are less than ten pages. Rich takes these ten pages and uses them as much as possible. Although we aren’t given background or many small details on the characters, Rich provides enough detail that we as readers are able to fill in the gaps where we see fit. The reader is already reading a book that they must use their imagination y make sense of the story. By leaving gaps for the reader to fill, they are able to continue to use their imagination to develop the characters themselves.

I am very happy I decided to give Simon Rich another chance. After reading Spoiled Brats and not truly enjoying it, I was hesitant to pick up another piece of his work. However, I had previously read some of the short stories in this book (such as I Love Girl) and I had really enjoyed them. I did enjoy the slight stylistic change from Spoiled Brats to The Last Girlfriend on Earth. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who was hesitant to try some of Rich’s work. Although some of the ideas are complex, they are pretty funny and allow the reader to use their imagination through the entire book. I would also recommend that if a person did not enjoy Spoiled Brats, that they try this. Even if it is just a few stories. I think that the somewhat connected plot idea has a more story-like element to it that made the book much more enjoyable for me.