Challenge: 50 Books discussion

Right now I'm reading The Marriage Plot. I'm only about 1/4 the way in and so far the story is mostly about a female college student. I'm really impressed that Jeffrey Eugenides has created a believable, fleshy female character.

Whereas in Bitterroot, James Lee Burke laughably describes women's outfits coordinated in a way in which no real female would be caught dead. I'm assuming female authors also blunder in creating realistic male characters, but I have a harder time pinning them down than a guy would.

The question? Will you please share any examples of where an author has done an exceptionally poor or terrific job of creating a character of the opposite gender? Why that example?

in Foe, jm coetzee writes first person of a woman, and so completely believable, not only as to gender but also to the time he's set the novel in. fascinating. i as a woman reader found the character well rounded and i could follow the thoughts and decisions. no questions asked. perfect. (good book anyway.)
the other direction... i generally find that most action / thriller books have little believable woman characters. clever and beautiful and slim and a phd / doctorate in computer science, math, god-knows-what and catholic and a descendent / family member of someone famous / well-known and....? yeah sure. ;)

I had no idea that Memoirs of a Geisha was written by a man until months after finishing it. What a shock! He did a great job writing from a female perspective.