Review: An Abundance of Katherines

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Before I start, I want to state that I'm writing this as a fan of John Green. As much as I will try to stay impartial, I read this book as a John Green book; not as a book which I picked up because I thought it looked interesting.

Okay, so where to start... Abundance is about Colin Singleton: once a child prodigy, he is now reaching a sort of mid-life crisis, where he's no longer a prodigy but can't see himself becoming a "genius". He has also lately gone through a big break up with his nineteenth girlfriend, one of many girls that are all very different but all share one thing; their name. Yes, Colin's type is girls named Katherine. He's feeling the effects of this breakup particularly deeply, so he and his (slightly overweight) best friend, Hassan, go on a road trip of discovery, as it were. They find themselves in the out-of-the-way town of Gutshot where they meet the pretty but not overwhelmingly beautiful Linsey Lee Wells and somehow find themselves in the employ of her large, muumuu bedecked mother Hollis. As Colin and Hassan perform their job of interviewing all the older generation in Gutshot, they slowly discover more about each other, and about themselves.

Okay, so there are some issues I have with this book. After reading the excellent Paper Towns I was slightly let down. I found the character of Colin overly whiney and annoying and as I read I didn't feel much sympathy for him at all. I warmed more to the ever so slightly douchey Hassan, but with time I found them both reasonably annoying. Reading the book, I got annoyed by the overuse of the terms fug/fugging/fugger (if you have to swear, you might as well just do it), jew-fro and kafir (arabic for infidel, as was so helpfully explained by the footnotes). The biggest problem with this was, as I said, lack of sympathy for Colin. I jut found his whining about how much he loved Katherin XIX pathetic and I just wanted him to buck up and find some balls.

However, it wasn't all bad. One thing that I found quite interesting about the book was the use of footnotes to explain points, give added depth to references and so on. When I flicked through the book I thought of them as a negative thing and something that could hinder the story telling, but I actually found them quite helpful and entertaining which was a pleasant surprise. As the book progressed, I found myself wondering whether or not Colin and Lindsey would get together (which of course they did), but it was good to be kept guessing as I read on. As I neared the end of the book, Colin underwent a bit of a change from whiner to shiner. Cue heroic punch up in which he (and Hassan) got thrashed, but it was in defence of the lovely Lindsey. This scene actually provided an excellent description of what happens when you get extremely forcefully knee'd in the groin; I was squirming in sympathy.

There was a certain point in the book, and I can't quite point my finger on when, when I felt myself not being overwhelmed by annoyance about Colin (and no it wasn't the end). But as I neared the end of the book I felt more and more warmly towards Colin, which is almost a miracle.

Looking back over the book I get the distinct feeling that I was supposed to find Colin extremely annoying. If I didn't then the change would be unimportant. Anyway, final verdict.

After the brilliant Paper Towns this is a little bit of a letdown. It didn't hook me in the same way and I didn't feel compelled to read chapter after chapter until I got nearer the end of the book. But nonetheless, I did enjoy it; I just know that I could have enjoyed it more.

Not bad, John. Not bad. Bring on Looking for Alaska


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