Lad Lit– from Wikipedia: Lad-lit is genre of literature that focuses on young men in their 20s and 30s. The male equivalent to chick lit, prominent exponents are Nick Hornby and Tony Parsons.
Flabbergasted
by Ray Blackston
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Revell (May 1, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0800759095
ISBN-13: 978-0800759094
From Barnesandnoble.com
Synopsis
Ray Blackston’s novel will tickle your literary taste buds with a relational gumbo of quirky characters, stirred by the irreverent but sincere Jay Jarvis.
Jay is new in town, young and successful, and not afraid to plop down in a pew to scope out the females. What he finds is a lovely-yet-unusual missionary with a warped sense of humor and a wicked throwing arm. She and a wacky assortment of friends turn Jay’s perceptions of life upside down, launching events that leave him and those around him thoroughly Flabbergasted. By the way, when relational gumbo is on the menu, a South Carolina beach makes for great mood lighting.
About the Author
Ray Blackston of Greenville, South Carolina, worked as a buyer and a broker for eleven years before cashing in his modest 401k and leaving his corporate cubicle to write full time. He serves on the missions committee of Grace Church, has traveled to rural Ecuador on a summer missions program, and coaches his six-year-old nephew Action Jackson in T-ball.
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I purchased this book months ago from the discount bin at Barnes and Noble in North Carolina. I can honestly say that I believe this is the first book I’ve read that could be considered lad lit. I thought it was refreshing to read a book, written in first person, by a twenty-something male dating perspective. The book had some humorous moments, and as I read it, it got me to wondering: are we women really that bad when it comes to dating? I also wondered if singles rotate churches, like they do in this novel, in order to meet other singles? I’ve never heard about this practice, but I could just imagine people doing this to meet more single people. Reading this got me to reminiscing about my own single days, and the things I would do to meet guys. I did join singles ministry, placed an online Christian ad, but I never thought to rotate churches! The singles ministry in the novel had a number of male and female participants. However, the singles ministry I was involved with at my old home church, during my single days, only had about fourteen people…usually only one man showed up, sometimes there were two males, never more than that, though!
The only thing that bothered me about this novel is that Allie, Jay’s missionary love interest, has a disturbing habit of jokingly throwing food at people. This habit made me cringe because it’s so juvenile! It reminded me of something a young kid would do, or maybe a teenager, not a grown woman! She’ll throw shrimp, Fig Newtons, fruits, vegetables, whatever’s on hand! Every time I read about her throwing something, I would frown. Maybe it’s something that I just don’t get, but I have never met an adult who habitually throws food at people!
===POSSIBLE SPOILER BELOW===
Other than that, I thought the novel was an enjoyable, funny read. Jay goes to church to meet singles, but he ends up almost losing his life at one point, and questions his salvation!
I enjoyed this book and the other 2 in the trilogy. The 2nd book is a bit off… it focuses on an entirely different main character and I wanted more Allie and Jay.. BUT book 3 is great! It pulls everything together and you really need book 2 to get to book 3.. meaning stuff that happens there is important to the story line! LOL!
Barb C.