There are at least nine reasons I loved Twenty-One Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks:
- The novel is told entirely through a series of lists kept by its main character, Daniel Mayrock. These are texts from his wife, to-do lists, pet peeves or random thoughts.
- The unusual structure allows you to slowly get to know Dan, who is expecting his first child and consumed with anxiety about his finances and impending fatherhood.
- There’s a bookshop angle.
- The novel is quirky and endearing in a good way, like The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry or Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, which happen to be two of my personal faves.
- Twenty-One Truths about Love was published in 2019. That means it’s available in paperback. So my procrastination is your reward.
- Dan’s wife, Jill, is a young widow, and there aren’t enough contemporary novels that explore love and marriage after widowhood.
- Dan has strong opinions about vampire fiction, parallel parking, ice-breaker exercises and Little Debbie snack cakes, and he’s not afraid to share them.
- Poignant moments with a grizzled-older-friend character.
- This book is entertaining, relatable, and laugh-out-loud funny at times, and it’s damn near impossible not to read in one sitting.
Matthew Dicks is a six-time grand champion of the Moth storytelling competition, and his prowess comes through so clearly. Add it to your to-be-read list.
