Title: unprovocative thesis
Product review: The gist of Gruner's book is this: EVERY instance of humor involves a winner and a loser (like a game). Despite this being a decent observation that pertains to some humor, Gruner claims this is the case of ALL humor. In fact, he goes to great lengths to "demonstrate" how every joke or pun involves a winner and a loser. However, many of his examples are quite stretched to fit his personal grand theory. As far as I was concerned, his credibility fell apart after he refused to admit there were limitations to the generalizability of his theory; and of course there are limitations to every theory. Also, I found the book was quite long-winded and repetitive. It could have all been stated in under 100 pages. If not for the grandiose grand-theorizing and unnecessary long-windedness, I would have given the book 3 stars.
Would you say this review depicts the product in a flattering or unflattering light?
