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Title: Weak attempt to hang a novel on a great title
Review: Neal Pollack proves with this novel that he's at his best when working in the short form. The "Catching Up with Neal Pollack" and discussion questions are the funniest parts of the paperback edition. Pollack fails to mine his rich comic premise of its full potential. He doesn't explore the opportunities for genuinely inspired humor in any of the scenes he depicts, choosing instead to fall back on the same tired formula: Pollack parties with rock stars, says obnoxious but unfunny things, and vomiting ensues. This is just lazy writing, and the author is capable of much better when he's comfortable with the form in which he is operating. That said, I really liked the ending.
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