The premise: Accused of being a selfish jerk by an ex-girlfriend, the narrator decides to write a biography of the next person he meets. His "victim" is a 28-year-old Londoner, Isabel Jane Rogers.
He catalogues his pedantic observations of her idiosyncrasies and silly private habits in an index--humorous to us, eventually unnerving to her. As he becomes more engrossed, recording everything he perceives for posterity, he returns to the egocentric and pretentious pattern of talking about himself.
Beside the pleasurable pettiness, there are a number of more serious subjects--such as the nature of biography itself--and whether our self-images are any more reliable than those of an outside viewer.
This is a literate examination of both fiction and biography: A sharp-witted study in both genres which intrigues the reader with doubts as to the veracity of either. The author does a great job of poking fun at biographers, and what they must do in order to capture the essence of a person.
De Botton is an avowed admirer of Proust. All of his books--fiction or not--are analytic, essayistic, impressionistic and introspective. His gift is evident in the quirky approach that he takes. Alain de Botton is familiar with a great deal of classical literature and art, but he is also a boy of contemporary pop culture. His language is very crafty, and his thoughts are uproariously funny.
It will make you think about your own quirks and self-delusions. Very enjoyable and worthy reading.
