This really is quite a charmer of a book. A bit of a two hander between Hildy and Paul (aka Betty and Bob) who sign up to a Uni psychological experiment for very different reasons.
Hildy is a typical kooky student with a chaotic home life and a host of neuroses whilst Paul seems a bit of a maverick loner, who's down on his luck and is just in the experiment for the $40 it will earn him.
So matched together and put in a room they start to ask the 36 questions that form the basis of the experiment.
Mutual antipathy means that it's not long before they row and the experiment seems to be over.
However they continue out of hours with the questions (some of which I don't think I'd like to answer - too much navel gazing is not my thing) and a natural warmth builds up between them.
It's a bit one sided though as Hildy is much more forthcoming and open and by the time you feel like she's starting to get under Paul's skin she blows it! Makes you desperate to keep reading to see if they get their happy ending.
The style of the book is very conversational - whether in person or via a series of e-mails/messages - so it moves along at a speedy but natural pace. Some quirky illustrations from Paul along the way just add to it's charm.
Hildy is a typical kooky student with a chaotic home life and a host of neuroses whilst Paul seems a bit of a maverick loner, who's down on his luck and is just in the experiment for the $40 it will earn him.
So matched together and put in a room they start to ask the 36 questions that form the basis of the experiment.
Mutual antipathy means that it's not long before they row and the experiment seems to be over.
However they continue out of hours with the questions (some of which I don't think I'd like to answer - too much navel gazing is not my thing) and a natural warmth builds up between them.
It's a bit one sided though as Hildy is much more forthcoming and open and by the time you feel like she's starting to get under Paul's skin she blows it! Makes you desperate to keep reading to see if they get their happy ending.
The style of the book is very conversational - whether in person or via a series of e-mails/messages - so it moves along at a speedy but natural pace. Some quirky illustrations from Paul along the way just add to it's charm.