The Game by Neil Strauss

One of the benefits of having a flatmate employed by a good publishing house is the stream of books available to borrow. The most recent of these which I have taken advantage of is "The Game" by Neil Strauss [Amazon UK | USA].

Neil Strauss delves into the bizarre underworld of 'pick-up artist' - men who have devoted their lives to different techniques of seducing women. These are men with their own vernacular and codes of honour, who operate on-line and in person, who are so committed to honing their strategies that they give each other seminars and live together in shared houses - or 'Projects', as they like to call them.

I didn't imagine that the book would actually be particularly good, it having been described to me as a cross between a self help book and the braggings of a 'Pick Up Artist'. It is actually more of a expose of a sub-culture, an anthropological account of group dynamics and individual vulnerabilities. And it is funny, shocking, saddening, eye-opening on every page. Which makes for fairly compelling reading. For 'Heat' readers it has a liberal sprinkling of celebrity cameos by the likes of Courtney Love, Tom Cruise, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

Although the subject matter of the book is both manipulative and creepy, the thing that makes this book fascinating is the human angle. The notion that throwing money and time at a conference or course in picking up girls will be anything but detrimental plays itself out time after tragic time through the 450 or so pages. And I can only think Neil Strauss knew this before he started and set out with the intention of writing the book. How could he not have?

Regardless, The Game by Neil Strauss is nicely written (a reality novel), amusing and gripping. You should check it out.

Posted by Paul in Recommended Books Entertainment at October 18, 2005 12:41 AM | 0 Comments