The Guy Not Taken

Jennifer Weiner

Thorndike Press

This collection of enjoyable short stories by popular American author, Jennifer Weiner, was written at various times in her writing career. Some were written when she was a university student, while others were penned just a couple of years ago. Weiner is probably best known as the author of the chick-lit book, In Her Shoes, which was turned into film starring Toni Collette and Cameron Diaz. The stories in The Guy Not Taken are mostly about women and girls who have to cope with major changes in their lives.

Like many authors, Weiner draws on her own life experiences when it comes to writing. At age 17, she was very hurt when her parents’ marriage broke up and in ‘Just Desserts’ we meet a family who is coming to terms with the fact that Dad isn’t around anymore.

The title story is about Marlie, a young mother at home late at night with her six-month old son. Her husband is working late, and she’s bored and lonely. On the internet, she comes across her ex-boyfriend’s wedding registry and begins to wonder what life with him would be like. Without thinking, Marlie deletes the bride’s name and replaces it with her own. The next morning, Marlie wakes up to discover she is engaged to the former boyfriend and that she doesn’t have a child. Cleverly written and thought provoking, the story shows that the grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side.

In ‘Swim’, Ruth, a former screenwriter is living with her grandmother and earning her keep by rewriting university applications for lazy, rich teenagers. A conversation in a coffee shop leads her to consider writing personal online advertisements for those who don’t quite know how to market themselves.

What’s interesting about this book is the inclusion of a section explaining how and why Weiner came to write each of her stories. There is also an interview with the author about her writing career. This is a nice collection of stories from a talented writer, which range from the dark to the humorous.

Starting points for discussion:

1. Which story did you like the most and why?
2. One critic has argued that many of these stories were too dark. Do you agree?
3. In ‘Buyer’s Market’, Jess lets her heart rule her head. Would you have done the same in her situation? Or would you have handled things differently?
4. ‘Just Desserts’, ‘Travels with Nicki’ and ‘The Wedding Bed’ all feature the same family. How does the relationship between the siblings change over time? Why do you think Nicki is so different from Josie?
5. In the title story, Marlie fantasises about life with her ex-boyfriend. Is this normal? Have you ever done the same thing?

If you liked this you will enjoy:

• Swapping Lives by Jane Green
• The Men I Didn’t Marry by Janice Kaplan
• Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes
• Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger
• A Tale of Two Sisters by Anna Maxted