Rating: 3 out of 5
I Just Want My Pants Back
by David J. Rosen. (Broadway Books, 2007)
Review by Erin Gurry
With Jason Strider's qualifications, he doesn't
seem the likely candidate for a life centered on
drugs, sex and an insignificant day job. His
Cornell English degree and potential should
warrant a more promising future, or so one would
think. Instead, the young man spends his time
smoking illegal drugs, drinking late into the
night and wondering which filthy pair of pants he
is going to wear. The mildly poignant story
centers around his desperate search for the girl
who, in a late night drunken escapade, borrows a
pair of his favorite pants. When she fails to
resurface or return his calls, Jason continues
his seemingly meaningless existence arriving
routinely late to work and becoming a burden on
his college friends. At first, a meaningful
friendship with an elderly woman in his apartment
complex just gives him another excuse to smoke.
As they become closer, she forces him to look at
his life in another light, one without shame and
regret.

I Just Want My Pants Back is simultaneously
shocking and surprisingly comical. Jason's
character opens the reader's eyes to how easy it
can be to drop into a groove and never achieve
our aspirations. Adult themes are present
throughout the story. While some may interpret
the story as immoral, the obscene material
assists in creating the authentically plausible
storyline.


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