“The Average American Male” by Chad Kultgen • Book Review

Published: 13 March, 2007 by Harper Perennial
Format: Paperback, 246 pages, English

“Every word she says makes me feel a little more like faking a stroke and pretending to lose all memory of who I was.”

★★★★ (4.2 / 5)

Ultimately, I think this book is worth the read no matter what frame of reference the reader has going into it. My only critique is the lack of growth displayed by the characters.

While the narrator's perspective begins to open up once he finds a relationship he feels won't disintegrate, he truly ends up where he started without any deeper grasp of his own flaws. He seems to devolve as a person more than anything.

Maybe this is part of Kultgen's brutal commentary on human nature, but I would have appreciated something a little more valuable to take away with me once the last sentence ended.

Having read Men, Women, and Children, I was prepared for Chad Kultgen's graphic writing style. With this novel, he dives straight into a 20-something guy's mind and tells the truth of his thoughts.

​Riddled with constant sexuality and subconscious disgust with the narrator, the reader actually grows accustomed to his way of thinking and learns to appreciate his take on life. Without spoiling it for the rest of you, this nameless young man experiences an entire circle of romance in exhibition for the reader.

In today's oversexed culture, this story accurately portrays the natural instincts of in- and out-of-the-box males and females. That's right—just because the narrator is a man doesn't mean woman are overly biased against or criticized. This point of view is pessimistic regarding women, to be sure, but there are truths of the female species inside this fictional tale that women are hard-pressed to confront.

For me, it was a breath of fresh air and definitely​ a book girls should read. While you might think Kultgen's style is targeted towards males, excessively sexual, or downright perverse, the radical candor it presents is not to be undervalued.

Forget everything you think you know about men, women, your significant other, and yourself. Jump into The Average American Male, and be prepared to encounter the darkest parts of your own mind.