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Somewhere along with spring came this weird eMail message: "just curious --- did
anybody happen to notice the ad for WHAT'S WRONG WITH DORFMAN? in Sunday's New
York Times Literary Section?" and it was signed John Blumenthal. Who the heck was
John Blumenthal, and what's a Dorfman? What on earth could this book possibly be about?
Curiosity got the best of me, and I did some checking around. Calling Barnes & Noble,
I had them look into the listing of books for author John Blumenthal. Soon, I had a list
of several books, including the novel WHAT'S WRONG WITH DORFMAN?. My most disappointing
news was that they didn't have it in the store yet and had to order it. In the meantime, I
turned to my library to see what else they had on Blumenthal. Yes, they had several books
of his, and so, while I was waiting for my copy of WHAT'S WRONG WITH DORFMAN?, I read the
two books that were available. They were some of the funniest books I've read in years.
Now, I absolutely had to read WHAT'S WRONG WITH DORFMAN?!
Finally! The day arrived when I got my very own copy of WHAT'S WRONG WITH DORFMAN?. I
took one look at the cover, a picture of a bunch of men dressed in Shakespearean clothes
observing what appeared to be a corpse. Instantly, I had visions of something long, boring
and difficult to read. How could Blumenthal, who wrote such funny books, put out something
that looks so dated, dreary, and dry? Sitting down to do some heavy reading I thought to
myself, "I'll manage to muddle through this book somehow."
However, once I started reading this novel, I simply could not put it down. I was so
interested in finally finding out what was wrong with Dorfman that I did nothing
but read for a couple of days, and Blumenthal certainly did not disappoint me.
About WHAT'S WRONG WITH DORFMAN? I can say that John Blumenthal has again
written one of the funniest books that I have read in a long, long time. I had no trouble
identifying with Dorfman, the Hollywood screenwriter who just entered middle age having
vague symptoms of something's-not-right. Not feeling quite wide eyed and bushy tailed,
Dorfman goes to the doctor and has every conceivable test, all of which come back
negative. When he fails to get answers from the medical field, he tries the route of the
herbalists and their concoctions, where sometimes the treatment is worse than the cure.
One of my favorite little episodes takes place in the doctor's office where Dorfman meets
his companion in misery, Delilah Foster.
If it hadn't been for that weird message from John Blumenthal, I really would have missed
out on a great book and a lot of laughter! Frankly, I enjoyed this book so much that I'm
recommending it to every one I know, because laughter makes the world go around just a
little bit better.
--- Reviewed by S. H. Seppo
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