Title: Assholes: A Theory
Author: Aaron James
Type: Non-Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 221
Rating: 6/10
Aaron James – Assholes: A Theory
Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.
I’m in two minds about this one – I’ll admit that I gained a sort of perverse pleasure when I was reading this, but I’m still not convinced that the book needed to be written at all. Let’s face it, we all know an asshole when we see one – James’ attempts to classify the essence of an asshole, while fairly successful, feel occasionally forced and often pointless, and it’s often a little too philosophical for my liking.
However, I am impressed that you can use the theory to classify the Daily Mail as an asshole – an accurate description, perhaps, of one of the worst publications to disgrace the face of the earth. Perhaps there is something in it after all – I’m just not convinced of the use of such a theory, because even the author concedes that there’s not much you can do when confronted with an asshole.
Still, it’s not all bad – if you’re interested in pop psychology and neo-philosophy then it’s worth reading, and if I’ve marked it harshly, it’s because it’s published by Nicholas Brealey and they set the standards high.
Aaron James
