Moving is always going to be stressful but when you're in a big city looking for a flat share and facing interviews from a panel of current tenants who all have very different ideas about a new sharer it can only be more difficult. In this book the Flathunter nobly decides to undertake an experiment to come up with guaranteed techniques for successful flat share hunting. To start with it all goes well, but he becomes gradually more random and less focused as strange experiments and personal anecdotes begin to take over.I had anticipated a non-fiction comedic guide and while it started off quite light and humorous the Flathunter's behaviour became distinctly odd. I found a bit of a disconnect between what I was expecting and what I was getting, which was more of a slightly dark novel. It wasn't so much a comedy guide to finding a new home as a descent into depression as the narrator sees his project veer off track and his personal life start to crumble. Although the narrator reveals a bit about his life and relationship I never felt like I got a proper feel for him and to me this was very much plot driven.
It was well written, there were definite moments that rang bells in relation to stories I've heard from friends, and it raised a few grins. All good stuff. However finding something different to my expectations affected my view of it and as the focus shifted the humour wasn't really the sort that had me laughing along. It was a bit too dark to be madcap, but not black enough to fall into that category. My rating is probably more a matter of taste than a reflection of the quality of the writing or the plot.
Format: Kindle, review copy
My Rating: 2*
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