The Last Time I Was Me
Cathy Lamb
2008
404 pages

In direct contrast to The Red Scarf, I didn’t like the first half of this book. But the second half? Well, it was worth it to get to the trial scene. Actually, in retrospect, I should have just read the trial scene and called it good.

Jeanne, the main character of The Last Time I Was Me, has issues. Anger issues. Grief issues. Alcohol issues. Food issues. I had issues, too. Issues with the characters. Issues with the similarities to Julia’s Chocolates, the author’s previous book. Issues with the over-the-top female characters and the under-developed (and that is not a reference to Slick Dick and the trial scene) male characters.

So…Jeanne manages to deal with her issues, mostly in the second half of the book. She goes to anger management class, although I must say the therapist seems like a total whacko. She stops drinking all on her own. She admits at the end she is eating…this part really bugged me, because we are constantly reminded about how skinny she is. Even Jeanne knows how skinny she is. This is in contrast to Julia, the main character in Julia’s Chocolates, who is constantly thinking about her weight and had an ex who harped on her about it. It’s like the author had to try to find the exact opposite for her next main character, and sorry, but that just annoyed me. Actually, most of the characters annoyed me. The characters actions all seemed a bit too much. Not that books have to be believable. I mean, I just read Breaking Dawn. But I don’t like the extremes to which most of them went.

Although okay, I’m shallow enough to admit liking the trial scene. Because Jeanne got so pissed at her cheating boyfriend that she booby trapped his condoms with peanut oil. To which he is allergic. The nimrod was so outraged he sued for 10 million dollars. See what I mean about over the top? Anyways, the testimony at the trail did make me laugh. But that was about all this book did for me. Sorry, Cathy, but I’m over you.