They’re watching the entire collection in alphabetical order. They have somehow adopted Gus, and come into his video rental store every day to rent that day’s movie. They’re sort of a biker gang (with matching jackets), but they’re in their seventies and ride Vespas. Gus does have a few friends, notably the We Three Queens. And he wears pajama bottoms with the face of a past Palestinian leader.

Truman (otherwise known as the ferret with merit). There follows the transcript of a wonderful call with the local internet provider, in which Gus explains that he needs to buy the internet so that he can learn to be normal and be in a relationship with an asexual stoner hipster (the phrase comes up a lot). He decides to learn how to be normal by searching the internet, which is slightly problematic since he doesn’t have it. He somehow manages to consciously set out to change himself, without changing even a little.Ī few more Gus items. He is totally, fully himself–but loses it completely in unfamiliar or nerve-wracking situations (like, say, Casey saying hi when they meet). He is wonderfully secure and insecure at the same time. Gus has an inner monologue going of freaked out confusion for much of the book, and it’s awesome. Both are hilariously, hysterically funny. But he thinks Casey is amazing too, and decides he has to learn how to be normal for Casey.īooks are usually about the characters for me, and this one is really about the characters. Also, he thinks Gus is amazing, which confuses Gus not a little. And then Gus meets Casey, a new arrival in town, who Instagrams everything, spends most of his time stoned, and writes teen paranormal fiction. Tuesdays are the worst days of the week–it’s 99 cent rental day and the place is packed, with at least four customers coming in.

He lives in a tiny town of 300 people, and runs his late father’s video rental store (reminder: contemporary novel). The story centers around Gus, who has just been marking time in the past few years since his father died. Also, it’s a homosexual romance involving an asexual stoner hipster. For one thing it’s contemporary real world. This is particularly remarkable considering it’s way, way far out of the usual genres I read. Klune on a friend’s recommendation–and it turned out to be one of the most fun books I’ve read this year, with a serious contender for favorite romantic couple. I picked up How to Be a Normal Person by T.

Tj klune how to be a normal person