review: the viagra diaries by barbara rose brooker

Anny Applebaum writes a senior lifestyle column for the San Francisco Times, but the paper isn’t making as much money as it once did which means Anny’s column is in jeopardy. Additionally, Anny’s daughter has been after her to start dating again after Anny’s husband left her for the housekeeper. After her first date, inspiration for a new column strikes—she’ll write about dating after 60. The column is a smashing success, but Anny’s dating life isn’t as she discovers the men (one in particular) she meets are just like her ex-husband.

The Viagra Diaries started off amusingly, but quickly took a turn toward bitter. When one of Anny’s dates says, “You seem angry with men,” I couldn’t help but agree. Anny drove me crazy by constantly lamenting that Marv hadn’t called her when she never called him. Never. She didn’t pick up the phone even once. And her friends just egged her on by reinforcing the idea that men only see women as sex objects. After numerous chapters of such sentiment, I grew frustrated with all of the characters.
2/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Gallery Books.