Title: What Is Wrong with You?
Author: Paul Rudnick
Year Published: 2025
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Setting: New York, Maine
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
What Is Wrong with You?: A Blurb
This ensemble comedy follows a cast of chaotic characters as they make their way–for various reasons–to a billionaire’s wedding on his private island in Maine. We have Rob, a (newly fired) editor who’s still mourning his recently deceased husband. There’s Tremble, his young, talented, wild client, who’s fiercely loyal to him and on a mission. Isabelle, the sensitivity reader who gleefully got Rob fired. Paolo, a dentist fleeing a potential stalker. Sean, a fitness guru and ex-action star who’s still hung up on his wife, Linda, who is about to marry Trone, the billionaire.
All of these people’s paths converge at the wedding of the century, leading to a chaotic mess. Told through flashbacks and an asynchronous structure, this character-centric novel really does beg the question: what is wrong with you?
My Thoughts
I really went back and forth when reading this book. I struggled to get into it, then I enjoyed it. Then I struggled, then I enjoyed it. It felt very stop and go until the last 80 or so pages, in which I fully enjoyed it. Ultimately, I decided that this book will definitely have its audience, but that just isn’t me.
With that being said, I did still have an overall positive take on the story. Rudnick is hilarious, and he brings this wit and brilliant situational absurdity to every scene. I loved how he was able to balance these light, ridiculous moments with heavy, substantial ones, particularly around the topics of grief and mourning. Not everyone can do this with finesse, but I felt that he did well.
Pretty much everything that happened on the island was brilliant. I loved the way in which he created such a detailed, absurd setting and handled the entire cast in one place. At that point in the book, there was enough drama to keep me thoroughly entertained and laughing.
There was also plenty of satirical commentary on society today, which I did feel landed for the most part. While it did sometimes get a little over the top or unrealistic (mostly in dialogue, not actions themselves) for me, I enjoyed it for the most part.
Why It Didn’t Fully Land for Me
For me, the structure of the story didn’t work as well as it could have. Based on the blurb, I was expecting a lot more plot. Instead, it was definitely a character-centric book and turned out to be more of a character study. If I’d known that going in, I think my expectation would have been much different. The plot didn’t really start until around page 200 (my version was 287 pages). I thoroughly enjoyed the last third where everything started happening.
I think my major hangup was that it wasn’t my style. Generally, when I read character-focused novels, I prefer to focus on one or two characters (i.e., An American Marriage). There was definitely more emphasis on Rob and Sean here, but sometimes it didn’t feel like everything was necessary. Other times it felt a little imbalanced, as they had more of the spotlight. I definitely did enjoy getting a glimpse into each character’s inner life, but again, I personally would have preferred to see what else could have been done with the plot.
My only other complaint was that the characters felt a little similar to each other. They were all witty, and you could see the “hand of the creator” there. I know that it’s hard for an author’s own voice to not get tangled in their characters, and that’s one of the dangers of writing a story from so many different characters’ perspectives. While each of them definitely had their own motivations, struggles, and reactions, the dialogue and humor felt the same. If I read two pieces of dialogue without seeing the tag, I sometimes couldn’t discern who it was. At times, this–and the overuse of profanity/shock-value humor–felt a bit distracting.
A Final Word
In the end, it was a nice book with excellent insight into humanity and a good message, and really did ask what is wrong with you? to each of its characters, then attempt to answer it. Although abrasive at times, it was a net enjoyable book. There were parts (particularly the ensemble factor, some of the humor, and Rob’s emotional journey) that reminded me of a brash version of The Celebrants, which I really enjoyed. Overall, it looks like that was a little more my speed. If you love laugh out loud humor, character studies, absurdism, and the shock factor, however, I think this book will be right up your alley.
Photo Credit: Image by Alex G. Ramos from Pixabay
