The Great Big Book of Guys

Naomi Brun is a freelance writer and a book reviewer for The Hamilton
Spectator.

Erika Ritter is a popular host on CBC Radio, a novelist, a playwright,
and a sharp observer of Canadian social life. Her trademark blend of
honesty and wit has garnered a steady following of CBC listeners and
secured a well-respected position among Canadian radio journalists, for
she manages to be frank and humane at the same time. The Great Big Book
of Guys is Ritter’s first work of literary non-fiction.

The very qualities that make for good radio journalism translate well
into this genre, so it comes as no surprise that The Great Big Book of
Guys is a roaring success. Ritter grew up with a distant father, and
then later married a man who turned out to be homosexual. Given her
past, one might expect that The Great Big Book of Guys would turn into
one long male-bashing session, but fortunately that isn’t the case.
Instead, Ritter has written a fun, insightful work outlining her
evolving understanding of masculinity.

Using Edward Gorey poetry as an inspiration for her chapter titles
(“A is for Amigos,” “B is for Bad Boys,” “C is for
Codgers”), Ritter takes a good hard look at all sorts of men. In one
chapter, she muses on her difficult relationship with her father; in
another, she writes of formative experiences with priests and nuns. Her
chapter on “Noncommitals” is a must-read for any single woman, and
the fictionalized account of an experiment with Just For Men hair dye
left tears streaming down my cheeks.

The Great Big Book of Guys is written with an easy sort of candour that
speaks to the heart. Reading this book is like going out for coffee with
your funniest, smartest friend, and listening as she pours out her soul.