Book Review: Womanizer: "Knowing" Wonderful Women by Marv Rubinstein

Womanizer recounts the sexual memoirs of a confirmed womanizer appropriately named Randy Rosen. Although the book is subtitled, "A Novel Novel," it reads like an autobiography.

The story begins with an 82-year-old man having discovered that his first love recently died. The death of "Annie" prompted a nostalgic reminiscence of all the women he has "known." He describes his initial sexual contact with Annie at age 16; the subsequent incredible emotional highs that can only be found within the angst of adolescent relationships and the inevitably painful ending.

Randy and Annie dated for two years beginning when he was 16 and she was 15. Four months after he went away to college, having been fully immersed in his studies, he arrived back home assuming his relationship with Annie would be as it had been. In a normal relationship, the expectation is that New Year's Eve will de facto be spent with your partner. However, not having heard from him since Thanksgiving, Annie had made other plans.

The betrayal by Annie, Randy believes, is the triggering event that shaped him becoming a womanizer. In his words, womanizers are made, not born. By his report, he has never fully trusted a woman again. Nevertheless, he clearly loves women.

In school, Randy had been a bookish, nerdy student who had never developed an interest or aptitude for sports. Perhaps his alienation from the jock crowd and his leaning toward liberal politics put him in touch with more women than men. Whatever the reason, he prefers being with women.

He enjoys and celebrates the whimsical changes of heart that women have. He relishes in their unpredictability. He cultivates women as friends rather than hanging out with male friends. He revels in sexually satisfying many of the women that cross his path, but he has never trusted any woman since Annie.

Womanizer is not just a book about sex. Randy also tackles some interesting issues. He defines the word "womanizer." He attempts to address the "subservient" misconception of Asian women, and he touches on the sensitive subjects of physical abuse, mail-order brides, and occasional impotence. While not everyone will agree with his conclusions, he bases his theories on his vast experience with the many different sizes, shapes, shades, and personalities of the fairer sex.

Article Author: Alexandria Jackson

Alexandria Jackson is a psychologist by day and a Blogcritic by night. She is the author of Don't Take it Personally: Keep Your Self-Esteem in a Relationship.

Visit Alexandria Jackson's author page — Alexandria Jackson's Blog