Review: Only Tim Sent Flowers by George Kaplan

Only Tim Sent Flowers
by George Kaplan


Description:
Mary Louise, a bookish, redheaded, freckle-faced, eighteen-year-old virgin, who is unaware she has Asperger’s Syndrome, dispenses with Tim, her loving but far too serious and conventional high school boyfriend, then thrusts herself, groin first, into the 1960s sexual revolution, pioneering concepts such as friends with benefits and serial monogamy, while earning two college degrees in statistics. Nicknamed Tookie by her doting father, she engages in often humorous escapades with innumerable unsuitable lovers, whom she seduces with her oral virtuosity. But through it all, the one thing she really wants escapes her—a man who will truly love her, despite her faults, and give her a daughter.


My Review:
Only Tim Sent Flowers reads like a memoir. The main character, Mary Louise, or Tookie, becomes obsessed with experiencing and learning everything about sex.

I actually thought her relationship with her first boyfriend, Tim, was kind of sad. He’s very sweet and respectful, and he loves her, but it isn’t enough for Mary Louise. She loses interest in him when her attempts to get him to be her first fail. I kind of wanted her to get back with him, but the story is true to both her own and Tim’s personalities. He needs more and she wants less, or perhaps just different. It’s just too bad.

Anyway, that set aside, a good chunk of the book is Tookie cycling her way through as many fellows as humanly possible, studying and applying what she learns exuberantly. Some of her actual relationships are pretty interesting side stories, but again, I found them sad. Her sense of accomplishment and self-worth come at a cost I don’t think she realizes. She wants love, but only knows one variable in the formula.

I thought the fact that she has undiagnosed Asperger’s Syndrome added an interesting dynamic. Her behavior and preferences seem over the top until you take that into account. This characteristic is only overtly mentioned in the book’s description and the author’s note at the end, but it defines her.
As for the sexual encounters, well, nothing is left to the imagination. It’s very straightforward and detailed. One is left without a doubt about every one of Tookie’s likes and dislikes, and why. Some of the Asperger’s characteristics seemed to come out in these as well, which I thought showed some pretty good attention to detail. It is definitely meant for adult readers as there is a nearly constant stream of sex and sexual pursuit.

As for the storytelling, it comes across as rather factual and direct, a style typical of memoirs. This book should not be mistaken for a romance.

Overall, I thought this was a really good book, though it can be sad at times. I think the book might appeal to adults who enjoy fictional memoirs.

I received an ARC of this book from the author.


About the Author:
After a career of chasing, and being chased by, spies and assorted thugs across national monuments while being mistaken for Cary Grant, George Kaplan hung up his shoulder holster and used the money to buy a computer to serve as his word processor. Although well versed in writing after-action summaries, Kaplan had no experience with writing fiction, other than his expense reports. Government repercussions about modeling characters after his cohorts and enemies would have been far too risky, so he fabricated a heroine who has qualities he'd seen a few of on each of a number of women he'd rubbed shoulders (and sometimes more) with, during his long career undercover. Kaplan's first novel, Only Tim Sent Flowers, launches his Tookie series about an undiagnosed Aspie girl who perseveres through numerous unexpected adventures.
Author's website https://blackopalbooks.com/george-kaplan/

Other links:
Book Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAHvbJ7MEac
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Only-Tim-Sent-Flowers-Revised/dp/1626947295/
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36176303-only-tim-sent-flowers