Vince’s Life: The Next Chapter, Getting Over Andrea
In 2004, I came across a book called Vince’s Life by Vince O. Teves. It’s one of those cute Cosmopolitan novelettes that stuck-up book critics usually dismiss as shallow and cheap, exclaiming “it’s not even a novel!” To think, I’m the John Grisham-kind-of-girl, but after the first few chapters, I
just knew that I’ve found my favorite book.
If there’s one word to describe it, it would be this simple; nothing complicated whatsoever; naïve to a fault that it could almost give you a headache while waiting for the “twist” in the story. It’s about Vince’s first love, which borders on surreal adulation for a girl named Andrea. The awkwardness, the dating scene, the joys of the first few months of being in a relationship, the complications, the breakup, the waiting, the agonizing pain of being stuck in one place for a very long time…they are all real. Vince’s Life is so casual and honest. See? Kath is a marshmallow.
For a book that’s so simple, Vince’s Life from Vince O. Teves is
refreshing.
Four years later, Vince is back. Well, technically. The sequel to the quirky novelette opens with Vince still hung up on his ex-girlfriend Andrea. The Vince’s Life: The Next Chapter, Getting over Andrea practically covers much of what it’s like to be part of the workforce right after college—first job, new friends, bars, Starbucks, Greenbelt, nearly everything I’ve experienced during my first taste of the Makati-yuppie life, so you can really relate to that. But what I found most intriguing is how Vince tackled Copywriting 101 and what it’s like to “stare at the white bull” when a copywriter’s mind refuses to cooperate. I can so relate.Sadly, I was a little disappointed, not because Vince and Andrea didn’t end up together (oops, spoiler!), but because of the lack of description and in-depth recount of Vince’s renaissance, which I think is the pivotal point in the story. Too much ink is wasted on the play-by-play elevator pranks. Unlike the first book, VL2 sounded farfetched to me.
But I enjoyed it anyway. Finishing the book is almost symbolic for me, serendipitous even. Let me just say to Vince O. Teves, whatever your real name is, congratulations, you’re free!
