Him Her Him Again The End of Him (2007)

The plot of Him Her Him Again The End of Him — a grad-school dropout obsessed with an unworthy wife-cheater — might incline you to roll your chick-lit-weary eyes. But Patricia Marx's lively novel is full of refreshing characters, including parents who write comedy sketches about Belarus, Stephen Hawking's suicidal assistant, and said unworthy lech, who uses words like soupçon and anon. But the highlight is the unnamed heroine, endearingly neurotic and whip-smart. ''I hope you're not getting fed up with me because, as it happens, I think I'm beginning to like you more and more,'' she tells the reader. Fed up? Never.