The Fantasy Review’s review of The Pairing by Casey McQuiston.
This book is insane in all the best ways and I can’t read anything else until I’ve talked about it or I’ll never be able to focus. No spoilers, as always, but I have one or two seperate essays stewing.
“There is perhaps nothing as true, as enduring, as fitting a tribute to the Renaissance as being so horny you could die on the streets of Florence.” – Kit
Spoiler-Free Review of The Pairing by Casey McQuiston
Theo and Kit broke up several years ago, before they could go on a food and wine tasting tour in Europe. With their tickets about to expire, they both (having kept their tickets) seperately book the same trip and have an awkward reunion on the tour bus…
From the premise you can see that this book is going to be insane, and it is. So that’s what I want to talk about first: the humour.
“Nobody’s straight on a European vacation.”
“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience,” I observe, picturing Kit picking up tourists at bars in Montmartre.
“Historic precedent. They switch everyone to bisexual at passport control.”
Both characters have hobbies that are pretentious as fuck, but the book isn’t, and the characters themselves aren’t either. This proves you don’t have to be a massive prick to appreciate “Culture”.
The humour is one of the main ways we see Kit and Theo as normal human beings, rather than swatty professors. Sure, they’re smart as hell and will lecture on about architecture, wines, and fine art, but they also joke about sex and… mostly sex.
I read most of this book during the evenings, getting my youngest to sleep, so there were definitely times I laughed or chuckled and the little guy woke up! I don’t really laugh at books – just do that quick exhale of air thing – but The Pairing had me fucking cackling.
Oh, but now I want to talk about the relationship between Theo and Kit:
“The problem is, we’ve only ever been everything or nothing to each other. I don’t know how to start being something to him.” – Theo
These guys are adorable. Horny, yes, so horny, all the time, but also adorable. The way they think of each other had me in tears at times.
“Her boots pound against the stones, and my first thought is, good. Theo should always walk with heavy footsteps. She should leave deep tracks wherever she goes so everyone can know she was there, like a historical event. Archaeologists should put tape around her footprints and study them with brushes.” – Kit
The way they communicate, the process of their thoughts about each other, the way… shhh spoilers!
There are problems, of course – they split up several years ago, remember? So you can guess that the point of this book is to explore their journey of inner discovery while they travel across some georgous locations in Europe.
I’m wracking my brain trying to think of a negative for this review of The Pairing by Casey McQuiston and the only one I can think of is that is’s too long.
I would have read more. I adored this book and wouldn’t change a thing, but that’s emotional. From a technical perspective, sure, cuts could have been made – even though that breaks my heart – but also maybe that’s not really the point of art.
Sometimes, when something is good and people enjoy it, there should be more, even if it “doesn’t add anything” from a literary perspective. I mean, how many fucking seasons of CSI or whatever, have they made?
The point of this review of The Pairing is that the book is amazing and you should read it. Basically.
If you like rom-coms, great queer rep, extended (and frequent) sex scenes, and want a bit of a Call Me By Your Name vibe, this book is for you!
Sluts forever!
