Laughter is often the best medicine and perhaps it is even the cure for relationship heartbreak. Author Dewan W. Gibson shows this in The Imperfect Enjoyment, a true story about a secret relationship between an American college instructor and a student from the Middle East. However, unlike many love stories this is actually a humor book.

The story begins with a hilarious account of the author driving from Ohio to California in search of a new life. While on the road he meets random people and at one point ends up at an African house party in Lincoln, Nebraska of all places. I could not stop laughing as the shy author tries to impress a woman who speaks very little English.

We later find out that Dewan has never been to the West Coast. In fact, the main reason he decided to move there was the weather and other wonders of Southern California that he has seen on television. However, his expectations of a calm bachelor life soon run into trouble when he meets a young woman from the Middle East named Haniyah.

Without giving away the complete story the two fall in love. But Haniyah’s family is strongly against her dating an American man, so much so that they threaten to disown her. You would think that the story would now turn into a sad love story. Yet Gibson jokes about cultural differences between Arabs and Americans and even his fear to compete with men he believes Haniyah will meet when she goes home for vacation.

The story then turns into a saga about being a single young man. As a young woman I got great insight into what many young men are thinking, even some things that I hope they are not thinking. Throughout the entire book the author keeps the mood light with tales from a number of stories that only an unlucky single man can find himself in. In some ways I felt I was watching a comedy movie full of crazy situations, especially when Dewan flies off to Europe in order to see a woman he met on Myspace.

My only warning about this book is that the language is a bit rough in some parts of the book. Yet, I don’t think it’s much different than what you would hear in many comedy movies. I hope others enjoy The Imperfect Enjoyment as much as I did. If you are looking for a quick and hilarious read this is definitely the book for you!