Paul Schmidtberger Design Flaws of the Human Condition

Design Flaws of the Human Condition

Paul Schmidtberger

Broadway, Jul 2007, $12.95

ISBN: 9780767926751

During an overcrowded plane flight, an incident sends Iris Steegers into a berserker rage. She is ordered to attend an anger management seminar or face stronger consequences. Upset over her behavior especially how easily she fell apart though somewhat justified, Iris also thinks her boyfriend Jeremy Eberle is cheating on her.

Proofreader Ken Connelly is fired from his job at a law firm; he comes home early despondent only to find his lover Brett Manikin in bed with another man. Angry, he defaces library books with comments about Brett, but is caught. He must attend an anger management class.

Ken and Iris sit next to one another at the anger management class hosted at Manhattan's West Side Y. They become friends and agree to conduct undercover surveillance of their respective lovers as she expects he will affirm that Jeremy has a side squeeze and he anticipates that she will prove that Brett is depressed but still a cheat.

This illogical and slightly flawed but entertaining contemporary drama digs deep into what is happiness and friendship and how they are key elements in a relationship. The two prime protagonists and their lovers come across as genuine people even when they perform over the top espionage. Lighthearted with a touch of hyperbole, DESIGN FLAWS OF THE HUMAN CONDITION provides readers with an amusing look at how we get along.

Harriet Klausner