The Flaw of Love by Lauren Grodstein

The flaw of love is the debut novel of an American author named Lauren Grodstein. The novel focuses on human relationships with an amazing touch of irony and wit to it. The story circles around the protagonist, Joel Miller's introspection into his relationships with all the people in his life.

Joel is in the biggest quandary of his life - whether or not he wants to become a father. The girl in his life, Lisa is doing a pregnancy test and Joel realizes that the results could be anything. Waiting for the results of the test, Joel goes back into time analyzing his relationships with his parents, his best friend and the girl he loved the most, Blair. As his future is being decided behind a closed door, his thoughts are wandering in the past. He had a very tumultuous childhood as he saw a failed marriage of his parents. His father was one of the most complex yet nice person he had ever known and his mother a very unpredictable and eccentric lady. The relationship they shared not only affected his childhood but also scarred his entire life. He thinks about Blair, the girl he loved most dearly but could not hold on to because she was not the person looking for a commitment.

All these relationships had a marked effect on Joel's life and also made him a person who is skeptical of commitment. This is the problem that gets him back to the present as he waited for Lisa to take the test and get some finality to his life. The manner in which Joel explores all these relationships is ironic, acerbic and also marked with a keen sense of observation.