Funnyman Aziz Ansari can now add another feat to his list: published author. The Indian-American known for his stand-up comedy and a growing acting career has just released Modern Romance . Ansari describes it as a ‘massive research project’, in which he attempts to explore the unique intersection of technology and romance after failing to find ‘the kind of comprehensive, in-depth sociological investigation [he] was looking for’. Knowing that he, the ‘bozo comedian Aziz Ansari probably couldn’t tackle this topic on [his] own’, he enlisted the help of New York University sociologist Eric Klinenberg.

As Ansari investigates the state of romance today, he discusses everything from his parents’ arranged marriage to the types of dating profiles that fetch the most messages and why Soaplands have become more common in Japanese society. For those not in the know, Soaplands are places where men (or women) lie on waterproof mattresses, covered in lubricant, and then experience a woman (or man) slide over them for sexual pleasure.

But why the sudden interest in love? Ansari, like many of us, recently realised the inextricable relationship between his smartphone and his love life. After suffering a read receipt but no response, a distressed Ansari sets out to discover why finding a spouse has become so complicated. His focus — how the process of finding love has evolved with technology — reminds readers of the ways in which mobile apps and websites are changing everything from who we meet, how we meet, and how we stay in touch over the course of our relationship, and not always for the better.

In an effort to be transparent, Ansari provides, through countless endnotes, the context for the many quotes, people and graphs he references. While many of his sources are worth including and explaining (such as the data from large dating websites, scholarly articles, and research findings), much of it serves only to hamper the reader. Among his sources is a subreddit from the popular (yet junky) website Reddit that served to ‘conduct a massive online focus group’ with thousands of responses from around the world. Focus groups seem to be a favourite with him. Apart from the subreddit, he conducts several more in-person focus groups across the continents to supplement his research.

The writing too in Modern Romance is unlike what many of his fans have come to know and love. Having carved a name for himself with a comedy routine that is crude yet personal, this book seems particularly off-brand for Ansari. Its language and tone are in a constant state of flux; its readers never truly feel comfortable with Ansari or his writing. One moment they are asked to follow the analysis of graphs, and in the next they are reading a joke that would have killed in his regular stand-up routine.

The brief moments of Aziz Ansari-like comedic interjection begin to seem like a treat for having endured the previous pages of knowledge-share. Moreover, there is no definable arc in his ‘research’. In plain words, the style of storytelling is poor because there isn’t a clearly defined one. The reader sees no personal growth in Ansari, just the beginnings of a realisation.

So, while the book takes into account, and discusses the methods of finding your soulmate using technology today, Ansari makes his stance clear: he doesn’t have one, and he definitely doesn’t believe in extremes. He talks about how his dad picked his wife (she was just the right height) and how we have more options than ever with apps like Tinder and websites like match.com; and, thankfully, he avoids the pitfall of providing an ‘expert’ opinion on what is inarguably a complex sociological topic.

Unsurprisingly, the back cover of the book features, alongside advance praise for the work, a quote from a woman he consulted for his ‘massive research project’. A conflict of interest? Perhaps, but one thing is clear: Modern Romance may probably not help you find your soulmate, but it will allow you to find solace in the fact that most of your peers are no closer to finding theirs either. As Ansari says, “the main thing I’ve learned from all this research is that we’re all in it together”.

Abid Haque is a writer based in Washington DC

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