From Publishers Weekly
Based on interviews with 100 middle-class women, Heyn (The Erotic Silence of the American Wife) explores yet another classification of dysfunctional males. Drama Kings are defined as men who have remained "[s]tuck in a my-needs-come-first understanding of relationships." According to the author, women are getting stronger while Drama Kings, afraid of attachment and commitment, create scenes that sabotage intimacy. Heyn presents four categories of these losers, but their descriptions sound like old complaints about men forced into new packaging. The Visitor is a loner who believes "the way to a woman's heart is through her genitals." The Proprietor is a jealous bully who demands constant attention. In contrast, the Easy-going Guy makes up fake girlfriends in order to avoid moving forward in a relationship. The Hit and Run Lover pretends to want closeness, but leaves without warning if there is the smallest problem. Heyn's upbeat message is that, although women can be tricked by Drama Kings, they often leave them, emerging stronger from the encounter and ready for an independent life. Self-help devotees may be engaged by the author's anecdotal style, but her stance that she is writing a feminist text to support strong women rather than a simple relationship guide is not fully convincing .
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Strong women, beware. You are more susceptible than most to the advances of the so-called "drama kings"--men for whom relationships always devolve into melodrama and rob the strength of the women involved. Heyn presents a compelling portrait of the five types of drama kings--toxic personalities and all."
--The San Francisco Chronicle
--The San Francisco Chronicle
"Ms. Heyn has a keen nose for social change. She has detected a plague of drama kings and records their pernicious attributes so that wary women can spot them in time and bar the door."--The New York Times
"Heyn probes a new trend: women who value independence and personal fulfillment above domesticity and wifely duty. Heyn describes take-charge women's changing expectations of what a relationship should be." --Psychology Today
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