Any Human Heart: A Novel

I bought this book because a woman on tv show cited it as a book she might give to someone on a first date, as she loved it so passionately. Eh? I am beyond struggling to understand why? Written diary style, every page is filled with the musing of giant ego monologuing through the pages (and ages). Most irritating is the one dimensional woman created, who live on these pages to love or to want to fuck him and most of whose lives, happiness and desire to keep living are entirely dependent on the love and consistency of their men. There are threaded references to the greatest writers of the era and prominent historical figures who (slightly reminiscent of Woody Allen's Zelig) our protagonist mixes with. I am three quarters through and it's tiring and grating but oddly I keep going back to it, like a fly to a web. I think it's because the writing style is easy to read, in hence the generous two stars despite not liking it one bit. More than anything else I am left puzzling over why this seemingly smart woman on tv would gift this book to a first date unless she wanted to signpost that she had pretty low standards and expectations in a male partner.