"In You Can Make Him Like You, Ben Tanzer pulls back the curtain on that misunderstood and oft-maligned species, the average american male. But far from the doofuses and canny alcoholics found on sitcoms and beer commercials, Tanzer's characters are flesh and blood people with all the hopes, dreams, fears, problems, complications, warts, and joys that really do come with the job description of husband, father, or son. Every page of this novel reverberates with wit, wisdom, and a bone crushing honesty. Ben Tanzer is that rare writer and this is that rare book: dudes will want to have a beer with him (and maybe listen to that new Hold Steady album, too), women will want to sit down and talk, and everybody will want to read this book again."
--Dave Housely, editor of Barrelhouse and author of Ryan Seacrest is Famous
"Ben Tanzer combines part Nick Hornsby, part Neal Pollack, and part good ole' fashioned Midwestern denial in this funny, meditative coming-of-age journey from selfish assholedom to poignant modern fatherhood."
--Gina Frangello, author of Slut Lullabies and My Sister's Continent
"You Can Make Him Like You is the new book from the high priest of pop, Ben Tanzer. If the Ark of the Covenant was still with us today and located in Chicago Illinois, there would be only one man wise and funny enough to open it up and look inside. His initials would be BT and he would find what you find in this book: Hold Steady lyrics, the war in Iraq, the face of Heidi Klum, machine gun rapid chapters, sex smells, and fathers whispering secrets into tiny, tiny ears. This is a book that screams like a baby screams eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
--Scott McClanahan, author of Stories and Stories 2
"Ben Tanzer is a writer of nerves and nerve endings, of the deeply felt frustration that the brain can't just reach out and touch. You Can Make Him Like You is Woody Allen meets Tom Perrotta--an honest, compelling look at desire, marriage, fatherhood, and all the beauty and ugly in between."
--Lindsay Hunter, author of Daddy's