You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
Cute and light read. Not quite as good as The Wonder Spot.
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
This book is a good bridge between stereotypical chick lit and more serious literature, but it still doesn't ... quite ... get there. There's nothing wrong per se with having a book that focuses solely on one woman's romantic life but I wish it had been a little less pat about "the quest to find THE ONE." In trying to have its cake and eat it too, the book tries to be about how relationships are messy and people are imperfect as we bungle our way toward love, but it's all done through a glossy magazine sheen - "reality" through a Cosmo lens. The people are too pretty and too glamorous for this to be real talk. In all, I thought the book was a compelling and quick read but ultimately unfulfilling. It's not a twinkie, but it's nowhere near creme brulee.
Meh. 2.5 stars; better than the Shopaholic series, but not by much.
While I think many women can identify with some of protagonist Jane's disastrous relationships with men, the chunk of the novel where she is involved with Archie didn't sit well with me. The author never makes it clear why Jane finds him so compelling.
I'm sure I would have liked this book more had I read it when it was first published in 1999, but thankfully I've grown since then.
While I think many women can identify with some of protagonist Jane's disastrous relationships with men, the chunk of the novel where she is involved with Archie didn't sit well with me. The author never makes it clear why Jane finds him so compelling.
I'm sure I would have liked this book more had I read it when it was first published in 1999, but thankfully I've grown since then.
lighthearted
medium-paced
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
I don't understand why I haven't heard more buzz about this book. It feels quintessentially Gen X, and I was 12 when it came out, but usually there's a bit of a halo effect with great generational literature, and that's what this is, even if it's billed otherwise (as chick-lit, whatever that is.)
I was really moved by these stories and Bank is such a phenomenal writer that every once in a while I'd read a line that left me winded, and I had to pause and just think for a moment; ie:
"It occurred to me that the quiet in the suburbs had nothing to do with peace."
What a great read!
I was really moved by these stories and Bank is such a phenomenal writer that every once in a while I'd read a line that left me winded, and I had to pause and just think for a moment; ie:
"It occurred to me that the quiet in the suburbs had nothing to do with peace."
What a great read!
the first half was funny and witty, and then it acquired an incredible lameness that made it painful to finish. There were even a couple of chapters there that are totally random and added nothing to the story, other than to turn this into a collection of short stories instead. Flop.
You know you don't like the book when you plow through 225 pages full of nothing, only to flip through the last 50 without a second thought and toss the book aside while saying 'meh.' Seriously, do not bother.