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bparkinson31 's review for:
The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels: A Love Story
by Ree Drummond
lighthearted
Listen, for over 300 pages, Ree describes a life that I can in no way relate to. And she describes it in a repetitive, stuck-up, narrow fashion. Did you know that she grew up on a golf course, and that this aspect of her upbringing is the single distinguishing factor between her and Marlboro Man's "worlds" (two towns an hour away from each other in Oklahoma)? You won't forget, because she'll tell you 12 times in 12 pages. Did you know that she has a life-long childhood best friend named Becky? You won't until about page 250, when she's briefly mentioned as Ree's bridesmaid. You won't know anything about Becky or anyone in Ree's social circle except for the men that she's serially dated, including the poor bloke who she "slowly" though unclearly broke up with, to the degree that four months after their murky split she still has to uninvite him to a family wedding after she's casually dated three other men and things are now starting to heat up with a fourth, Ladd. Did you know that he has biceps, and that she finds them attractive? You will literally never forget. You will also learn next to nothing else about Ladd, not even his name. He remains the character of "Marlboro Man" all the way to the end, past their marriage and honeymoon and birth of their firstborn daughter.
The lack of context for both Marlboro Man and any other element of Ree's life (did she ever have a job? goals? hobbies? friends?) were not only annoying but left the story feeling incomplete. And then there were the insensitive comments - their "Indian house" (built by a Native American) and how she found the "seedy" parts of Los Angeles thrilling (she didn't have a lot of experience with poverty or strive growing up on the golf course). It may be a memoir of a love story, but the selfishness is almost astounding. She literally runs over their family dog with her car and it's strangely unemotional. It somehow becomes about Ladd and the date that she goes on with him that night after she didn't accompany her mom to the vet where the family dog dies. At one point she says "knowing my luck, I was probably sitting in a pile of manure" as if she hasn't described for an entire book how lucky she is? She, in case you missed it, lives on a golf course, had an idyllic childhood, went to college USC, lived in Los Angeles, never had an issue finding boyfriends, and has now landed a millionaire cowboy who treats her right and who she thinks is really, really hot. At what point has she not been lucky?
Then there's a truly delicious moment during their honeymoon in Australia where Ladd and Ree solemnly consider how "the markets are totally in the shitter," and they decide to cut their vacation short and flee home. Because of the markets. The millionaires were in trouble. God, I love rich people problems.
Anyways. Did I read it in three days and drink the whole book up like a nice easy breezy cocktail? Yup, absolutely.
The lack of context for both Marlboro Man and any other element of Ree's life (did she ever have a job? goals? hobbies? friends?) were not only annoying but left the story feeling incomplete. And then there were the insensitive comments - their "Indian house" (built by a Native American) and how she found the "seedy" parts of Los Angeles thrilling (she didn't have a lot of experience with poverty or strive growing up on the golf course). It may be a memoir of a love story, but the selfishness is almost astounding. She literally runs over their family dog with her car and it's strangely unemotional. It somehow becomes about Ladd and the date that she goes on with him that night after she didn't accompany her mom to the vet where the family dog dies. At one point she says "knowing my luck, I was probably sitting in a pile of manure" as if she hasn't described for an entire book how lucky she is? She, in case you missed it, lives on a golf course, had an idyllic childhood, went to college USC, lived in Los Angeles, never had an issue finding boyfriends, and has now landed a millionaire cowboy who treats her right and who she thinks is really, really hot. At what point has she not been lucky?
Then there's a truly delicious moment during their honeymoon in Australia where Ladd and Ree solemnly consider how "the markets are totally in the shitter," and they decide to cut their vacation short and flee home. Because of the markets. The millionaires were in trouble. God, I love rich people problems.
Anyways. Did I read it in three days and drink the whole book up like a nice easy breezy cocktail? Yup, absolutely.