For me, there's a weird, unfathomable gulf — I almost wrote gulp — between the completion of a novel and its publication. Some days this duration feels interminable, as though the book has...
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This is hawked as a loving memoir of motherhood on America’s last frontier, but emerges as a maudlin collection of essays penned by a martyr who relies on clichés. From her first-chapter anguish of being excluded from her college-bound son’s scrapbook to simmering anger at her oft-absent husband, Kaylene Johnson overlooks no insult or opportunity to whine, and her tendency to haul out God at every turn grows tiresome, especially when the reader hasn’t been warned of religious content. Johnson bears striking emotional resemblance to Sarah Palin, about whom she penned an admiring biography, and this shallowness erodes the collection of any significant meaning or value.
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When a one-night stand leaves Mary Pols pregnant, she reacts not with fear, but joy: she's finally having the child she's longed for, albeit in much different circumstances. She navigates a tricky relationship with the child's father, introduces her family to her new status, and embarks on a difficult but ultimately joyous journey: motherhood, which changes her far more than she could have anticipated, for the better. Especially touching is her decision to name her little boy for her father and grandmother, neither of whom have had a namesake.
None of the difficulty is glossed over, but the ecstacy is unvarnished as well. I consider it one of the best books ever published on modern parenthood.
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Brett and Layla Foster have been a couple since high school, so Brett’s decision to separate not only shocks everyone, but strains their family – because the Fosters are the only relations the parentless Layla has. What happens when a clan prefers an in-law to blood kin? And what happens to an extended family when its bedrock crumbles? Using alternating narrators, Caprice Crane deftly illustrates a tribe in crisis, and how they handle the hardest problems life dishes out.
Nancy Balbirer reflects on her lackluster acting career in NYC and LA, crazed roommates, awful boyfriends, major & minor celebrities, outlawed diet drugs, and bad decisions. Her tales of the 80s and 90s are dated -- many of the celebrities she gossips about are virtually unknown today -- and never rise above a simmering bitterness. Gossip about SNL and Seinfeld are especially boring. She's aiming for "darkly funny" and "searingly honest," but doesn't come close.
While McCorkindale's stories of adjusting to rural Virginia life after leaving suburban New Jersey are generally funny, there's a clear strain of bitterness and more than a whiff of disdain for the residents of Fauquier County and its lack of commerce. This doesn't work for me, a suburban Richmond girl who happily moved to the western-central Virginia boonies (and its lack of commerce) when I fell in love with a wild-eyed country boy. McCorkindale lurks in the shadows of feminine humor masters Laurie Notaro and Celia Rivenbark -- take a page from them, Suzy, and get back to us when you learn something.
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Madam Pince has commented on (51) products.
Tender Distance: Raising My Sons in Alaska by Kaylene Johnson
Madam Pince, October 11, 2009
This is hawked as a loving memoir of motherhood on America’s last frontier, but emerges as a maudlin collection of essays penned by a martyr who relies on clichés. From her first-chapter anguish of being excluded from her college-bound son’s scrapbook to simmering anger at her oft-absent husband, Kaylene Johnson overlooks no insult or opportunity to whine, and her tendency to haul out God at every turn grows tiresome, especially when the reader hasn’t been warned of religious content. Johnson bears striking emotional resemblance to Sarah Palin, about whom she penned an admiring biography, and this shallowness erodes the collection of any significant meaning or value.(0 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
Accidentally on Purpose: The True Tale of a Happy Single Mother (P.S.) by Mary F. Pols
Madam Pince, August 31, 2009
When a one-night stand leaves Mary Pols pregnant, she reacts not with fear, but joy: she's finally having the child she's longed for, albeit in much different circumstances. She navigates a tricky relationship with the child's father, introduces her family to her new status, and embarks on a difficult but ultimately joyous journey: motherhood, which changes her far more than she could have anticipated, for the better. Especially touching is her decision to name her little boy for her father and grandmother, neither of whom have had a namesake.None of the difficulty is glossed over, but the ecstacy is unvarnished as well. I consider it one of the best books ever published on modern parenthood.
(0 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
Family Affair by Caprice Crane
Madam Pince, August 31, 2009
Brett and Layla Foster have been a couple since high school, so Brett’s decision to separate not only shocks everyone, but strains their family – because the Fosters are the only relations the parentless Layla has. What happens when a clan prefers an in-law to blood kin? And what happens to an extended family when its bedrock crumbles? Using alternating narrators, Caprice Crane deftly illustrates a tribe in crisis, and how they handle the hardest problems life dishes out.Take Your Shirt Off and Cry: A Memoir of Near-Fame Experiences by Nancy Balbier
Madam Pince, June 19, 2009
Nancy Balbirer reflects on her lackluster acting career in NYC and LA, crazed roommates, awful boyfriends, major & minor celebrities, outlawed diet drugs, and bad decisions. Her tales of the 80s and 90s are dated -- many of the celebrities she gossips about are virtually unknown today -- and never rise above a simmering bitterness. Gossip about SNL and Seinfeld are especially boring. She's aiming for "darkly funny" and "searingly honest," but doesn't come close.Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl by Susan Mccorkindale
Madam Pince, June 19, 2009
While McCorkindale's stories of adjusting to rural Virginia life after leaving suburban New Jersey are generally funny, there's a clear strain of bitterness and more than a whiff of disdain for the residents of Fauquier County and its lack of commerce. This doesn't work for me, a suburban Richmond girl who happily moved to the western-central Virginia boonies (and its lack of commerce) when I fell in love with a wild-eyed country boy. McCorkindale lurks in the shadows of feminine humor masters Laurie Notaro and Celia Rivenbark -- take a page from them, Suzy, and get back to us when you learn something.1-5 of 51next