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Guests | October 15, 2009

Michelle Wildgen: IMG A Few Initial and Not-Comprehensive Meditations on Group Novels



I am a sucker for a book about a group. What reminded me of this was Joanna Smith Rakoff's A Fortunate Age, her homage to Mary McCarthy's endlessly re-readable... Continue »

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2 Burnside Self Help- Memoirs
5 Local Warehouse Self Help- Memoirs

Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress: Tales of Growing Up Groovy and Clueless

by Susan Jane Gilman

Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress: Tales of Growing Up Groovy and Clueless Cover

ISBN13: 9780446679497
ISBN10: 0446679496
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Based on the belief that there's more to women's lives than just getting a date, Gilman's stories tell of struggling to get a life and a clue — and engaging in some spectacularly demented behavior along the way. Whether she's an uncool white kid in a tough Puerto Rican neighborhood twirling around in her tutu, a teenager chasing rock stars, an ambitious cub reporter realizing there's more to the world than her own navel, or a feminist bride-to-be unexpectedly finding nirvana in David's Bridal Salon, Gilman's memoir is so engaging it reads like the very best fiction. At turns heartbreaking, insightful, and screamingly funny, it uniquely chronicles a generation — and heralds a talented writer of note.

Review:

"Gilman's memoir of growing up on Manhattan's upper Upper West Side in the '70s starts slowly but gathers momentum. Readers who find themselves drifting during Gilman's reveries on lying during show-and-tell will find themselves pleasantly riveted by the time she's getting in touch with her roots as a reporter for the Jewish Week. Gilman, author of 2001's Kiss My Tiara, a women's self-help guide, makes common scenarios fresh with humor and wry social commentary; on the first day of school, she quickly learns 'boys might be fighters, but girls could be terrorists.' Gilman's ear for dialogue is dead-on. When her brother asks their dad why their Jewish family celebrates Christmas, she doesn't miss a beat: ' 'Because your grandmother's a Communist and your mother loves parties,' said my father. 'Now eat your supper.' ' These one-liners don't detract, however, from a serious and moving look at one family's efforts to keep itself intact through divorce and other life challenges. After her parents separate, Gilman, then in her mid-20s, fears she and her brother had spent their childhoods in happy oblivion while their parents were 'spellbound with misery.' Probably not: Gilman's recollections of moving bumpily toward adulthood are keenly observant. She's nicely made the leap from self-help to narrative nonfiction. Agent, Irene Skolnick." Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"Hilarious, assured, and moving, these are wildly entertaining stories that readers will want to share instantly with friends." Gillian Engberg, Booklist

Review:

"A deliriously, levitatingly funny memoir....It's no great revelation that 'all of us could use a good laugh these days,' but this author delivers more than just one, and that makes her special." Kirkus Reviews

Synopsis:

From the author of Kiss My Tiara comes a funny and poignant collection of true stories about women coming of age that for once isn't about finding a date.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
Michael Morrisey, April 7, 2008 (view all comments by Michael Morrisey)
This book is hilarious. I highly recommend it. I haven't rolled around laughing since I read David Sedaris.
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(3 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
Liz, September 4, 2006 (view all comments by Liz)
My friend demanded, "buy this!" and I'm glad I complied. This book has made the rounds of my not quite old enough to be gen-x friends and family and we have each found truth and forgotten (suppressed?) memories in its pages.
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(5 of 9 readers found this comment helpful)
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780446679497
Subtitle:
Tales of Growing Up Groovy and Clueless
Author:
Gilman, Susan Jane
Publisher:
Warner Books
Location:
New York
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Women
Subject:
Girls
Subject:
Young women
Subject:
New York
Subject:
Regional Subjects - MidAtlantic
Subject:
Childhood Memoir
Subject:
Geneva
Series Volume:
no. 32/2002
Publication Date:
January 2005
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
352
Dimensions:
815x530x98 67

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