4 posts tagged “chicklit”
Girl Cook by Hannah McCouch
Obtained: Library
Finished: 27-November 2007
Story Synopsis:
Layla Mitchner is a twenty-eight-year-old Cordon Bleu graduate trying to carve out a space for herself in the fast-paced, high-pressure world of Manhattan’s top restaurant kitchens. She knows she’s got the talent to be a great chef, but there she is slaving for a misogynistic boss who’d sooner promote the dishwasher than give a woman the chance to prove her sous-chef mettle. And while Layla knows that the dwindling balance in her bank account won’t begin to cover what she owes her roommate, she’s desperate not to seek help from her self-absorbed, serially divorced, soap-opera-actress mother.
Her romantic prospects seem no brighter. She gets set up with a nice enough guy, but his tassel loafers and corporate demeanor reek of the WASP aristocracy she’s determined to leave behind. After continuously striking out, she meets a musician who appears to be the bohemian Mr. Right of her dreams, only to find he may be more deadbeat than heartthrob. But Layla refuses to settle for anything short of true love and success, and she ultimately finds both where she least expects them.
Hannah McCouch’s fresh and animated voice leaps off the pages of Girl Cook, a deliciously modern Cinderella story of love, sex, chefs, and the city.
Commentary:
Book started off great -- Layla's a no-nonsense cook who's stuck working for misogynistic chef who doesn't think women have what it takes to make it in the kitchen. This book felt like it was the spiritual chick lit sibling of Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential -- complete with the drugs, illegal immigrants, and booze.
Then, somewhere along the way, the author remembered that she was actually writing a novel directed at women... so if she didn't get to the requisite relationship angst soon, then there would be no way that chicks would read this stuff.
Truthfully, it's the relationship-y parts of the story that I liked the least.
Though, I have to say, I do appreciate the fact that this is the first chick lit that I've read where the girl is actually suffering for money. She's a cook in NY -- so yes to the roommate, the credit card anxiety, the drinking of cheap booze. I never understood how other chick lit novels could have heroines working as temps are able to afford one-bedroom apartments of their own in Manhattan. That's why I liked this novel -- I could tell that the author actually lived here and know what exactly is going on. Bonus points for references to actual restaurants and locations too.
Obtained: Library
Finished: 27-November 2007
Story Synopsis:
Layla Mitchner is a twenty-eight-year-old Cordon Bleu graduate trying to carve out a space for herself in the fast-paced, high-pressure world of Manhattan’s top restaurant kitchens. She knows she’s got the talent to be a great chef, but there she is slaving for a misogynistic boss who’d sooner promote the dishwasher than give a woman the chance to prove her sous-chef mettle. And while Layla knows that the dwindling balance in her bank account won’t begin to cover what she owes her roommate, she’s desperate not to seek help from her self-absorbed, serially divorced, soap-opera-actress mother.
Her romantic prospects seem no brighter. She gets set up with a nice enough guy, but his tassel loafers and corporate demeanor reek of the WASP aristocracy she’s determined to leave behind. After continuously striking out, she meets a musician who appears to be the bohemian Mr. Right of her dreams, only to find he may be more deadbeat than heartthrob. But Layla refuses to settle for anything short of true love and success, and she ultimately finds both where she least expects them.
Hannah McCouch’s fresh and animated voice leaps off the pages of Girl Cook, a deliciously modern Cinderella story of love, sex, chefs, and the city.
Commentary:
Book started off great -- Layla's a no-nonsense cook who's stuck working for misogynistic chef who doesn't think women have what it takes to make it in the kitchen. This book felt like it was the spiritual chick lit sibling of Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential -- complete with the drugs, illegal immigrants, and booze.
Then, somewhere along the way, the author remembered that she was actually writing a novel directed at women... so if she didn't get to the requisite relationship angst soon, then there would be no way that chicks would read this stuff.
Truthfully, it's the relationship-y parts of the story that I liked the least.
Though, I have to say, I do appreciate the fact that this is the first chick lit that I've read where the girl is actually suffering for money. She's a cook in NY -- so yes to the roommate, the credit card anxiety, the drinking of cheap booze. I never understood how other chick lit novels could have heroines working as temps are able to afford one-bedroom apartments of their own in Manhattan. That's why I liked this novel -- I could tell that the author actually lived here and know what exactly is going on. Bonus points for references to actual restaurants and locations too.
This book officially wins the award for having the longest title out of any book that I've read in 2007.
(What? There was a contest?)
Men May Come and Men May Go ... But I've Still Got My Little Pink Raincoat by Gigi Anders
Obtained: Library
Finished: 26-November 2007
Story Synopsis:
A quick and flighty read about the author's obsessive relationship with things and men.
Gigi Anders presents herself as one of those women who think that having (or wearing, or owning) certain items will make her more attractive and more lovable to men. The pink raincoat mentioned in the title, for instance, was an almost painful revelation on the lengths certain people (okay, women) will go to in order to get that one coveted thing. It's a GAP raincoat, for one thing, and last I checked, boys won't love you for wearing cute pink outerwear.
I don't think I found any of the essays "side-splitting," as the advertising text suggests. It was almost like watching multiple reruns of a car wreck. Woman obsesses on certain item, buys certain item thinking that it'll bring her love and happiness from a man, watches in dismay as man doesn't offer love and happiness because of item, rinse and repeat.
If anything, this book only proves that 90% of primping and beautifying that women think would bring them attention from a man is unnecessary. If a guy really wants to be with you, you could be wearing a sack for all he cares.
(What? There was a contest?)
Men May Come and Men May Go ... But I've Still Got My Little Pink Raincoat by Gigi Anders
Obtained: Library
Finished: 26-November 2007
Story Synopsis:
From one very fabulous and elusive little pink raincoat (to woo one commitment-phobe) to a pair of very persuasive peach panties (a gift from a dazzling doc), Gigi Anders relates her obsessions with clothing and men through a series of beautifully crafted vignettes. Side-splitting and sharply observed, these true stories chronicle ten classically glamorous and hard-to-find items (from clothing to accessories to makeup), the corresponding hard-to-pin-down boyfriends—and the quest to nail them both.
Anders delivers a tasty, uplifting, and universal meditation on the things we crave and the lengths we'll go to get them. Women everywhere will recognize themselves in this book.
Commentary:A quick and flighty read about the author's obsessive relationship with things and men.
Gigi Anders presents herself as one of those women who think that having (or wearing, or owning) certain items will make her more attractive and more lovable to men. The pink raincoat mentioned in the title, for instance, was an almost painful revelation on the lengths certain people (okay, women) will go to in order to get that one coveted thing. It's a GAP raincoat, for one thing, and last I checked, boys won't love you for wearing cute pink outerwear.
I don't think I found any of the essays "side-splitting," as the advertising text suggests. It was almost like watching multiple reruns of a car wreck. Woman obsesses on certain item, buys certain item thinking that it'll bring her love and happiness from a man, watches in dismay as man doesn't offer love and happiness because of item, rinse and repeat.
If anything, this book only proves that 90% of primping and beautifying that women think would bring them attention from a man is unnecessary. If a guy really wants to be with you, you could be wearing a sack for all he cares.
Austenland by Shannon Hale
Obtained: Library
Finished: 9-Sept 2007
Story synopsis:
Commentary:
I've read a couple of Shannon Hale's young adult novels -- Goose Girl and Princess Academy -- so when I read from another book review blog that she's dipped her toes into an actual adult title, I was admittedly excited.
Jane Hayes, the title character, is actually one of the better chicklit heroines that I've encountered. She's a New York graphic designer, who hides her P&P DVDs behind her houseplant. I could think of worse hobbies than being obsessed with Colin Firth, but hey, it's a plot point, I suppose. Hale peppers the novel with short vignettes about Jane's previous 13 boyfriends, some of which are funny, some which are just pathetic. Typical girl fare, yes. A seemingly charming and successful woman fails in love relationships, so her crush on Darcy becomes an escape... so much so to the point that she eventually needs to escape the escape in order to function.
I think one of the reasons why I went through this book quicker than usual wasn't because I was curious whom Jane would end up in the end (her choice of beau was actually rather obvious, in my opinion). I was drawn more to the extent that people (yes, fictional characters are people too!) would go to in order to indulge their fandom. The other visitors to the resort want to live in Austen's universe so desperately that they would pay exorbitant amounts of many to wear waistless dresses and to sit and embroider and to play whist. One of the female characters even reveals that she's been to the resort three other times, even employing the services of a drama coach just so that she could polish her character. Sounds unbelievable, but somehow, I can actually see real people doing this. It's amazing what people would do to indulge their fantasy... just as amazing as the people who would go to the lengths to indulge these same people for the right price.
Obtained: Library
Finished: 9-Sept 2007
Story synopsis:
Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined.
Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen—or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It’s all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?
Commentary:
I've read a couple of Shannon Hale's young adult novels -- Goose Girl and Princess Academy -- so when I read from another book review blog that she's dipped her toes into an actual adult title, I was admittedly excited.
Jane Hayes, the title character, is actually one of the better chicklit heroines that I've encountered. She's a New York graphic designer, who hides her P&P DVDs behind her houseplant. I could think of worse hobbies than being obsessed with Colin Firth, but hey, it's a plot point, I suppose. Hale peppers the novel with short vignettes about Jane's previous 13 boyfriends, some of which are funny, some which are just pathetic. Typical girl fare, yes. A seemingly charming and successful woman fails in love relationships, so her crush on Darcy becomes an escape... so much so to the point that she eventually needs to escape the escape in order to function.
I think one of the reasons why I went through this book quicker than usual wasn't because I was curious whom Jane would end up in the end (her choice of beau was actually rather obvious, in my opinion). I was drawn more to the extent that people (yes, fictional characters are people too!) would go to in order to indulge their fandom. The other visitors to the resort want to live in Austen's universe so desperately that they would pay exorbitant amounts of many to wear waistless dresses and to sit and embroider and to play whist. One of the female characters even reveals that she's been to the resort three other times, even employing the services of a drama coach just so that she could polish her character. Sounds unbelievable, but somehow, I can actually see real people doing this. It's amazing what people would do to indulge their fantasy... just as amazing as the people who would go to the lengths to indulge these same people for the right price.
What they say:
Sports reporter Michelle Yu and lawyer Blossom Kan introduce a vibrant, irresistible novel set in New York City. Based on personal experience, China Dolls is the story of three best friends from childhood—each an unforgettable Asian woman—tackling their late twenties over drinks, laughs, and dim sum...
Exploring life at the intersection of two worlds—one of Asian grandmothers and red envelopes, and another of career challenges and dating disasters—China Dolls is an exhilarating debut from two sensational new talents.
Commentary:
Okay, this is different. Chick-lit about twenty-something Asian-American New Yorkers written by actual 20something AANY'ers. Or so they'd like me to think.
I knew that I wasn't going to expect anything ground-breaking when the Amazon reviews termed it as a "younger, hipper version of the Joy Luck Club." Glee.
Snarkiness aside, the two authors did manage to capture the insecurities of being an Asian-American female -- from the drive to succeed, the obligations to family, the tensions between cultures and generations. I did actually see a lot of the experiences of me and my peers in their stories.
What I wasn't crazy about was the "Sex and the Cit(y)"-fication of their lifestyles. The three women would always go out to pricey bars and lounges every night, go shopping in expensive boutiques, eat in posh restaurants. Okay, yes, that's what some NY'ers do, but it's entirely deceiving and unrealistic -- those details, which could have been left at the wayside, made the story seem "phony" to me, so instead of seeing the novel as an accurate reflection of the life & times of other Asian-American women of my generation, I just flipped through it like I would any other chicklit.
Sports reporter Michelle Yu and lawyer Blossom Kan introduce a vibrant, irresistible novel set in New York City. Based on personal experience, China Dolls is the story of three best friends from childhood—each an unforgettable Asian woman—tackling their late twenties over drinks, laughs, and dim sum...
Exploring life at the intersection of two worlds—one of Asian grandmothers and red envelopes, and another of career challenges and dating disasters—China Dolls is an exhilarating debut from two sensational new talents.
Commentary:
Okay, this is different. Chick-lit about twenty-something Asian-American New Yorkers written by actual 20something AANY'ers. Or so they'd like me to think.
I knew that I wasn't going to expect anything ground-breaking when the Amazon reviews termed it as a "younger, hipper version of the Joy Luck Club." Glee.
Snarkiness aside, the two authors did manage to capture the insecurities of being an Asian-American female -- from the drive to succeed, the obligations to family, the tensions between cultures and generations. I did actually see a lot of the experiences of me and my peers in their stories.
What I wasn't crazy about was the "Sex and the Cit(y)"-fication of their lifestyles. The three women would always go out to pricey bars and lounges every night, go shopping in expensive boutiques, eat in posh restaurants. Okay, yes, that's what some NY'ers do, but it's entirely deceiving and unrealistic -- those details, which could have been left at the wayside, made the story seem "phony" to me, so instead of seeing the novel as an accurate reflection of the life & times of other Asian-American women of my generation, I just flipped through it like I would any other chicklit.
