Growing up is a dirty business. It’s messy and uncertain, treacherous and humiliating. We greedily grab at the wrong things, or the wrong people. Along the way we become someone we don’t like, or even recognize. But if we’re persistent, and resiliant, and open to surprises, we may cobble together... ...more
This book may inspire a new shelf, a substratum of 'the love story', which is 'the mistress's story.' A young, but not too young, woman looking for something for more in her life, more fun, more juice, something to really matter, than her economics dissertation, which seems, the longer she waits... ...more
Cressida Hartley is suffering from a serious case of ennui. At 28, she is stagnating in ABD status, trying to finish her dissertation in economics, wholly disliking her field of expertise. It's the eighties, and Reaganomics doesn't suit her. But she found a way to integrate her affinity with art... ...more
This book is so beautiful. Although I loved the prose and the setting from the beginning, its episodic style was hard to get into. I had a difficulty remembering who characters were, and sometimes the summarized nature made it hard to really feel invested in the heroine's, Cressida's, conflicts.... ...more
I stayed up late into the night to finish this book. (And then I stayed up later to go online and order a copy for a friend's birthday.) It isn't a thriller or a mystery or anything with a twist ending: it's just so damn well written and relatable that I had to find out what happened. Maybe it's... ...more
I can more than relate to this book and that's why I liked it so much. I myself went "of course" in my early twenties..lived in a remote mountain town, spent time with all the wrong men and generally lost (and then found) myself. Its quite honestly the same story except mine didn't take place in... ...more
I love the way Michelle Huneven expresses herself, but I didn’t love the plot or characters of this book. Her first three novels had overarching themes that were quite similar to one another – all very good, but I was looking forward to reading this novel, which sounded from the synopsis like it... ...more
I picked up this book because I loved the B&W picture on the front. I would love to have it as a print. It speaks volumes for the story that unfolds. It took me a long time to warm to the main character as I was initially intrigued because the premise of the story line was she went to a remot... ...more
Loved it, I love everything by this author. If you are annoyed by people making a lot of bad decisions, this might not be for you. I'd consider it part of one of my favorite genres - "loser lit". Great cast of characters. ...more