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3rd out of 15 books
—
4 voters
Oxford Girl (Kindle Single)
by
Plum Sykes
Plum Sykes always dreamed of going to Oxford as a young girl. When she arrived (wearing a black lycra mini-skirt, in 1988) she was plunged into a world of punting and Pimms, snobs and suicide attempts. Sykes' mini-memoir of her first term at the famed university is as comical as it is touching. Think Mean Girls meets Brideshead Revisited.
Kindle Edition, 25 pages
Published
May 18th 2011
(first published April 4th 2011)
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I went up to Oxford a year after Sykes and I could have written this story, as could anyone who went to Oxford or any university in any city in the world. The only thing mildly original about this might be that its author must be one of the few people over 40 who hasn't realized at some point that being stupid (she calls it "innocent") and self-obsessed while at university didn't make you interesting then and makes for an especially dull read 13 years later. Who cares that your friend slept with...more
I am a fan of Ms. Sykes's writing. While there wasn't anything unique about her Oxford story, I still enjoyed reading it. As an American, I had no idea about the parties and the invitations, although I imagine it's very similar to some U.S. college stories. Sykes has a familiar, flighty style of writing, and it was fun to read that. It was also fun to read about Oxford from the perspective of a girl who was one of the "church mice" (a comment by her Nanny Winnie, which was meant to point out, ra...more
Good story, I just wish there was more of it! I think it would've been more interesting if it had been developed into a full blown story (this is just a kindle single), but it was a quick read and I enjoyed it. Lots of fun, superficial details about Oxford in the 80s and some of the deeper stuff seemed to be glossed over (the parents' inevitable divorce, for example).
I haven't read any of Ms. Sykes' previous books, but the sample sounded really good. While it offered an insight into Oxford, and the smart girl that reamed of going there, the end just seemed abrupt and without a point. I finished the Single thinking 'ok, what was that about?'.
i wish this had been longer (it's just a kindle single), because this is kind of fascinating to me -- the language, the life, everything, it's so...British and posh. i would like to read more about her time at Oxford, i hope this ends up a full memoir at some point.
This was my first read on a Kindle, and this is a "Kindle Single" - in other words, a short story. I thought I would love it because I'm such an anglophile, but I didn't care much for the writing or the persona of the narrator.
Mediocre. I felt like the book was too short but much longer and I'm not sure it'd have kept my attention. Nice read at the park though (and I did read it in one sitting at the park).
Slight, but a fun read.
Short?
I am not sure how the author wrote such a thoroughly entertaining tale is a short story, but Plum Sykes sure did an awesome job! A coming of age story set in the UK.
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Victoria "Plum" Sykes is a British-born fashion-writer, novelist and New York socialite. "Plum" was a childhood nickname (the Victoria plum being a variety of that fruit).
More about Plum Sykes...
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