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Any Place I Hang My Hat
by
Susan Isaacs (Goodreads Author)
No matter which side of the nature/nurture debate you're on, Amy Lincoln's prospects do not look good. Her mother abandoned her when she was ten months old (just a couple of months after Amy's father went off to serve his first prison term), leaving her in the care of Grandma Lil, who shoplifts dinner on the way home from her job as a leg waxer to the rich and refined.When...more
ebook, 400 pages
Published
August 14th 2012
by Scribner
(first published January 1st 2004)
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Community Reviews
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May 13, 2010
Margaret
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
general-fiction,
authors-ij
Amy Lincoln is a journalist at In Depth magazine; she has a best friend, Tatty, from one of New York's elite families; a great boyfriend, John, a documentary filmmaker; and, oh yes, a criminal father and a mother who abandoned Amy as a baby to her Grandma Lil. Amy is writing a story on Presidential hopeful Thomas Bowles, and when a college student shows up claiming to be Bowles's illegitimate son, Amy's involvement with that story causes her to want to discover the truth about her own family.
Alt...more
Alt...more
This is the story of Amy - Harvard grad, successful journalist, raised by a witless grandmother and criminal father, abandoned by her mother at 10 months - Lincoln. The plot line is of a three fold search - for her mother, for belonging and for love - and how they interfere and overlap with each other.
The plot, which was generic but with redeeming parts, was second to the real journey, into and out of and churning through Amy's troubled but thoroughly normal mind. Now minds can be very fun place...more
The plot, which was generic but with redeeming parts, was second to the real journey, into and out of and churning through Amy's troubled but thoroughly normal mind. Now minds can be very fun place...more
It took me 100 pages to become interested in this book, but fortunately it started to click after that. One story arc is the standard romance - boy and girl in love unknowingly, break up, fail once to reconnect, try again, reunite melodramatically in the end. The second arc gives the book its depth and appeal - the search for one's history and specialness. The protagonist's search for the mother who abandoned her is done with humor and affection. The story successfully portrays the reality of se...more
On the plus side, the author of this book is extremely clever...smart cultural, literary and current events references in this book are intricately woven throughout the dialogue and in the repartee between the main character (presumably the author herself in some variation) and her boss/boyfriend/ex-con father, etc. But on the negative side, the story just didn't gel for me and was not believable. Despite the amusing characters (Grandma Lil who shoplifted dinner every night), I found myself not...more
I'm giving this three stars because really, the writing is good. Isaacs is queen of the one-liners and witty observations, none of which I could remember five minutes later. And the story ended up the way it should, in my mind -- a love story without any sap or melodrama.
That said... the central plot line (even that is difficult to really say -- is it Amy and John, or Amy's search for her mother?) was drawn waaaaay out with information that in no way seemed necessary. Lots of information about A...more
That said... the central plot line (even that is difficult to really say -- is it Amy and John, or Amy's search for her mother?) was drawn waaaaay out with information that in no way seemed necessary. Lots of information about A...more
I enjoyed this book well enough. It was a nice "finding myself" story with a a cheesy love story thrown in, minus a lot of the cheese and a bit of real-life relationships-are-not-always-awesome thrown in. You meet the main character after her rags to riches conversion from daughter of a criminal turned Ivy League educated gorgeous journalist, which is admittedly hard to relate to for us "normal" people. The first person perspective is nice, and the writing style is very detailed. Although the au...more
The protagonist, Amy Lincoln, comes from poor circumstances...mother abandoned her before her first birthday, father was in and out of jail, raised by her paternal grandmother who was less than an ideal role model. At age fourteen, she gets herself a scholarship to a boarding school, then eventually goes to Harvard and Columbia and now works as a Journalist for a prestigious magazine. Although she has "made" something of herself, she finds she is having a hard time connecting with people, always...more
Isaacs first started writing books in the mid-1970s. Three decades later, she's published her 10th novel, Any Place I Hang My Hat, a Cinderella story with a TV-movie-of-the-week feel. Isaacs's heroine, Amy Lincoln, suffers from abandonment and trust issues. She's worked her way out of poverty and up the journalistic ladder, but she can't quite get past the yearning to locate her long-lost mother and maternal grandparents. Most critics feel Isaacs has penned a heart-warming, if overly predictable
...more
Susan Isaacs has a crisp clever writing style which works well as the narrator, Amy Lincoln, is a journalist covering the Democratic candidates for the 2004 presidential campaign. Amy grew up with an aging grandmother as a caregiver due to her mother's disappearance and her father's inability to stay out of jail. At 29, she decides she needs to make peace with her past which means she has to find her mother. The story is fast paced but also tender as Amy tries to figure out just who she is as an...more
I have become very fond of Susan Isaacs because of her saucy heroines, who seem to live the good life that I missed out on by being born before the sexual revolution really took hold. This one is about an interesting character, Amy Lincoln (no relation) whose mother abandoned her as an infant, after her father was sent to jail. Amy managed to climb out of poverty because of an inherent high intelligence and now is a writer for a very posh NYC magazine, enjoying strange friends and very much in l...more
I have always liked Susan Isaacs. She is witty & funny & writes great dialogue. Most of her humor is wonderful sarcasm - a personal favorite. But she overdoes it to the extreme in this book - she's just not content to write one witty, sarcastic remark at a time. Even the smallest observation that has nothing whatsoever to do with the story merits sometimes 5 or 6 comments - each good in its own right but it gets annoying. The story itself is a good one but it too is overdone. Almost ever...more
Amy Lincoln, the main character,in "Any Place I Hang MY Hat", is a smart young woman who has made her way in the world. She is plucky and flawed. Even though Issacs is wonderfully talented and has a great way with modern description and insight into the life of the single women, however,I never really got immersed in the plot. I always felt like an outsider and kept thinking that the story could have been told in half the time and been twice as engaging. This book was not for me.
It took too long for the author to hit her stride and she never did live up to her potential. The main character can't quite get over her past and the novel is an account of her attempts to make peace with it. But there are no great insights nor does she seem especially haunted. In the novel she and her boyfriend break up but it's hard to believe that it's bothering her that much. I normally love Susan Isaacs and this book was a big disappointment.
Apr 16, 2012
Stephanie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who wants an easy but engaging read
I like Susan Isaacs books. They are entertaining and this one is no exception. I was drawn in by the heroine and her relationships, however disfunctional they may be. I found myself rooting for her and cheering her on when she finally confronted her fears. It was fairly predictable in many ways but the characters are interesting and likable, even the worst of them. It's a goodread. :-)
The heroine of a Susan Isaacs story is always a plucky young female - which gets me every time. The main character of this book comes from an impossible childhood, journeys through excruciating self growth (is there another kind?) and teaches you something about the magazine business in the process. I would recommend this book - it is light reading, but there is some profound wisdom also.
Aug 31, 2009
Sandra Strange
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
adult-fiction
Although this novel has fairly decent themes centering on finding yourself,forgiving those who have made your life horrible and committing to someone you finally admit you love, the narrative contains the obligatory sex scenes. The writing is acceptable, with good characterization and realistic action. It is very accepting of premarital sex, but the protagonist does marry in the end.
In what I learned was her 10th novel, author Susan Isaacs spins a tale of a young girl who is deserted by her mother and her father is in and out of prison...despite herself, she goes to college and becomes a journalist. There's a bit of a zing because of the lifestyle she lives searching for her mother but rather disappointing; although a happy ending if one wants one of those.
This book captures in an unexpected way the intersection between what we want from the people we love and our ability to trust them to give it to us. It's nuanced in an unusual way so that you're right with the narrator.
[I also finished it in the hours of our car ride home, despite four other awake people distracting me. That is the measure of a good book, right? heh, heh:]
[I also finished it in the hours of our car ride home, despite four other awake people distracting me. That is the measure of a good book, right? heh, heh:]
May 10, 2010
Nenette
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Nenette by:
Given by Tey as a Christmas gift
The story is about Amy Lincoln, a woman who grew up almost independently; cared for by her paternal grandmother and in varying amounts of time that summed up to 2 1/2 years, by his father who was in and out of prison. Even though she turned out to be an independent and strong woman, she still needed "a place to hang her hat" - she needed a family, her own family. And so her quest to find her mother who abandoned her when she was just 10 months old. Finding her, she was grateful that she is not a...more
I can't see why anyone would go out of their wayt to read this book. It was on my shelf, so I read it, but really don't recommend it. Could not connect with the main character at all. And just didn't care that she couldn't manage close relationships because her mother abandoned her when she was 2. She (the character) just wasn't likeable enough.
Don't bother.
Don't bother.
For a .25 library closeout it's an okay book. If 379 pages had been shortened to 250 there might be more to recommend. Parts of it are redeeming and enjoyable with long stretches of tedious--stuff--between. I agree with the reviewer who said that it took the author a long time to hit her stride.
I LOVED the encounter with her mother--it made it all worthwhile and made me glad that I made the effort to finish.
I LOVED the encounter with her mother--it made it all worthwhile and made me glad that I made the effort to finish.
This is a solid story of getting through a few months of life, with a bit of climbing over, tunneling under, or just pushing through hurdles--a great tale of family, love, career, and more. Even if the ending is not a huge surprise, it was a delight to follow Isaacs to it. The writing is terrific, some of it laugh-out-loud funny, some painful, and some poignant.
Isaacs is always entertaining and witty. This is a great story about a youn woman reaching a point in her life when she has to find her mother; the woman who deserted her as a baby. I love the author's smappy dialogue and hip references. She is an intelligent woman who writes entertaining romances for thinking women and this is a great example.
I read a few Isaacs many years ago: Compromising Positions and Close Relations - and thought she was very funny. My book club has chosen this as one of our books for 2010.
K.
Fun, light reading. Isaacs is Jewish and sprinkles lots of Jewish references throughout her story. One day after reading the book, I said something to my little cat and called her "goyim." Then I started wondering if it s/b singular, goya - forget the fact that it's an odd name to call her!
K.
K.
Fun, light reading. Isaacs is Jewish and sprinkles lots of Jewish references throughout her story. One day after reading the book, I said something to my little cat and called her "goyim." Then I started wondering if it s/b singular, goya - forget the fact that it's an odd name to call her!
K.
This book was sort of funny at parts, but it had a totally predictable ending. it was just okay for me because the story line dragged on for a little bit too long. Also, I could never tell what point in time she was describing because she would talk about the past and then just randomly jump into the present time.
At first, I would have given this book 4 stars because there were so many parts that turned me emotionally. But then, I skipped so many parts when it talked about politics. None of my interest. Besides, my opinions are not the same with those of the character. I decided to give only 3 stars.
Yesterday afternoon, I was at the last pages. And, I loved them. So, now, I was back to my first decision. 4 stars.
Yesterday afternoon, I was at the last pages. And, I loved them. So, now, I was back to my first decision. 4 stars.
Very enjoyable book. I liked the characters and the humor. It was cleverly humorous as opposed to some books I've read where the humour is "over the top" and gets tiresome. This book kept my interest from beginning to end. It left me feeling good, even though everything didn't turn out perfectly.
I listened to this recorded book and I would highly recommend it. It is full of interesting twist and ends as all good books should "Happy". It was well read and the narrator made it hard to turn off. But there are other things in life that must be done, even tho I would love to read all day.
There were a few times the main character drove me a little crazy. I picked this book up to read from a list of romances. It was not the usual romance but is definitely a romance. It was a fun read and the main character got braver throughout the book, so was fun to see her grow.
I enjoyed this novel. Some of the dialogue was a bit over my head, particularly the references to U.S. politics, but I'm not a current event person, so that's probably why. Still I enjoyed this story of a young woman looking for her mother and why she was abandoned at 10 months of age.
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Susan Isaacs is a recipient of the Writers for Writers Award and the John Steinbeck Award. She serves as chairman of the board of Poets & Writers and is a past president of Mystery Writers of America. She is also a member of the National Book Critics Circle, The Creative Coalition, PEN, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the International Association of Crime Writers, and the Ada...more
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Aug 14, 2008 09:03am