false 163799 7 Meghan Daum's first book, the essay collection <I>My Misspent Youth</I>, was written with effortless humor and excoriating insight. This was a writer who made fun of everything, most especially herself. Humor and self-knowledge infuse her debut novel, <I>The Quality of Life Report</I>. Fans of Daum's essays probably know that her unworkable, expensive New York lifestyle led her to move to the Midwest. Same goes for the fictional Lucinda Trout, a New York TV producer who, while on assignment, falls in love with the town of Prairie City. Daum, with typical acuity, is wise to her character's real motivations for moving to the country: she wants to be a better person, and believes the Midwest will do the trick: "This was, after all, serious country. The real heartland, the plains. It was Willa Cather-novel serious. It was Sissy Spacek-movie serious and documentary-film-about-poor-conditions-in-meat-packing-plants-serious." Lucinda soon discovers that she's not immune to the less-than-perfect aspects of Prairie City living, and acquires a boyfriend of questionable hygiene and judgement; a rambling, isolated farmhouse that looks like the set to a Sam Shepard movie but is impossible to heat; and a tanning-bed tan and a set of false nails that are the region's signature style. The plot of the novel unwinds rather messily, and Daum doesn't always seem in control of her material. But she never lets Lucinda off the hook, and that's the key to the book's success. Daum has given her heroine a voice that is prickly, a little ruthless, and lovably vulnerable all at once. We don't always respect Lucinda, but we're pretty sure we'd be friends with her. <I>--Claire Dederer</I> 1915954 2003 The Quality of Life Report total:354|5:19|4:70|3:143|2:103|1:19| 354 1029 629 89 2 2 false false Sun Aug 17 12:00:37 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 17 12:00:37 -0700 2008
I found myself caught up in the story - it was easy to ignore the wackos, loud teenagers, and smelly people on the bus while I was reading it - I was able to ea...more...]]> 2 1 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 26 15:17:17 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 01 14:42:30 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 12 08:49:14 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 12 09:09:21 -0800 2009
as a step-mom, i ached for her when mason nearly overlooked a particularly nasty task she undertook for his daughter....more...]]> 2 1 false false Sun Apr 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 26 21:41:09 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 26 21:47:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 00:25:51 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 00:31:37 -0700 2009 I would have been pretty peeved had I paid more than $4 for it, but I didn't so...I don't think that anyone shoul...more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Jul 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 28 13:26:14 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 28 13:32:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Sep 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 13 09:21:06 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 14:30:21 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 16 12:08:25 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 12:03:24 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Jan 26 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 19:44:46 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 27 11:44:09 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Jan 18 15:52:49 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 16 20:12:14 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Dec 03 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 13:36:59 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 07 21:41:10 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false true Sat Jul 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 04 18:36:02 -0800 2009 Wed Jul 15 09:12:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Sep 21 13:25:14 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 21 13:48:06 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 14 18:44:31 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 22 17:10:12 -0700 2008
I did finish it, which means it's a step higher than some novels I've encountered, but I mostly skimmed the last half.

I found the main character really annoying a...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Tue Mar 31 13:28:40 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 13:31:46 -0700 2009 She makes bad decisions- a lot of bad decisions. But you understand why. And maybe it's a refle...more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Jul 17 05:28:07 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 17 05:28:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Nov 16 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 08 10:58:38 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 06:16:45 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false true Thu Sep 04 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 04 15:30:45 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 05 10:17:22 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue May 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri May 22 19:40:01 -0700 2009 Tue May 26 11:01:40 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 12 14:29:18 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 25 10:36:06 -0700 2009 more...]]>