A Girl Could Stand Up

by Leslie Marshall

After the sudden deaths of her parents in a freak accident in the Tunnel of Love, Elray is brought up by her two uncles--Harwood, a macho, hard-drinking photographer, and Ajax, a cross-dresser who prefers to present himself as an aunt--as she and her friend Raoul meet, fall in love, and embark on a series of offbeat adventures. Reader's Guide available.

Genres: Fiction, Family, Book Club, Chick Lit, Contemporary

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 31, 2003

Reviews

[Saar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favourite books ever, and has been for a long time now.
I fell in love with the characters (Elray and Hansueli being my favourites!) and keep on hinting at my family to read it :).
After reading this book and being drawn by it's quirky and loveable ways I'm still convinced that if I ever have a little girl, it will be an Elray.

[Cheyenne Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this, loved, loved, loved it.

Elray is 6 years old when she reaches up to touch the moon in the tunnel of love and accidentally electrocutes her parents. She goes to live with her Uncle Harwood and her Auntie Ajax (who's technically her Uncle Ajax).

The story fits loosely into Weird-Little-Girl-Growing-Up stories, but it's so much more than that. Elray is a wonderful narrator; quirky, funny, thoughtful, off-beat. The characters are wonderful, a mish-mash of the dysfunctional in all sorts of ways. And Elray (and her friend Raoul, who like to practice dying in homemade cardboard coffins) are the best of all.

[A.B. Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a bit different from anything I've read before. Elray is a very unique child. She is very insightful and observant for her age. I loved all the characters in this book, but especially Auntie Ajax. The author's perspective on some difficult life situations actually fall in line with some of mine which is a refreshing change of pace. Glad I picked this one up at the used book sale at my library. :)

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and its wacky, lovable but unconventional characters. It's a wild,thrilling, sometimes sad others joyful ride through their unusual but loving family. You don't need a conventional upbringing or family to have a great life, be a good person and no harm done.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually this is the second go-round for this book and as soon as I recognized a bit of the plot, I was happy! The writing is fun, the story is quirky, the characters are quirky... our main is not just quirky but plucky! At age 6 she loses her parents to a freak accident and gains 2 uncles as guardians. Or one uncle and one aunt, depending on how you look at things. Other characters show up, none too common, all to provide their part is bringing Elray into her own. It's funny and it's poignant at times. All in all, a really fun read to see how she handles what life throughs at her including dealing with the changes in friendship and the changes in those around her as they figure their sh*t out too!
Think I may find out what else this author has written, as this was a first for her.

[Elisabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This should have been the sort of book I love but somehow it just felt dragging and I was willing myself to get to the end. It was too long and although there was some great writing in there it just didn't come together.

[Carissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would describe this as “meh”. Some parts kept my attention. Some parts lacked so much detail I had no idea what was going on. I couldn’t tell if that was purposely done or not. The story was good enough but the execution was lacking. Probably wouldn’t recommend it but I’m happy I read it.

[Kathy Buys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tragedy and a really crazy family setup are the essence of this story - I fell in love with the main character in all her raw and imperfect essence. It certainly redefines what family actually is. Beautifully told.

[Rachael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope. After 50+ pages, I had to stop.

[Jen Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this - it’s quirky and different. Loved the characters, couldn’t guess where the story was going, really liked the format.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters are great. They are such characters. This is an engaging story of family.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great booksale scoop! A Girl Could Stand Up is weird, quirky, textured, and interesting. It took me quite a while to get through it (granted, busy days, but it's not a fast read), but I was hooked from the start. It reminds me of Tell the Wolves I'm Home/Member of the Wedding/something by Anne Tyler with overtones of Ann Patchett. It wasn't "amazing" (as the five star label translates), but it is an excellent book in its startling originality and uncompromising story-telling. I just didn't know what was coming next, but Marshall made me determined to stick around for whatever it was!

Highly recommended. I'd read more by Marshall, but it looks like this is her only novel. Anyone know more?

[Ian Mapp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book - following a similar quirky feel seen in John Irving and and the William Konsalski - Eddies Bastards books.

Elray is 6 years old when her parents are killed on the tunnel of love.

She then lives with her unkles - one a cross dresser and one a hard drinker and strikes a fairly morbid relationship with a young boy.

The book follows her youth and other characters introduced include an irish solictor who become pregnant by one of the uncles, all of this revealed in a court case called by her supposedly dead grandmother to try and win custody.

All very madcap but funny and entertaining - a success.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved, loved, loved the main character of this quirky coming-of-age novel. Six year old Elray is orphaned and ends up being raised by her mother's brother (who is her cross-dressing aunt Ajax) and her father's brother. This dysfunctional family ends up being very lovable and surprisingly functional even. I enjoyed their family rituals (like "Crawlspace Day") and the constant but relatively harmless drama. I also thought the relationship with her friend Raoul was brilliantly portrayed and full of tension, in a good way. I really enjoyed this original and memorable book.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is in equal parts quirky and ridiculous, which made for a very entertaining read. It follows the life of Elray, a girl who becomes an orphan with 6 years old and goes to live with her aunt Ajax and uncle Harwood and all of it is told in a very original and yet unrealistic way. I loved the characters and the way they were all so unique and fun but as I read it I was constantly thinking to myself "what the hell is this?! why am i reading this??". Well, I think the answer is: though it's very unrealistic, the story is still very fun and I couldn't just not finish it.

[Julia House · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky

[Kelly Lamb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just found this book to be very unbelievable. Everything was taken to an extreme, from the names (Elray, Ajax, Harwood...no one had a "normal" name) to the situations that the characters ended up in. I felt like the author wanted this to be a story you could connect with, but she made everything a little too out-there for that to happen.

[Blarney, Its · Rating 5 out of 5]

I randomly grabbed this book off of an eye level shelf in the library. I read it and fell in love with the characters. It was a little confusing at first (the Ajax situation), but I'd forgotten to read what it was about on the jacket first :) That was about 3 months ago and I still cannot get the book out of my head. It's definitely one of my all time favorites now.

[Pahiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book I lost somewhere along the way while growing up and recently rediscovered. I found it randomly on a hunt for a good book to read when I was very young, the artful cover speaking volumes to my young self and becoming one of my favourite impulse buys. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone, regardless of what genre you prefer. You'll love it.

[Ms M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one one of the most unique kind of plots I've ever experienced. It's also a sort of coming of age story but everyone in the book is so eccentric that it avoids some of the less interesting parts of adolescence. It was a great read.

[Ozma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting, different. Very original storyline about two uncles who take care of their orphaned niece. One of the uncles is a drag queen. I just couldn't quite get into the storyline, but, it's been years since I read it, and I still remember it.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet, eccentric, sad book. This is not a "true to life realistic" book so if that's what you're looking for this one is not for you. I loved the characters -- their quirks, thoughts, failings and the goodness in most of them if you looked in the right place.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend sent me an advanced copy of this and it was a lovely surprise. Try it!

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one I just picked up by the title/back cover description... so glad I did... really great book. I love when I find gems

[Patty Elliott]

My coworker loaned me this book. She said this is one of her favorite books of 2007!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story about loss and rebirth, and about what family really means. A wonderful offbeat story which I recommend to anyone who is looking for an uplifting story.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started off strong and I was engaged right away, then it lost it's oomph. I didn't feel like there was a point. The characters were interesting, but a little bit unrealistic.

[Katturd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book. I fall in love with it every time I read it. It makes me laugh, cry, and lets me reflect on so many points of our day to day lives. It is perfect.

[Lindsay Briden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting story where it is not hard to fall in love with the main character. As your sympathy grows, your ties to the story strengthens and its hard to put it down.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

story from a young girl's perspective. humorous. i am drawn to books written in this perspective for some reason!