Down with Love

by Barbara Novak

Abstain from love ...
Indulge in chocolate ...
Enjoy sex à la carte!
Can a woman living in the early '60s
lead such a life?

Barbara Novak believed so and made it the premise of her revolutionary bestseller -- a feminist manifesto inviting women to say no to love and yes to career, self-fulfillment, and independence. Follow Barbara as she conquers the bestseller lists and quickly becomes the target of notorious ladies' man Catcher Block, a hotshot journalist determined to prove her book a lie.

But what happens when the woman with all the answers meets the man of many questions?

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance, Historical Fiction, Media Tie In

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Exina]

I've seen the movie before reading the book: both are light, funny and enjoyable.



Maybe the movie is better.



Oh, yes, definitely better.

[Livie]

crazy how it was an EXACT retelling of the movie. kind of took away at some points, ie the phone scene cause it was trying too hard but hey. down with love and down with cupid!

[Emma]

It was nice to enjoy my favorite movie as a book. Only fans of the movie will like it, but that's who it's for anyways.

[Jenifer]

Barbara Novak and Catcher Block...

These two are just so interesting and wonderful that when I found this at my local bookstore of choice that I had to read it. I saw the movie first and loved it, and then couldn't help but read the book.

It was just as good as the movie. It had all the emotions and all the humor of the movie combined with insight into what each of the main characters were thinking as it is told in the first person from both Barbara and Catcher's point of view. It was great.

The only thing that the movie had over the book? Ewan McGregor. :)

[fay]

it’s just a retelling of the movie, which is fine. interesting how they make it seem like a real story the movie is based on. i really enjoyed the behind the scenes and original story/expose in the back though. it was easy to get through, and i’m giving it an extra star for the bonus content and how PRETTY the page design is. this is the best looking book i own. but overall not bad for $4

[Martin Petrin]

Не съм имал големи очаквания, единствено се надявах да е поне поносима. Nada. Зверската феминистична шитня. В която по много наивен начин през две страници ти крещят в лицето:

„Друго не можех да очаквам. Да не забравяме, че бяха мъже все пак.“

Също не разбрах откъде Джуди Гарланд се сеща да промотира с песен в шоуто на Ед Съливан това никому неизвестно книжле със случайна бройка, забутана в дъното на книжарниците, правейки го сензация за една нощ?!

„Бях обърнала света на любовта и секса нагоре с краката. Бях накарала обезправените жени по целия свят да се вдигнат срещу своите мъже-господари и да създадат свои собствени правила.“

Oh boy!

[Jess Tanner]

This is basically just the movie verbatim with narration and inner dialogue added. That being said, its a pretty fun story either way. The excerpts from the "real" Down With Love do make me wish they'd "published" that as well. Not a bad waste of a few hours.

[Niamh Anne King]

Read this years ago. It was oddly enjoyable.

[Marla]

An extremely fun little story of relationships, scandal and getting what you really want.

Also a fun little movie!

[Zara]

Loved the book and loved the film too.

[Jessie]

Love this book!

[Sarah Hanratty]

I read this book before the movie came out and I loved them both. A good, quick, fun read.

[L]

Loved the movie, so read the book.

[Amberlyn Holly]

One of my favorite twists. Barbara is wild. Loved the movie, tbh.

[Debbie is on Storygraph]

For a media tie-in, it was done originally, continuing the ploy that Barbara Novak was actually a real person and not just the name used to cover-up whatever ghost writer Twentieth Century Fox hired to pen this book. I'm glad that I did not pay cover price, instead picking it up at a used book sale for less than a dollar. I usually avoid movie novelizations but I find that they do sometimes provide some depth and insight to a film I particularly enjoyed. I'm afraid that this was not one of those times; the story was as you see it on the screen with no further in-depth character development. I wouldn't be surprised if the writer was given a copy of the script and just typed it out in narrative format. Unless you're truly interested, pass this up and just watch the movie instead.

[Sally]

Well, it was really funny for the first 3/4 or so - loads of witty lines! I've never seen the film (edited 2014 - now I have haha) but I have seen others in that vein, the 60s originals. Quite enjoyable. But what dragged it down a lot for me was the outcome - Barbara's motivation and who she was... not the conclusion I was expecting, honestly!

[Candy Boisvert]

This book made me think twice about men.

[Amber]

It was a nice tie-in the the movie. I think the book did losse some of the funny that the movie has. In this case I think I like the movie better than the book.

[Bridget]

The book of the movie - a frothy one-time read when you don't want to get into anything too heavy.

[Maddie]

Cute, short and sweet. I liked the movie a lot more but both deliver the same vibe. The visuals and music make the movie the true winner.

[Emily]

enjoyed the book... HATED the movie