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Prospect Park West
In Amy Sohn’s smart, sexy, satirical peek into the bedrooms and hearts of Prospect Park West, the lives of four women come together during one long, hot Brooklyn summer. Frustrated Oscar-winning actress Melora Leigh eager to relieve the pressures of raising her adopted toddler, feels the seductive pull of kleptomania; Rebecca Rose, missing her formerly robust sex life, begins a dangerous flirtation with handsome neighborhood celebrity Lizzi O’Donnell, former lesbian (or "hasbian"), wonders what draws her to women despite her sexy husband and adorable baby; and Karen Bryan Shapiro consumes herself with a powerful obsession—snagging the ultimate three-bedroom apartment in a well-maintained, P.S. 321–zoned co-op building. As the women’s paths intertwined (an sometimes collide), each must struggle to keep her man, her sanity . . and her playdates.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
34 people are currently reading
868 people want to read
About the author
Amy Sohn
20 books145 followersAmy Sohn is the author of the upcoming novel The Actress, which will be published by Simon & Schuster in July 2014. Her other novels are Motherland, Prospect Park West, My Old Man, and Run Catch Kiss. She has been a columnist at New York magazine, New York Press, the New York Post and Grazia (UK). She has also written for The New York Times, The Nation, and Harper's Bazaar. She has written pilots for ABC, Fox, HBO, and Lifetime. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 343 reviews
December 2, 2009
Set in my hood, I had to take a look. It had all the spots– Tea Lounge, 3rd Street Playground, The Coop, and P.S. 321. It had the stereotypes: the mother who puts knee-pads on her kid; the aging, opinionated, hippy coop member who just got back from Burning Man; the nannies and play dates and “the loop.” To say that it was mocking us families who live here is an understatement. But I didn’t mind that; it’s good to laugh at oneself often. But there was something I minded…a lot…and it was the fact that the characters in this book, every single one of them, had no ability to love, no warmth, no identities. Their only way to feel was through destroying something, usually themselves. They acted with the impulsiveness of children. They whined and abused medications and cheated and blackmailed. Their personalities came off as nothing more than a series of creepy fetishes. And worse than that, all of them, yes all of them, saw their kids as little more than props. And that made the entire book wholly uninteresting.
I agree that people are a mess, but most people are a mess because they love and feel a lot and criticize themselves too much and because they work hard not to act on impulse. And I’m all for writing drama, obviously, and that usually involves a character making a bad choice, sure. But it’s only drama if the bad choice the person makes goes against his/her character (get it character?). And as much as I’ve met some pretty annoying and crazy parents here, they all absolutely love their kids. The ridiculous ways in which each of them shows that love is what is interesting. Many days it’s hard to defend Park Slopers, I’ll admit, but I’ll tell you this about them: I haven’t met one yet who couldn’t fit comfortably in a J. D. Salinger novel. And you know what makes J. D. Salinger’s work so great to me? He has the warmest, messiest, loving, tortured, but soulful characters I’ve ever read. They love their brothers like themselves. They feel the weight of the world on their shoulders, yet can still appreciate the man beside them who is just "delighted.” These are the people I live with on these streets. They make great characters. Too bad not a one of them is in this book.
I agree that people are a mess, but most people are a mess because they love and feel a lot and criticize themselves too much and because they work hard not to act on impulse. And I’m all for writing drama, obviously, and that usually involves a character making a bad choice, sure. But it’s only drama if the bad choice the person makes goes against his/her character (get it character?). And as much as I’ve met some pretty annoying and crazy parents here, they all absolutely love their kids. The ridiculous ways in which each of them shows that love is what is interesting. Many days it’s hard to defend Park Slopers, I’ll admit, but I’ll tell you this about them: I haven’t met one yet who couldn’t fit comfortably in a J. D. Salinger novel. And you know what makes J. D. Salinger’s work so great to me? He has the warmest, messiest, loving, tortured, but soulful characters I’ve ever read. They love their brothers like themselves. They feel the weight of the world on their shoulders, yet can still appreciate the man beside them who is just "delighted.” These are the people I live with on these streets. They make great characters. Too bad not a one of them is in this book.
July 18, 2024
When I first read this, the year after it came out, I took it as a slice of life - a kind of life that had little or nothing to do with my own. At the time, I had just started grad school, and was in the midst of rescuing myself from one of the darkest periods of my life, which is saying something. I had spent a couple years utterly broke, sleeping on the couch at my sister's place, struggling to put gas in my beat up old Jeep by working odd jobs at Craigslist. Getting my masters was my lifeline, and life got much better, but I was still horribly broke, running up a huge student loan debt even as I kept the heat off in the middle of New England winter to save cash. And then I read this book about fabulously rich people in a glamorous place, a way of life I didn't understand. Brooklyn was an abstraction, to me, and to the degree it existed it was either old school depictions as a gritty place of poverty and danger or the land of the "hipster," a way of life that was rapidly receding by 2010, though neither I nor most others recognized it. Why was it receding? Because the Williamsburg hipster, that inescapable cultural archetype, was quickly aging into marriage and parenthood, and for all of their countercultural tendencies they took to that as hard as any cohort has taken to anything. Some of them became like the people in this book, who preceded them, heading straight for brownstones and Tom's shoes and the Grand Army Plaza farmers market without the detour into northern Brooklyn Millennial hedonism.
The complaints that the characters here are broad caricatures is not untrue, but then this is the point of this style of book. I got the original paperback, and thus my cover is not the pleasant and unassuming cartoon version of the hardcover but rather an actual photograph of a woman, clad in celestial white, leading her two beatific children up the stairs of their stately townhouse, Labrador puppy waiting. This is, I think, one of the most fundamentally honest book covers I've ever seen - this book is porn, Brooklyn porn, brownstone porn, deserved urban affluence porn. There's plenty in the book that's satirical (indeed, many of the reviews here complain that it's too harsh to its characters), but Sohn and Downtown Press knew what they were doing and what they were selling. The satirical exists to provide cover for the nakedly aspirational. And while I'm now too old to dream of someday living like this, I admit that it's aspirational for me too, even as I can give you chapter and verse about all the hypocrisy and hollowness in this kind of liberal life. The cover of my copy references the 2000s soap sensation Desperate Housewives, and there's something of that kind of squabbling plot chicanery, but here the characters are setting and the setting is the character.
It's strange to think about how things have changed. In many ways, this lifestyle has merely accelerated, become even more a parody of itself, its pleasures even more deep and abundant. And the lifestyle is even more out of reach for all but the truly wealthy, as no hidden gems in Brooklyn remain to be found. Not with that real estate market. And yet in another way this is clearly a story from another time; the world depicted is a world before the smartphone, the birth of Obama-era optimism, the profound progressive relief that we were leaving the horrors of the Bush administration behind. Of course, there were more horrors to come, and that sunny liberal hope gave way in time to recognizing how profoundly limited Obama-style smiling technocratic paternalism could be. But of course the brownstones, and the people in them, survived and will survive. Short of becoming famous, "I bought a brownstone in Park Slope" is a bald a way to say "I won" as our culture provides. Read this if you want a soap that depicts the world characters from Sex and the City might have retreated to after their Manhattan salad days were over. Pairs well with The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class.
The complaints that the characters here are broad caricatures is not untrue, but then this is the point of this style of book. I got the original paperback, and thus my cover is not the pleasant and unassuming cartoon version of the hardcover but rather an actual photograph of a woman, clad in celestial white, leading her two beatific children up the stairs of their stately townhouse, Labrador puppy waiting. This is, I think, one of the most fundamentally honest book covers I've ever seen - this book is porn, Brooklyn porn, brownstone porn, deserved urban affluence porn. There's plenty in the book that's satirical (indeed, many of the reviews here complain that it's too harsh to its characters), but Sohn and Downtown Press knew what they were doing and what they were selling. The satirical exists to provide cover for the nakedly aspirational. And while I'm now too old to dream of someday living like this, I admit that it's aspirational for me too, even as I can give you chapter and verse about all the hypocrisy and hollowness in this kind of liberal life. The cover of my copy references the 2000s soap sensation Desperate Housewives, and there's something of that kind of squabbling plot chicanery, but here the characters are setting and the setting is the character.
It's strange to think about how things have changed. In many ways, this lifestyle has merely accelerated, become even more a parody of itself, its pleasures even more deep and abundant. And the lifestyle is even more out of reach for all but the truly wealthy, as no hidden gems in Brooklyn remain to be found. Not with that real estate market. And yet in another way this is clearly a story from another time; the world depicted is a world before the smartphone, the birth of Obama-era optimism, the profound progressive relief that we were leaving the horrors of the Bush administration behind. Of course, there were more horrors to come, and that sunny liberal hope gave way in time to recognizing how profoundly limited Obama-style smiling technocratic paternalism could be. But of course the brownstones, and the people in them, survived and will survive. Short of becoming famous, "I bought a brownstone in Park Slope" is a bald a way to say "I won" as our culture provides. Read this if you want a soap that depicts the world characters from Sex and the City might have retreated to after their Manhattan salad days were over. Pairs well with The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class.
March 24, 2016
This novel was surprisingly good despite the fact that it has an average of 2.75 stars here on Goodreads. That's why I went into it with very low expectations. I thought it sounded funny and like something I would like, and I did!
This book follows four different mothers who live in Brooklyn and who all deal with the struggles that come with motherhood. It also deals with celebrities living in their area, and I was surprised to see that Amy Sohn wasn't blunt when it came to these celebrities. She dishes Kate Hudson as well as Maggie Gyllenhaal and a lot of other people whom we know from the real world, and while I was a little bit shocked I was also amused.
This is a great chick-lit story which gave me exactly what I wanted. Yes, it was cheesy and predictable in some parts, but it was also interesting and funny. I do think that I would've been able to relate to it a lot more if I were a mother myself, but nevertheless I really enjoyed it, and I'm happy I decided to read it despite its low ratings.
This book follows four different mothers who live in Brooklyn and who all deal with the struggles that come with motherhood. It also deals with celebrities living in their area, and I was surprised to see that Amy Sohn wasn't blunt when it came to these celebrities. She dishes Kate Hudson as well as Maggie Gyllenhaal and a lot of other people whom we know from the real world, and while I was a little bit shocked I was also amused.
This is a great chick-lit story which gave me exactly what I wanted. Yes, it was cheesy and predictable in some parts, but it was also interesting and funny. I do think that I would've been able to relate to it a lot more if I were a mother myself, but nevertheless I really enjoyed it, and I'm happy I decided to read it despite its low ratings.
August 13, 2011
I don't know why I keep reading Amy Sohn's books. I have some sick fascination with them. Her characters are deplorable. I start out enjoying snarking on them, but by the end I just want them to all kill themselves or each other so we can all be put out of our misery. I have read 3 of her novels on 3 different beach vacations, and that is the only thing that makes them bearable, that my friends are there, usually somewhat buzzed, and I can read the especially absurd parts aloud to them as we sit on the beach.
This book actually started out okay, but by the end all of these big storylines she was building got resolved through short, relatively painless conversations between the characters; no big scenes or blow-ups,no consequences to any of their bad behaviors. We didn't even get to read some of these conversations, just heard about them in passing later. All I could think was, "Well, shit, if that's all it took to resolve your issues, then why even write the book?"
The other awful thing about this book was how the characters were all parents but none of them had any kind of relationship or meaningful interactions with their children at all. The parents were just a bunch of miserable, self-absorbed assholes who couldn't get outside of themselves long enough to show any human kindness to anyone -- not even their own families. Gross.
The one part I did enjoy was the indie-film actress unraveling at her lunch/interview with the director. And, it was fun getting to know the characters and neighborhood at the beginning. Once you get to know them better is where the whole thing goes downhill.
This book actually started out okay, but by the end all of these big storylines she was building got resolved through short, relatively painless conversations between the characters; no big scenes or blow-ups,no consequences to any of their bad behaviors. We didn't even get to read some of these conversations, just heard about them in passing later. All I could think was, "Well, shit, if that's all it took to resolve your issues, then why even write the book?"
The other awful thing about this book was how the characters were all parents but none of them had any kind of relationship or meaningful interactions with their children at all. The parents were just a bunch of miserable, self-absorbed assholes who couldn't get outside of themselves long enough to show any human kindness to anyone -- not even their own families. Gross.
The one part I did enjoy was the indie-film actress unraveling at her lunch/interview with the director. And, it was fun getting to know the characters and neighborhood at the beginning. Once you get to know them better is where the whole thing goes downhill.
December 19, 2015
I would give this less than one star if I could.
I normally don't take the energy to write long reviews, but good God.... This is just too awful not to unpack piece by piece.
I am not one to read chick lit, so maybe this book and writing style is typical chick lit. Maybe Amy Sohn is the Hemmingway of this genre. I wouldn't know. Brace yourself... There be spoilers ahead - although honestly, I'd be doing you a favor. Because the book is pretty damn bad.
I picked this book up because I used to live in this area, and thought it would be a fun way to revisit a fun time in my life.
Apparently the Slope and the Heights suck, and the whole area is hated immensely by the author. If there was a message in the story (and I really am digging deep here) - it is that everyone in Park Slope and Prospect Heights S.U.C.K. No matter who you are. What walk of life you descend from... You suck. And your kids are hateful, beastly little burdens that make women isolated, miserable, and sexless in their marriages.
I hated everyone. Except some poor asshole who got his own italicized chapter for 2 pages and wound up getting hit by a bus while riding his bike. He didn't seem so bad. Which is why he obviously had to die to be freed from the horrific story he somehow wound up in by accident. There was also some other kid with 2 gay dads who also wound up in the story by accident, but I am pretty sure they moved to Ithaca. Or maybe that was the other guy who also stumbled in to get his wallet stolen by some black guy who looked like Forrest Whitaker. I think he wound up in Ithaca. Or something. WHO are these characters in italics who stumbled in and then disappeared forever???
OK- the other characters who stayed a while all had stories that made no sense. Weird twists that connected them together somehow... But why? Eh - who cares. We never really find out.
A weird annoying fat stalker woman who runs into the fat black guy that knocked her up who is now married to an ex-lesbian.... This is all going somewhere... I just know it. So let me keep reading. OHHHH - I see - she has a nebbish husband who has a fetish for Asian chicks-with-dicks. Glad I stuck it out. I would have been up for nights wondering.
A weird bastardization of Gwyneth Paltrow meets Angelina Jolie meets the worst human being wastoid on the planet with a celeb husband who knocks up a civilian who then worries the rest of her life - or to the very last page, whichever comes first - if her child will look like him with red hair.... Just sad. Why couldn't they be hit by the bus and leave that other guy alone???
Ex-lesbians who listen to Ani Difranco and meet up with swingers out of boredom and then regret it. Annoying people who frequent organic food coops with their babies in Bugaboos. Horny housewives who go to playgrounds in sexy rompers and Jimmy choo stilletos. This book has got everything.
All of this... And racists. Everyone in the book is a racist - even the white mother of a black baby, who is convinced everyone is staring at her because she has a biracial child. Because that NEVER ever happens in Brooklyn. Ever. I wonder if Amy ever stepped foot in Brooklyn or just read a guide to Park Slope.
So... Yeah. Blacks are talked about all the time. Black college students studying (because that's different than just saying there were students studying in the library). Bad little black children coming to the lily white playground to beat pigeons to death. Black rapists. Black muggers. Black people standing on corners that scare the white women into thinking they're muggers. Or rapists. Or.... Forrest Whitaker.
But - its OK because they are all Obama supporters. PHEW. No racists here. Especially not the author.
So, if you like books with characters who randomly change in the middle of the story without any explanation why, blatant racism, lesbian stereotypes, stay at home mother sterotypes, pretty much every stereotype imaginable, sad sex scenes, and characters who make some brief appearance in the middle of the book for no goddamned reason... This book is totally your jam.
Enjoy.
I normally don't take the energy to write long reviews, but good God.... This is just too awful not to unpack piece by piece.
I am not one to read chick lit, so maybe this book and writing style is typical chick lit. Maybe Amy Sohn is the Hemmingway of this genre. I wouldn't know. Brace yourself... There be spoilers ahead - although honestly, I'd be doing you a favor. Because the book is pretty damn bad.
I picked this book up because I used to live in this area, and thought it would be a fun way to revisit a fun time in my life.
Apparently the Slope and the Heights suck, and the whole area is hated immensely by the author. If there was a message in the story (and I really am digging deep here) - it is that everyone in Park Slope and Prospect Heights S.U.C.K. No matter who you are. What walk of life you descend from... You suck. And your kids are hateful, beastly little burdens that make women isolated, miserable, and sexless in their marriages.
I hated everyone. Except some poor asshole who got his own italicized chapter for 2 pages and wound up getting hit by a bus while riding his bike. He didn't seem so bad. Which is why he obviously had to die to be freed from the horrific story he somehow wound up in by accident. There was also some other kid with 2 gay dads who also wound up in the story by accident, but I am pretty sure they moved to Ithaca. Or maybe that was the other guy who also stumbled in to get his wallet stolen by some black guy who looked like Forrest Whitaker. I think he wound up in Ithaca. Or something. WHO are these characters in italics who stumbled in and then disappeared forever???
OK- the other characters who stayed a while all had stories that made no sense. Weird twists that connected them together somehow... But why? Eh - who cares. We never really find out.
A weird annoying fat stalker woman who runs into the fat black guy that knocked her up who is now married to an ex-lesbian.... This is all going somewhere... I just know it. So let me keep reading. OHHHH - I see - she has a nebbish husband who has a fetish for Asian chicks-with-dicks. Glad I stuck it out. I would have been up for nights wondering.
A weird bastardization of Gwyneth Paltrow meets Angelina Jolie meets the worst human being wastoid on the planet with a celeb husband who knocks up a civilian who then worries the rest of her life - or to the very last page, whichever comes first - if her child will look like him with red hair.... Just sad. Why couldn't they be hit by the bus and leave that other guy alone???
Ex-lesbians who listen to Ani Difranco and meet up with swingers out of boredom and then regret it. Annoying people who frequent organic food coops with their babies in Bugaboos. Horny housewives who go to playgrounds in sexy rompers and Jimmy choo stilletos. This book has got everything.
All of this... And racists. Everyone in the book is a racist - even the white mother of a black baby, who is convinced everyone is staring at her because she has a biracial child. Because that NEVER ever happens in Brooklyn. Ever. I wonder if Amy ever stepped foot in Brooklyn or just read a guide to Park Slope.
So... Yeah. Blacks are talked about all the time. Black college students studying (because that's different than just saying there were students studying in the library). Bad little black children coming to the lily white playground to beat pigeons to death. Black rapists. Black muggers. Black people standing on corners that scare the white women into thinking they're muggers. Or rapists. Or.... Forrest Whitaker.
But - its OK because they are all Obama supporters. PHEW. No racists here. Especially not the author.
So, if you like books with characters who randomly change in the middle of the story without any explanation why, blatant racism, lesbian stereotypes, stay at home mother sterotypes, pretty much every stereotype imaginable, sad sex scenes, and characters who make some brief appearance in the middle of the book for no goddamned reason... This book is totally your jam.
Enjoy.
May 20, 2013
I chose this book randomly from the library. I should have looked more closely, because it wasn't what I expected it to be. I expected something smarter, something more real. This book was pretty salacious and smutty. There's nothing wrong with that, I guess, but it's not the kind of book I usually like to read. The good: it was a page turner, got sucked in right away, it was kind of fun to imagine that real life celebrities are really like their Amy Sohn-world alter egos. The bad: it was over the top, all the characters were whiny and insufferable, and did I mention it was over the top? Way over the top. By the time the whole thing ground to an end, I had grown weary of these characters and their ridiculous situations. I don't understand why Sohn repeatedly introduced characters and situations that she never returned to. Wasn't there enough going on with her four main characters and the various ways their spouses/relationships overlapped? I see that there is a sequel and I believe that some of these characters may appear in the sequel, but I'm not going to find out because I won't be reading it. I'm a little sad that I won't know the further adventures of Cray Cray Karen and the gang, but I just don't think I can stomach another whole book of these characters or any other characters Amy Sohn comes up with. There were a few moments of sharp wit and realism that I appreciated, but it wasn't enough to save this book for me.
October 4, 2009
It's about mommyhood in the neighborhood where I work. Of course I was going to read it (#37 on BPL's hold-list)! PPW is chock-full of satire and snark, and for the first 100 pages or so I found myself smirking at least twice before turning to the next page. Now most of the parents I interact with are good eggs. They clearly love and enjoy their children, and they're in check about themselves and their roles as parents. However, it wouldn't make for a viable satire if the stereotypes skewered within weren't in play in Park Slope, and dear reader, this is a viable satire indeed (thank you, Amy Sohn, for giving us the term, 'sanctimommies'!). Actually, the end of the book left me unsettled and worried about the four main characters. Yes, they're more unlikable than your standard protagonists, and they each display variations on the spectrum of crazy, but guess what? Unlikable and crazy exist, even in Park Slope, and in the hands of an able author, you wind up feeling a little sympathetic for characters like that. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all plays out in a sequel.
September 24, 2009
I thought this book would be a trashy, fun read. I was very wrong. I don't even know how to write a review for it so here are the three big things I have to say about Prospect Park West:
1) There is A LOT of sexy business in this book. But this isn't like romance novel sex. This is like "Did I just read that right?" sex. I was telling my husband about some of the things in this book and he actually made me stop talking.
2) Sohn seems to highly sexualize breast feeding in this book. As someone breastfed, I can say there was nothing sexy about it. Overall, I was not comfortable with the way breastfeeding was portrayed. It pretty much made breastfeeding moms look like crazy, lonely deviants (not crazy lonely but crazy AND lonely).
3) And speaking of crazy, these women are CRAZY. Like CRAZY CRAZY. Not fun crazy but CRAAAAAAAZY. Usually there's one wacky girl in chick lit, but this book has 4. And I don't like any of them! Yes, 4 main characters and all of the completely dispecable.
Pass this one right over. Your brain will hurt and you'll be mad you wasted the time.
1) There is A LOT of sexy business in this book. But this isn't like romance novel sex. This is like "Did I just read that right?" sex. I was telling my husband about some of the things in this book and he actually made me stop talking.
2) Sohn seems to highly sexualize breast feeding in this book. As someone breastfed, I can say there was nothing sexy about it. Overall, I was not comfortable with the way breastfeeding was portrayed. It pretty much made breastfeeding moms look like crazy, lonely deviants (not crazy lonely but crazy AND lonely).
3) And speaking of crazy, these women are CRAZY. Like CRAZY CRAZY. Not fun crazy but CRAAAAAAAZY. Usually there's one wacky girl in chick lit, but this book has 4. And I don't like any of them! Yes, 4 main characters and all of the completely dispecable.
Pass this one right over. Your brain will hurt and you'll be mad you wasted the time.
September 1, 2010
The premise of the book is great and and first glance I could see why SJP would consider it a great find for TV but the meat of the story... well it's like when you get a soy hot dog... as much as it seems to be legit it's just not real meat.
The writing was all over the place and not very easy to follow which I think is the only thing that makes it not chick lit; you have to pay attention, and not in a good way. There are so many characters that when Sohn goes off on tangents (they're convieniently italicized so that you recognize them) it just adds to the confusion and adds little if anything to the story.
As far as the characters themselves... their stories were shallow and plain ridiculous. They all make very bad and selfish decisions and really are a bunch of well financed complainers. There's no resolution in any of the stories. At all. As far as the celebrities in the book... the placements were just a plain corney. But it got their attention so I guess that's a win for Sohn.
The racial tension in the book isn't really even tension. It's more white people making gross stereotypes and assumptions about black people. For some of the situations it's almost like the book was completely written and she thought "I need more racism" and added a bunch of scenes that are honestly disconnected from the stories. And some of the statements she has the characters make are downright insulting and a little TOO well thought out if you ask me. If I were to meet Amy Sohn it would definitely be with one eyebrow raised. I'm can already forsee myself unconciously eyeing people suspiciously next time I stroll through Park Slope wondering what they think about me; and that's not a good feeling.
The writing was all over the place and not very easy to follow which I think is the only thing that makes it not chick lit; you have to pay attention, and not in a good way. There are so many characters that when Sohn goes off on tangents (they're convieniently italicized so that you recognize them) it just adds to the confusion and adds little if anything to the story.
As far as the characters themselves... their stories were shallow and plain ridiculous. They all make very bad and selfish decisions and really are a bunch of well financed complainers. There's no resolution in any of the stories. At all. As far as the celebrities in the book... the placements were just a plain corney. But it got their attention so I guess that's a win for Sohn.
The racial tension in the book isn't really even tension. It's more white people making gross stereotypes and assumptions about black people. For some of the situations it's almost like the book was completely written and she thought "I need more racism" and added a bunch of scenes that are honestly disconnected from the stories. And some of the statements she has the characters make are downright insulting and a little TOO well thought out if you ask me. If I were to meet Amy Sohn it would definitely be with one eyebrow raised. I'm can already forsee myself unconciously eyeing people suspiciously next time I stroll through Park Slope wondering what they think about me; and that's not a good feeling.
June 29, 2011
The characters Sohn created in this book are mostly shallow, narcissistic and spiritually bereft. Fittingly, my investment in them was superficial. Having said that, they were certainly composites of people I know/have known, and I couldn't put the book down. The book is set in Park Slope: “It has the worst of Berkeley, California combined with the worst of the Upper East Side.” Sohn's spot-on about showcasing the irony of engineering the organic... and her scenes at the food coop had me laughing. She accurately calls out the hypocrisy within a community of socially privileged people who fancy themselves populists. (Basically, all her characters are little b*tches.) It was actually pretty good. I could tell that Sohn was raised in New York (Brooklyn) and think that native New Yorkers will identify with her dismay at more and more 'hoods in NYC becoming overpriced, and inundated by faux-progressive collectivism. Her characters are entitled and totally unlikable, and that's what makes the book so indulgent but great. I love Sohn's snarkiness.
August 22, 2011
This book was passed to me by a co-worker under the pretense of being a "one of THOSE summer reads". The whole transaction was very fast and furtive, much like a crack dealer slips a scummy vial to an eager patron over on Georgia Ave. And I consumed this book the way a crack addict might consume that vial -- fast, with plenty of self digust. And after a short feverish high, I now feel sick. Ugh!
Stay-at-home moms who alternately hate, kiss, and compete with one another. Gentrifying Brooklyn. Organic food. Marital dischord. Social climbing. Sex and drugs. Expensive baby strollers. So, there you have it -- now you won't have to waste your own self-respect reading the book.
Thank god the summer is over and I can go back to my drug of choice -- Orange Prize nominees.
Stay-at-home moms who alternately hate, kiss, and compete with one another. Gentrifying Brooklyn. Organic food. Marital dischord. Social climbing. Sex and drugs. Expensive baby strollers. So, there you have it -- now you won't have to waste your own self-respect reading the book.
Thank god the summer is over and I can go back to my drug of choice -- Orange Prize nominees.
November 10, 2021
I made it 3 hours in on the 13 hour audio and had to pull the plug. The author took all the worst parts of Tom Perotta and blended that with the worst of mommyblogs and called it a day. She could not have more contempt for her characters if she were writing about Pol Pot and Hitler. Look, I lived in Park Slope in the 80s and 90s when it was a good place, and I find ridiculous the $5000 double strollers, the book coaches, the $9 muffins and the yoga pants and Tieks uniforms, but that doesn't render the residents without value. What is without value is a novelist without empathy.
March 17, 2013
Worst thing that ever happened to me.
May 29, 2025
this may be the worst book i've ever read. if you grew up in park slope in 2007, it is extremely fun to read about these hyper-specific park slope businesses and dramas. that said, this book was so poorly developed and racist, it gave me empathy for other writers who at least knew what adjectives were. i did of course read the whole thing. so what does that say about me? i just was overjoyed to have the tea lounge and boing boing feature so heavily. but i mean no one could say this book was good...
February 5, 2019
I don’t know why there are so many bad reviews. I loved the story lines and crazy characters. Good character development.
September 2, 2015
I listened to the audiobook, that I borrowed from the public library, on my way to Park Slope/Prospect Park for the first time. A nice coincidence, I thought. I was looking for something fun, lighthearted and scandalous and the synopsis on the back made the perfect impression.
What a disappointment.
Mostly, the characters were inconsistent and one-dimensional.
I suppose in being "bourgeoisie breeders" readers shouldn't expect much introspection on their part, and in the end, they all get what they deserve, so to speak, but the story leading up to the final climaxes was so forced.
The reader is beaten down by celebrity name-dropping and shallow perspectives on motherhood, but they are all lame attempts at being savvy. The book has no depth to be satirical. Readers were simple suckered into an absurd, intertwining story about nothing in hopes of getting a glimpse into a place where we heard celebrities live.
Sohn is desperately trying to shock her readers with a ... look into another type of American life, I guess? A life that we idolize in New York, but otherwise turn a blind eye to the gritty, harsh truth of, I guess? But these "real" women barely have distinct voices, ideas, or personalities; it might as well had been written in first person. In fact, my biggest complaint with this novel is that Sohn did a horrible job at even separating her omnipotent voice as the author from the sentiments of her "characters."
For example, there was a lot of awkward references to race and Obama. Even though he was highly favored as a presidential candidate amongst all characters (like, ALL) every Black/Brown character in the book was seen as a threat or had done some criminal activity. LITERALLY, the word Black (in reference to Black people) must have been used 100 times, yet the description/distinction added nothing to the story but, in my opinion, to show how much these women (or Sohn herself) really didn't trust Black people. It was very confusing and borderline racist and it stems from Sohn's inability to share the overarching, larger picture to her readers independent of the snobby, better-than-thou ideas of her characters...
The book was just so sloppy and cheap and it makes me mad as an aspiring writer that sh*t like this gets published and generates revenue.
What a disappointment.
Mostly, the characters were inconsistent and one-dimensional.
I suppose in being "bourgeoisie breeders" readers shouldn't expect much introspection on their part, and in the end, they all get what they deserve, so to speak, but the story leading up to the final climaxes was so forced.
The reader is beaten down by celebrity name-dropping and shallow perspectives on motherhood, but they are all lame attempts at being savvy. The book has no depth to be satirical. Readers were simple suckered into an absurd, intertwining story about nothing in hopes of getting a glimpse into a place where we heard celebrities live.
Sohn is desperately trying to shock her readers with a ... look into another type of American life, I guess? A life that we idolize in New York, but otherwise turn a blind eye to the gritty, harsh truth of, I guess? But these "real" women barely have distinct voices, ideas, or personalities; it might as well had been written in first person. In fact, my biggest complaint with this novel is that Sohn did a horrible job at even separating her omnipotent voice as the author from the sentiments of her "characters."
For example, there was a lot of awkward references to race and Obama. Even though he was highly favored as a presidential candidate amongst all characters (like, ALL) every Black/Brown character in the book was seen as a threat or had done some criminal activity. LITERALLY, the word Black (in reference to Black people) must have been used 100 times, yet the description/distinction added nothing to the story but, in my opinion, to show how much these women (or Sohn herself) really didn't trust Black people. It was very confusing and borderline racist and it stems from Sohn's inability to share the overarching, larger picture to her readers independent of the snobby, better-than-thou ideas of her characters...
The book was just so sloppy and cheap and it makes me mad as an aspiring writer that sh*t like this gets published and generates revenue.
December 1, 2009
Hmmm. Didn't care for this one. It may be a case of my expectations being too high. The tag lines on the cover of the advanced promo copy that I read say, "Finally there's sex in another part of the city..." and "You'll never look at brownstones, babies or Bugaboos the same way again." Those lines are true, but the book fell flat for me.
Set in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, Prospect Park West, follows the lives of four married women during one summer.
* Melora Leigh, an actress who fears that her career is waning and will do anything to revive it, including moving to this currently trendy neighborhood and adopting a child from a foreign country.
* Rebecca Rose, an attractive freelance writer and stay at home mom, whose husband has stopped having sex with her now that they have the child he always wanted. Rebecca starts to look outside the marriage for affection.
* Lizzie O'Donnell, a "hasbian" (former lesbian) who wants yearns for companionship because her jazz musician husband is always on tour.
* Karen Bryan Shapiro, a mom who is always concerned with the "right" things: the "right" address, the "right" school for her child, even the "right" park for her son to play in. And she will do whatever it takes to get these things.
Sounds like an interesting book right? Well it was, except for the fact that I sympathized with none of the main characters. None of them are likable, and all were pretty annoying to me. Also, there was a secondary story about race that ran throughout the whole book. But it was never really tied in cohesively and it was never resolved. The book would have read fine without it.
I can't really recommend this book, but I want someone else to read it and let me know their take on it.
Set in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, Prospect Park West, follows the lives of four married women during one summer.
* Melora Leigh, an actress who fears that her career is waning and will do anything to revive it, including moving to this currently trendy neighborhood and adopting a child from a foreign country.
* Rebecca Rose, an attractive freelance writer and stay at home mom, whose husband has stopped having sex with her now that they have the child he always wanted. Rebecca starts to look outside the marriage for affection.
* Lizzie O'Donnell, a "hasbian" (former lesbian) who wants yearns for companionship because her jazz musician husband is always on tour.
* Karen Bryan Shapiro, a mom who is always concerned with the "right" things: the "right" address, the "right" school for her child, even the "right" park for her son to play in. And she will do whatever it takes to get these things.
Sounds like an interesting book right? Well it was, except for the fact that I sympathized with none of the main characters. None of them are likable, and all were pretty annoying to me. Also, there was a secondary story about race that ran throughout the whole book. But it was never really tied in cohesively and it was never resolved. The book would have read fine without it.
I can't really recommend this book, but I want someone else to read it and let me know their take on it.
Want to read
September 6, 2013Brooklyn's famed neighborhood of Park Slope has it all: the sprawling, majestic Prospect Park; acclaimed public schools; historic brownstones; and progressive values. The more upwardly mobile New Yorkers discover its virtues, the more that claiming a stake in Park Slope becomes a competitive sport.
In the park, the coffee shops, and the playgrounds of the neighborhood, four women's lives collide one long, hot Brooklyn summer. Melora Leigh, a two-time Oscar-winning actress, frustrated with her career and the pressures of raising her adoptive toddler, feels the seductive pull of kleptomania; Rebecca Rose, missing the robust sex life of her pre-motherhood days, begins a dangerous flirtation with a handsome local celebrity; Lizzie O'Donnell, a former lesbian (or "hasbian"), wonders why she is still drawn to women in spite of her sexy husband and adorable son; and Karen Bryan Shapiro finds herself split between two powerful obsessions: her four-year-old son's well-being and snagging the ultimate three-bedroom apartment in a well-maintained P.S. 321-zoned co-op building. As the women's paths intertwine (and sometimes crash), each must struggle to keep her man, her sanity, and her play dates.
In the park, the coffee shops, and the playgrounds of the neighborhood, four women's lives collide one long, hot Brooklyn summer. Melora Leigh, a two-time Oscar-winning actress, frustrated with her career and the pressures of raising her adoptive toddler, feels the seductive pull of kleptomania; Rebecca Rose, missing the robust sex life of her pre-motherhood days, begins a dangerous flirtation with a handsome local celebrity; Lizzie O'Donnell, a former lesbian (or "hasbian"), wonders why she is still drawn to women in spite of her sexy husband and adorable son; and Karen Bryan Shapiro finds herself split between two powerful obsessions: her four-year-old son's well-being and snagging the ultimate three-bedroom apartment in a well-maintained P.S. 321-zoned co-op building. As the women's paths intertwine (and sometimes crash), each must struggle to keep her man, her sanity, and her play dates.
December 15, 2009
I got sucked into this book though it was a somewhat guilty pleasure! All 4 main characters are pretty loathsome, yet each of them stated some ugly truth about motherhood at some point or another that I couldn't help relating to. The Melora character, however, is so ridiculous that she seems to be more of a caricature (then again maybe some celebrities really do think and act like that!) I don't live in Park Slope but I am a New York mom and Sohn definitely captures some of the unique difficulties of being a mom to young children in this city.
I presume Rebecca is the doppelganger for the author (same physical traits and occupation). At one point she was so harsh, I had to stop and say "gosh, I hope she doesn't REALLY feel this way about motherhood." I went to her bio to find a loving mention of her husband and child that would offer a rebuttal to that thought but none were there. So then I looked for a mention of them in the acknowledgements--still nothing. And no dedication either. Hmmm....maybe Sohn really shares Rebecca's views!
I presume Rebecca is the doppelganger for the author (same physical traits and occupation). At one point she was so harsh, I had to stop and say "gosh, I hope she doesn't REALLY feel this way about motherhood." I went to her bio to find a loving mention of her husband and child that would offer a rebuttal to that thought but none were there. So then I looked for a mention of them in the acknowledgements--still nothing. And no dedication either. Hmmm....maybe Sohn really shares Rebecca's views!
October 26, 2009
Prospect Park West takes place in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York. It's marketed as "Sex in the other Borough". I love SATC, the show and movie but I've never read the book so I can't comment on that but I can only hope that SATC is better written. I work in Park Slope so I know the neighborhood and the people who live here and I thought this would be a funny and satircal look at the neighborhood but no. There is not a sympathetic character in the entire book. They are all selfish, egotisitical, neurotic, self-centered, and materilistic. Basically everyhing that is wrong with Park Slope. The four main characters see themselves as the a-typical Park Slope moms but for all the protestations they are the typical Park Slope Moms but worse. It was really painful to read and sorry that I wasted my time. The only reason I would recommend it to people who do not live in New York is so they can get a glimpse of my customers in my store but I wouldn't want to put anyone through that torture. So come visit me instead. It will be more fun!
July 30, 2010
The characters in here are horrible, trashy people. But you realize that with the first paragraph of this book, so if you continue much further into it, it's no one's fault other than your own.
For me, I equate reading this to watching the Real Housewives shows. I know it's bad and wrong and the people are horrible, but I keep watching, or in this case, I keep reading.
And truth is, it makes me feel better about myself to make fun of the people who populate Park Slope. I have my reasons for this.
Overall, I thought the book was hilarious, in a very cruel sort of way. It completely makes fun of all those things in life I abhor, which is why I found the book amusing. Making fun of people like this makes me feel superior in my own life choices. Reading about these selfish, neurotic, disgusting, sex-crazed women and the way they hate their lives amuses me.
It reads quickly. And as I said, if you find the first few pages offensive, stop because it only gets worse.
For me, I equate reading this to watching the Real Housewives shows. I know it's bad and wrong and the people are horrible, but I keep watching, or in this case, I keep reading.
And truth is, it makes me feel better about myself to make fun of the people who populate Park Slope. I have my reasons for this.
Overall, I thought the book was hilarious, in a very cruel sort of way. It completely makes fun of all those things in life I abhor, which is why I found the book amusing. Making fun of people like this makes me feel superior in my own life choices. Reading about these selfish, neurotic, disgusting, sex-crazed women and the way they hate their lives amuses me.
It reads quickly. And as I said, if you find the first few pages offensive, stop because it only gets worse.
June 12, 2015
I chose this book because I love the cover. It reminds me of some favorite childhood books, but I almost gave it up in the first chapter when it started out with a masturbation scene. There was a lot of gratuitous sex and Obama promotion. A good romantic sex scene is one thing, but this was just cheap, trashy sex. It's kind of amazing that I stuck with it, but I did. It was like one of those accidents where you can't look away. It was like reading a soap opera. I kept trying to figure out what the point was and how things would work out. The reality was that nothing seemed to be worked out in the end. These four negative women were still in their same pathetic positions at the end of the story. No lessons learned. No character growth. I swear it was the cover that kept drawing me back in. I loved seeing that book sitting on the table. Now that I'm done with it, I may just take off the dust jacket and toss the book in the recycle.
July 9, 2013
I have always been a fan of Amy Sohn. She is not a brilliant writer by any means, but she always manages to grab my attention and the fact that she sets all her novels in Brooklyn is an added plus for me. Prospect Park West is a hilarious spoof (or maybe not necessarily a spoof, who knows?) on Park Slope life and the competitiveness of living in that neighborhood; the unnecessary pretentiousness of the people who reside there, their obsession with status, Park Slope celebrities, and good schools and real estate. I thoroughly enjoyed things such as her nickname for the Tea Lounge (the Teat Lounge, because of all the nursing mothers who frequent it), as well as the moniker for Prospect Heights (ToPoSlo, i.e.; Too Poor for the Slope). It's all in good fun and an entertaining read. I can't wait to read the sequel, "Motherland".
October 24, 2009
Very disappointing. I went into this thinking it would be nice, light chick lit but I don't think chick lit is the right way to classify this book. It wasn't romance either but it did get pretty smutty (I don't think I've ever used that word!) My biggest issue with the book is that the main characters were highly unlikeable. I'm giving it two stars instead of one because it did give me some insight into Park Slope and stay-at-home moms and also because the narrator of the audiobook did a good job - especially considering some of the content she had to say out loud!
November 22, 2009
After putting aside "Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict" because it's - well, just dumb - I picked this up and started it. The smart writing, fearless satire, eye for detail and ear for dialogue that Austen fans love are all here. About halfway through and loving it.
Finished it, and still say two thumbs up. Irreverent, smart, and funny. Fans of Jonathan Tropper will like Amy Sohn, and her other books are going on my to-read list!
Finished it, and still say two thumbs up. Irreverent, smart, and funny. Fans of Jonathan Tropper will like Amy Sohn, and her other books are going on my to-read list!
September 12, 2009
There really isn't much more to add to this review, which is what convinced me to buy the book:
http://www.fuckedinparkslope.com/home...
Great reading. I was sorry to see the story end, and I'll definitely be picking up more of Sohn's books.
This would be a fantastic book club choice, particularly for a book club in the suburbs, because so much of what Sohn writes about Park Slope is really an analysis of suburbia.
http://www.fuckedinparkslope.com/home...
Great reading. I was sorry to see the story end, and I'll definitely be picking up more of Sohn's books.
This would be a fantastic book club choice, particularly for a book club in the suburbs, because so much of what Sohn writes about Park Slope is really an analysis of suburbia.
October 3, 2009
I was surprised by the terrible reviews here, and I wonder if people are missing the point. This book is satire, not chick lit! Yeah, the four unhappy moms are awful, awful people, self-centered, entitled, greedy: they're deliberate caricatures. It reminded me of the books by Rona Jaffe and Erica Jong that I used to sneak out of the library in the 70s: juicy, name-dropping, dirty, and funny. And I stayed up until 11:30 to finish it, which almost never happens.
January 17, 2012
OMG, this was like the Real Housewives of Park Slope! It was so much fun to read, I started it and finished it this weekend. I did really really like it, but largely for the kitsch value of it taking place in my neighborhood and maybe for the steamy scenes. There were a few things that were super unbelievable (don't want to spoil it) but I definitely recommend it -- you'll enjoy it, especially if you live in Brooklyn.
July 13, 2012
Having lived in Park Slope for over 7 years, I thought this would be a fun book to read and reminisce. There are all of the stereotypes of PS and ALL of the places - but instead of satire, the book is just plain mean. The location name dropping was old by the second chapter, and I did not like any of the characters - even all of the minor characters are caricatures with no heart at all.
Best part about the book - it was a quick read.
Best part about the book - it was a quick read.
May 28, 2013
Sohn wrote this book to much praise, but the racism is uncalled for. Almost every black person in this book is like a dark shadow of evil. Now maybe people in Park Slope actually feel this way, but that would have made for a better article in the New Yorker than a book which has an intellectual life that makes people believe all they read. While Sohn writes well, she should have rethought her condemntion of all things black. So little has changed.
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