Manhattan Books

This is the first book by Ms. Fairstein that I've read. It was enjoyable. I especially enjoyed the art history in the books. I'm not into art that much so it was fascinating to me. It was something different for me. I did however like the mystery itself. Author had some good plot twists in there. I liked the characters interplay with each other and how you could see their bonds. I think I made the mistake of reading the third book first however. They speak of other cases which I'm assuming are in the first books. I plan on picking those up soon. It's not early Cornwell or Sandford but I would still highly recommend this book to others looking for a murder mystery.

If you enjoyed Paul Clifford, you'll love this. Here's the first sentence for you: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents--except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness." Linda Fairstein has taken the master's style and run with it.
Not in my recent reading have I seen a book so in need of slash and burn editing. It is said that smarter people write longer sentences, but this book bludgeons you with excess words on every page.

This was the first in the Alexandra Cooper series I read and I really enjoyed it so I will be adding the rest of the series to my TBR pile. The characters are appealing, the story extremely well written and Linda Fairstein really knows her stuff! The story involved the art word and the Gardener Museum heist and being an Art History major I found it all exceedingly fascinating. A joy to read and it really should be in your must read pile!

This lady goes from strength to strength. Once again we see Alexandra Cooper, the Assistant District Attorney for the Sex Crimes Unit of Manhattan. Only this time she finds herself with a body being pulled out of the river, but the woman is expensively dressed and tied to a ladder, with no identification.

It is not the easiest of cases, we find all kinds of skullduggery in the genteel art world, with forgery and faked provenance and Alex gets a bit too close to the murderer in this one, only narrowly escaping being shot, although unfortunately Mercer Wallace is hit, which is all rather too real.

I never imagined Art Galleries to inspire the kind of passions that abound in this book, I know that money will drive people to extremes and this is well illustrated here, but this really is the ugly side to beautiful artworks.

Nevertheless, as a subject for murder, it is a gripping plot. I know that sidekicks are not as immune as central characters, but Mercer and Mike are too central to be the victim of homicidal lunatics, but here we see that they can have a little scare, just to remind us that it is a terrible place for the good guys.

Linda Fairstein's 3rd novel in the Alexandra Cooper mystery series, "Cold Hit," follows Alex and her team as they track the killer of a victim who washed ashore in Northern Manhatten, strapped to a ladder. Her connections to the flashy art world add plenty of glitz and suspects for Alex, Mike Chapman, and Mercer Wallace to investigate before the killer strikes again.

I used to read alot of Patricia Cornwell and I had to stop because I realized I was reading the same novel over and over again. Now, you can say that of pretty much any mystery author, I realize. Most of them do a really good job of masking it though. I am hoping that Fairstein is able to do the same. Cornwell's character Kay Scarpetta is not likeable and always is attacked by the vicious killer. Fairstein's Cooper is likeable, but the reader sorta has to work at it and she is always attacked by the vicious killer. Authors need to realize that readers catch on to these sort of canned plots. We're not stupid, dearest authors, really we're not.

I did find the plot of "Cold Hit" to be a bit tedious. Fairstein can be overly wordy sometimes. 50 pages could easily be shaved off of each of her books and they wouldn't be any different.

The characters interwining stories along with the secrets of the Havana Room makes this a compelling read. I throughly enjoyed it.

I liked THE HAVANA ROOM overall, but I must admit it's not for everybody. If you're looking for a realistic plot or likable characters, this novel will probably let you down. I didn't find this book particularly suspenseful, and I must admit I found some of the plot developments completely unbelievable.

However, the prose of this novel is remarkably well crafted. Colin Harrison is without question a gifted writer. The narrator of THE HAVANA ROOM, a 40-year old lawyer who has hit bottom, ruminates constantly about aging, the meaning of love, and other important life issues. These ruminations are very interesting to read. I suspect many middle aged men will identify with the themes presented in this novel.

I don't recommend this book if you're looking for a fast-paced thriller. But if you're looking for a literary/thriller hybrid, this is one of the better ones out there.

I read this book after reading Afterburn, which was stellar. Harrison constructs atypical, unpredictable plot movements with a very literate style. Good character development, nice prose, and unexpected twists and plot development. Havana Room is a ridiculous, implausible, poorly executed story. Worst of all, Harrison relies on the very sloppy, lazy literary technique of keeping the reader in the dark about essential elements of the plot until it is revealed all at once by a single character (read: the author) explaining it all in one fell swoop with a big long monologue. I have written better material than this myself and I am in no way a writer in Harrison's league. I don't know if he had to produce this piece of drivel to pay his taxes or fulfill a book contract but I say with confidence that he is a fine writer as evidenced by Afterburn and the outstanding review that I just read of his newest novel, released in April of 2008. So.....read Afterburn and I will check out the new one but this.....is a waste of time.

"The Havana Room" features what I like to call an anonymous man -- successful, but not famously so; married to a wife who is pretty but not quite beautiful; rich but not a millionaire -- whose anonymity is shattered because of a tragic accident that leads to the death of his friend's son.

The death of this young boy causes his family's life to spiral downward, and he loses his job, his wife, his son, and his comfortable little existence. He escapes into a depressed funk.

Randomly, he enters a steakhouse one day. It is here where our story starts to spin.

Though he no longer practices law, the man, Bill Wyeth, is roped into helping with a real-estate deal. After the deal is made, Bill finds himself drawn to the man he helped, Jay Rainey, and ends up aiding him in a crime. The more Bill finds out about the deal, the more suspect it looks, and the more sinister Jay appears.

Colin Harrison is an absolute master at teasing his audience, sprinkling a little trail for them to follow, building suspense and anxiety to figure out the truth of the situation.

His prose is like bitter urban poetry. He completely exposes post-9/11 New York with sharp, accurate observations. Before Harrison gets to his story, he sits back and revels in his own prose ability, giving the city he lives in a light smack across the face.

Really the only flaw of this book is that, once Harrison points the way the story is actually going, it's obvious where it will end. It's hard not to be three or four steps ahead of our narrator, Bill. And the grand finale, which is played for awe and horror, shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

Honestly, I wish the two revelations -- about Jay and his farm -- had not quite been so obvious. But it's hard to complain because this book is so addictively good leading up to it. You'll find yourself not wanting to put this book down, impatient to know what happens next.

Unlike others, I liked what happened in the Havana Room. It's not a cliche. It's absolutely nothing that you would expect -- an intriguing and creative stop-off in the book that makes for later fun.

While I admit I wish this book was as shrewd in the end as it was in the beginning, it doesn't detract from what was a really well-written and smart book. It took me quite a while to finally get around to reading Colin Harrison. But now, having read "The Havana Room," I won't be waiting long to read him again.

A terrifically entertaining and literary mystery.

Bill, having eaten Thai take-out upon his late-night return home from out of town, gives a glass of milk to one of the guests at his young son's birthday sleep-over. The guest is allergic to peanuts and dies in his sleep as a result of exposure to a minute amount of peanut oil residue that got onto the milk glass from Bill's fingers.

Thus begins Bill's descent from affluent New York lawyer and family man to unemployed "bachelor" feeling sorry for himself.

He is reluctantly pressed into serving as an unpaid lawyer for a stranger in a real estate transaction at the request of a lady friend. He is engaged for this purpose late at night and given a seemingly impossible midnight deadline to complete the deal -- which he does, extracting a cool additional $300,000 in cash for his "client" in the deal. There follows a surreal set of circumstances and actions by Bill that defy belief.

This novel is a bit on the wordy side (there are whole pages without new paragraphs). The story holds the reader's interest, even if the reader isn't 100% willing to suspend his incredulity.

I'd recommend this book for someone who has plenty of time to sit poolside and read this summer.

This book and others similar should be REQUIRED reading for ALL students to give/demand a REALISTIC VIEW of just WHO and WHAT is causing the "nuts and bolts" as well as "the wheels" of our country and others to "rock n'roll!' We somehow live in such a "wishful fake" awareness of the REAL rulers who "move and shake up" our economy...this book shows and well-illustrates what's happening...that IS SCARY!!! You will not be sorry at all to read this very interesting book...and, then, go and appreciate your own "humble" life with RELISH galore!

Did anyone else notice that Tommy Quinn, the narrator, meets Roger Thorne when he begins working at J.S. Spencer? There's a whole scene where Thorne introduces himself to Quinn. Then we flashback to Quinn spending the summer in Rhode Island with Frances Sloan, and then they both move to New York. Then, in October, just before he begins at J.S. Spencer, Quinn and Sloan have dinner with Thorne at Cipriani's in SoHo? If Quinn meets Thorne when he first starts at J.S. Spencer, how are they having dinner together weeks before Quinn even starts at J.S. Spencer?

Can someone explain that to me? I must be missing something.

This book was not what I was expecting. Very hum-drum, most of the text is spent reading the main character's boring perspective on work, life and his sometimes offensive sach-religious side notes. This book was offensive in other areas as well - all minorities in the novel are addicts of some sort, thieves, drug sellers or some sort of depressing character. There was no comedic outlet, no emotions get drawn, this book was simply two thumbs down.

Sort of like a modern day Great Gatsby in the setting of American Psycho (minus the murder) with a slight Salinger influence on a couple characters. Follow the philosophic bread crumbs, and you may find something substantial.

I read this novel right after I finished Tom Wolfe's "I am Charlotte Simmons." I preferred Vachon's novel over Wolfe's by a huge margin. The writing was biting and funny, and I didn't find it patronizing. All in all, I very much enjoyed the book.

I noticed the comment by a woman who was simply disgusted and freaked out by this book...was she expecting Stephen King? "The Great American Novel"? C'mon, lady, why'd you buy this wacky book to begin with? It's Dee Dee Ramone--what'd you expect? Written as no one else could've done, these chapters, which start out pretty coherent, represent days in the life of Dee Dee Ramone at the creepy old, scuzzy Chelsea. While I believe some of the incidents are real, the majority of the book is Dee Dee's wild and crazy imagination--a lot of it seemingly written at times of withdrawal. Any Dee Dee Ramone fan needs this in their collection. I'll admit, some of it is practically vomit-inducing, but, hey, it's Dee Dee--gotta love him!

I have to say, to expect this to be a piece of literary classic genius is ridiculous. If you go into it with this fact in mind, you'll experience a truly enjoyable and mind bending read. Knowing that you're inside of Dee Dee Ramone's head, well, what's left of it, is truly intriguing. I think that the funniest aspects of this book, his relationship with his dog and his fear of Tiger Leprosy, were not only entertaining, but benchmarks of the state of mind that led to his death not too much farther down that road. As for hanging out with Sid and Jerry, more power to ya Dee Dee. Hope you enjoyed the life that you had.

This is quite possibly one of the strangest, disjointed bizarre books I have ever read...since Burroughs' Naked Lunch. Dee Dee, as the central character, seeks to and ultimately manages to injest every hardcore drug possible. And he still finds the time to kill a transvestite, encounter the ghosts of junkies past and communicate with his dog. (Which is reminiscient of the post-apocalyptic film, A Boy & His Dog) The book is sickening but not in a blood and guts way. It's sickening in a 'junkie-rollercoaster-stream of consioucness' way. The lack of lucidity and continuity tends to be like a carnival ride. Burroughs isn't dead, he's just hiding in Dee Dee Ramone's body. Simply put: if this were made into a movie it would be directed by David Cronenberg or David Lynch.

Dee Dee will always be missed so much. This is a great book with insight from him.

worst book ive ever read. ever. totally horrible. the gore is kinda okay at first, but then it just gets too surreal. like a dream, but not a cool dream. its like when you have some dream you thought was super cool, and then you tell your friend, and your friend is like "wow not only does that make no sense, but you are totally retarded". anyways, this book is a total waste of time and money, and all i learned from it is dont stay at the chelsea hotel or you will get AIDS, or get murdered.

I'm largely writing to add some stars to the rating for this book. Fascinating to see how Capote started off his writing career. The characters and story stem from a youthful perspective, yet are rich and mature in their depth, complexity and subtlety.

If you are a Capote reader, this will not disappoint and will add a fascinating dimension to your sense of the author.

It's short and wonderful summer read - pick it up!

Consider this my thank you to the universe that Truman Capote didn't leave behind a 300 page manuscript called "Summer Crossing." The best thing about this book is its length, 126 pages. I don't know that I would have been able to finish it if it had gone on even fifty pages longer.

Apple and Grady (who knew Capote would foreshadow modern name trends?) are well-to-do sisters whose parents sail to Europe one summer. Apple is married and Grady is flitting between three suitors, a married man in Greenwich, a seemingly gay confidante, and her intended, whom she ends up marrying. None of these characters have any depth. It's impossible to root for any of the couples because they're mere sketches that hint to something far greater Capote had in mind. There isn't a particularly strong message in this book; it picaresque and lacking in insight.

I struggled to stay alert reading this. Really boring, slow, and unimportant. [...]

Clearly unfinished and yet offers a timeless view of the coming of age saga. Desperate to differentiate herself in a world of appearances and debutante balls, Grady McNeil struggles with the responsibilities of her life versus her own expectations. These of course are hidden from her family and friends, even her best friend and fellow upper-crust outcast, Peter. The reoccurring themes of individual's secret struggles and eventual consequences are foreboding and ring true with modern readers.

While not comparable to Capote's true masterpieces, this is not a work to discount. At times, the plot is thin; however, Capote's true story is and always will be with his characters. We are revealed enough to sate and stir our curiosity, simultaneously, while reviving one's own disappointments and all left unsaid.

I didn't get very excited over this novel, didn't have enough time for that - it was over too soon. Still, it definitely creates an atmosphere and gets one involved. I loved the picture on the cover, a great match to the protoganist, in my opinion.

This is a very early effort by Capote, and it wasn't published in his lifetime so it should be regarded as unfinished, but you can see hints of his future greatness in his elegant use of language, his ability to evoke a world, and his love of the shocking moment. The plot is very simple: Grady, the 17 year old daughter of a wealthy Park Avenue family, stays in New York while her parents spend the summer in Europe. She's fallen in love with a parking attendant in a city garage and wants to spend the summer enjoying her secret love. But she hasn't thought through the consequences of a liaison with someone from another social class. Events begin to spiral out of control...

The book is short, a novella really, and well worth reading if you are a Capote fan, although it certainly doesn't compare with his mature work.

This little sort of tone poem captures some of the beauty and some of the meanness of New York life. I didn't come away from THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK as being negative toward the city, but even if Mr. Whitehead were, we New Yorkers need our cranks and curmudgeons. It makes us part of who we are, after all.

The free style works MOST of the time. When it doesn't, it really doesn't. (It is no coincidence that the most straight-forward section, the introduction, is the most superb!) THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK doesn't have the lyricism of E.B. White's THIS IS NEW YORK, but it doesn't pretend to want to be like it, anyway. Colson Whitehead's piece is more like Whitman's poetry, as he rambled along the old downtown streets and piers, and recorded his scenes and his feelings about them. Yes, this book could have been greater, but it doesn't take away from the power much of it has. So if you're looking for a history of or guidebook to New York City, this is not the book. But if you're looking for the evocative power of New York, written in a personal, lyrical style, you won't find many better than THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK.

The author writes negative comments about every subject, even about subjects he likes. Everything sounds bad in "his New York", as he calls it. I was very disappointed in this book because I really like NY. I read about half the book and threw it in the trash.

Colson Whitehead's "The Colossus of New York" is a sort of prose poem to New York. But interestingly enough, the city's identity is almost incidental. New York could be any megalopolis. Whitehead simply uses it as a convenient dumping ground for heaping piles of metaphor, innuendo, and wry pseudo-Freudian slip-riffs. As Whitehead eventually says: "Talking about New York is a way of talking about the world." He even outdoes Iain Sinclair in this territory because, hey, "Colossus" is actually readable.

Whitehead sculpts sentences here with dazzling, fluid mastery. In sentence after sentence, he manages to surprise you, keeping you in gleeful suspense for that next line, and the next one... And yet it never feels overwrought or exhausting, probably because he pays equal attention to the rhythm of his prose (this is one of those books you can't help reading aloud).

Here's one of my many favorite passages, set in the subway system:

"This is the fabled journey through the underground, folks, and it's going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better. On the opposite track it's a field of greener grass, you gotta beat trains off with a stick. From his secret booth the announcer scares and reassures alternatively. The postures on the platform sag or stiffen appropriately. With a dial controlling the amount of static. What are their rooms like, the men at the microphones. One day the fiscal importunities of the subway announcer's union will be exposed and that will be the end of the hot tubs and lobster, but until then they break out the bubbly. Look down the tunnel one more time and your behavior will describe a psychiatric disorder. It's infectious. They take turns looking down into darkness and the platform is a clock: the more people standing dumb, the more time has passed since the last train. The people fall from above into hourglass dunes. Collect like seconds."

I also recommend the audio book edition of this title, as Whitehead himself reads the thing in a dizzying performance. It's like a long shot of aggression with a beat-poetry rhythm and a helping of faux snottiness, all orchestrated to allow us to experience the idea of street-level New York in a manageable package.

People that laud this type of 'work' are the type that can read something significant into anything because they don't want to admit that they don't get it. He tries to paint a picture of Gotham using mawkish free association which comes across as pseudo-intellect at its worst. I was really looking forward to this book because it sounded like a very cool exercise and interesting look into the greatest city on the planet. Hardbound pretentious excrement.

Colson Whitehead is a talented writer, as one can easily see in his first two novels. So when I read that he was writing nonfiction about New York, I was thrilled at the prospects. But I don't know what to make of this book.
The majority of the 13 parts have the same structure. Take a place. Write short sentences that explain what you would see at that place. Include actions and thoughts of those characters.
On paper, it sounds awful, and it some ways it is. It is the shortest 176 pages you will ever read, but this style gets highly repetitive. Rather than explaining why he chose these places or what they mean to him, Whitehead includes little about himself. There is quite simply zero insight into the soul of the city.
But the book does have its strong points. Whitehead's scenes are very evocative and I often found myself smiling and nodding at his dead-on descriptions of what I had seen in New York. He notices things about New York that you take for granted. At times, his skills shine through.
But it ultimately felt like reading a good writer's notes before he turns them in to an actual book. I wanted so much more from this book, and based on what is there (and also the wonderful first essay, which is different from all others in structure), I get the feeling it could be there. Everyone has their own version of New York and I'm still waiting to see how Whitehead really sees his hometown. Ultimately it reads like an astute but repetitive poem. Nonetheless, any book that makes me nostalgic about my trips to Port Authority has done one incredible job.

It's not that I am a minimalist but I can only think of one word to review this book: YUCK!

Okay, this book is like the creampuffs at that great local bakery... it seems like a good idea, it's fun going down, but you regret it after the last bit's consumed.

Now I wish I'd spent my time reading something that had some kind of literary value. I spent the whole book waiting for the main character to address this gaping chasm in her life, or reach some sort of moral crisis. We're teased with close calls, but the possibilities of conflict and resolution are just never explored, never. What a letdown! Big, big possibilities, all passed over by the author.

Note to other intelligent chicks: don't waste your time too. Skip it. If you need an erotica fix, buy something with some meat in the story: read Marquis de Sade's Justine, or Nabokov's Lolita, and you won't hate yourself in the morning.

Sexy, funny, and believe it or not, thought-provoking. Tracy Quan takes us on a ride as Nancy Chan, a witty married call girl in the Manhattan milieu of Barneys, Investment Bankers, and the Upper East Side. Not only does she titillate us with her erotic exploits, she tackles the question of marriage and identity. Do we give up all of our selves when we get married? Is there room for some secret side? While being a working girl on the side is certainly more extreme than most secrets, the question remains - can we retain anything secret once we're married?

Nancy Chan, the author's alter ego, is delightful, funny, at times neurotic, and always sexy. What a fun novel - I only bogged down for a few brief pages when she described an unneeded side trip, which was probably cathartic for the author. Even better than the original. I'm looking forward to another Tracy Chan novel. Guilty pleasure.

Kudos for Three Rivers Press for publishing a Kindle edition!

Sexy, funny, and believe it or not, thought-provoking. Tracy Quan takes us on a ride as Nancy Chan, a witty married call girl in the Manhattan milieu of Barneys, Investment Bankers, and the Upper East Side. Not only does she titillate us with her erotic exploits, she tackles the question of marriage and identity. Do we give up all of our selves when we get married? Is there room for some secret side? While being a working girl on the side is certainly more extreme than most secrets, the question remains - can we retain anything secret once we're married?

Nancy Chan, the author's alter ego, is delightful, funny, at times neurotic, and always sexy. What a fun novel - I only bogged down for a few brief pages when she described an unneeded side trip, which was probably cathartic for the author. Even better than the original. I'm looking forward to another Tracy Chan novel. Guilty pleasure.

Kudos for Three Rivers Press for publishing a Kindle edition!

Arrived to Australia very fast in great condition, will use again. :) thank you

I love this book it's great, I mean it has it all, it is trendy, glitzy, glamorous, and the author is being true to herself. I love the book and I love the characters, and the plot. I love the ending it suprised me. I own this book and I read it over and over again! It is one of my favorites!

Ms. Howard's title caught my eye and intrigued me, so I picked it up. Needless to say the title and even the titles of the chapters were way better than the acutal book. First mistake...too much designer info...I mean nobody cares about that stuff, it made the author and the book seem artificial and I know this was a real turn-off to those who have no idea what/who some of those designers are. Second mistake...Ms. Howard is living in fantasy land....I mean the way the ending came together was just to simple and totally unrealistic. Third mistake...what gives with the subplots? Wassup with Beverly and 'the love doctor'? Saxton's family? Deena and Nikki?

Ms. Howards got the titles on lock, but now she needs to get the storyline on lock....good try though. Umm I recommend borrowing this book, but it was an okay read otherwise

The title is catchy isn't it? This alone made me curious as to why such a devilishly handsome man and his svelte companion would be gracing the cover of a book so titled. Eagerly I picked up Why Sleeping Dogs Lie, to see what lay between the pages. I was impressed with what I read. Author Tracie Howard, has done it again.

Mallory Baylor has a secret. Forced to leave Atlanta, with a stop over in Philadelphia, she ends up as a staff writer in New York writing for their hip magazine, Heat. While on assignment to interview the cover story for this particular month's edition, Mallory comes face to face with a blast from her past, Saxton McKensie. Saxton, former ball player now top executive of a Media Relations Firm, Ingram Enterprises, is set to become an even more powerful mogul when he marries Deena Ingram. His story is notable and while Mallory has her doubts about seeing Saxton again, she does a wonderful job on the interview.

Saxton is elated to see Mallory again. Plus he's impressed with her article and decides she would make a great edition to their company. Mallory isn't all too thrilled about working so close to Saxton in light of their past, but decides the compensation is worth the switch. Sounds cookie cutter so far? I invite you to read Why Sleeping Dogs Lie. Mallory's roommate and Deena are enough to keep the drama going. You've yet to uncover the secret and the cast of supporting characters are so tightly intermingled that you'll be on the edge of your seat completely to the end.

Tracie Howard has co-authored two books and has done right stepping forward on her own and molding her craft. Why Sleeping Dogs Lie is well-written and I hope this will not be her last solo effort.

This is my first Tracei Howard book and I must say I was very disappointed. The story line was ok but the book was very rushed. Not enough description for me and a little too much fairy-tale in the story line. The main character, Mallory, the sexy and sweet young editor, had a short affair with Saxton, the rich mutil-millionaire who left her because he was scared of love only to end up with Deena the bi-sexual daughter of a southern judge who cares more about her ratings then anything else. There are other characters in the story who mingle in and out here and there but I just could not get into this book. I love the sparks between Saxton and Mallory. Black love is so beautiful. But everything else seemed to happen so fast. THere is alot of designer name dropping (Prada this, Gucci that and Brooks Brothers this no wonder people think black people are so materialistic) all throughout this book which makes it loose it's appeal even faster. Mallory was pregnant by Saxton but gave up the baby for adoption but kept close ties to the adoptive parents? THen the parents die in a horrible car accident and all parental rights are automatically given back to Mallory? Didn't she sign those over when she signed the adoption papers? And of couse there's the happily ever after ending. I don't expect all writers to be the next EJD or Terry McMillian but I do expect a good read for my money. Don't buy this book.

This book read like your typical romance novel. I found it to be very entertaining. However, I was irritated by the constant deluge of designer names to describe the clothing and shoes being worn by the characters. The ending tied together nicely as expected. If you are looking for high brow literature with complicated plots and subplots, you will not find that in this book. Yet, I found this book to be a good read that held my attention to the very end.

This "book" is merely the dialog from the movie, with narrative of the story, and a few lines of what is in the heads of the characters. Oh, and a few "articles" that offered nothing stimulating or illuminating.

The movie is cute and I found it easy to suspend my inner critic and just enjoy the ride. The book only brings you down to earth, wondering why the leading man and lady could be portrayed as authors. Of course, perhaps the clue to this book's value is in the movie: "There is no Barbara Novak."

The DVD on the other hand has lots of additional content, very fun especially if you are interested in the fashions (more great 60's clothes than a season of That Girl).

I know that some reviewers hated this book because they thought it was superficial and cheesy. However, they are missing the point. When I first picked up this book at a tag sale, I was a little disappointed, because it seemed to be just another chick lit book. Months later, here I am writing a research paper for my Gender Studies Independent Study. I watched the movie (because, honestly, I was procrastinating), and found that the movie and the book completely summed up my thesis!

I don't think I realized at first that it was a satire and a spoof...it all depends on how you go into reading, or watching, it. The whole point of the book is to make fun of the early sixties, both through the over-done cinematography, and the theme.

The main character, Barbara Novak, goes through an elaborate plot to get the guy (Catcher Block) by writing a book that says that women don't need love with men. While writing the book was all part of her plan to in fact get him to fall in love with her, she realizes in the end that she won't just be happy being "Mrs. Catcher Block" and losing her identity as a high-powered woman. Just when she explains the ploy to him and he proposes to her, she sees that her life as his wife would be a lonely life in the suburbs raising children and doing housework--in essence, the fate of housewives in those days.

In the end a compromise is made, but the book is about women finding a foothold in a work environment, women finding out how to combine love with a life, and gender roles. It may not be "The Feminine Mystique", but surprisingly it deals with the same topics. If you go into it knowing about the facts of the women's movement, and issues that women are facing today, you will see that it is not just a superficial romantic comedy.

I think that while the movie illustrated the point to an extent, the book furthers this point with stuff that the screenwriters could add without boring a movie audience. (it's by the screenwriters, basically, not of course, the fictionalized Barbara Novak.)

I purchased this novelization ... after hearing positive buzz about the film. BIG MISTAKE. I read it in one hour, but it wasn't because it was enthralling or the slightest bit interesting - in fact, it was quite [bad]. Now I know why the retail price was [money].
Of course, with a title like "Down with Love" and cutesy '60s cover art, I didn't exactly expect this to be Faulkner, but the repeated blows to my intelligence were just disgraceful.
The plot of the novel seemed promising, and the premise was indeed original and slightly tongue-in-cheek (anyone who has read this novelization and/or seen the movie can tell you it's a throwback to the old Rock Hudson/Doris Day sex comedies of the '50s and '60s). Of course, it's laden with a ton of sexual innuendos and wacky situtations. But it also has the worst characterization known to man. The characters, ESPECIALLY the two leads, are carelessly developed, shallow, and unconvincing. Their "love story" is silly, and I think I killed a million neurons just reading about it.
For starters, skip the novelization and just watch the movie. At least there it's presented in a superbly visual format, and can come across as weird as it wants to without looking utterly stupid.

I am so glad that i bought this book! Down with Love are one of the most unique books i have ever read. At first, the book did not really make sense to you, but you understand more of it as you read more. The twist at the end of the book in completely Unpredictable and Suprising! Though, i think that the twist was not explained thoroughly, as it felt unconvincing at first read. Nonetheless, the characters are charming and flirtatious. Barbara Novak and Catcher Block are made for each other. The games that they play with each other were simply adorable and leave you with wanting more! Right after i read this wonderful book, i bought myself a copy of Down with Love DVD. I have to say, this is the first time, that i thought that the book and the movie are both on the same level. The movie was just as fantastic as the book. I cannot choose which one is better than the other. I feel that one should read the book before reading it, as you would have a better understanding of the movie, and have a better appreciation for the characters. After reading and watching Down with Love, i have completely fallen in love with the 60's era. The outfits were so feminine and well put together. Most people still had manners and spoke in perfect English. Barbara Novak did a wonderful job with Down with Love. A fun and great read for all Chick Lit fans! I'm sure after reading this book, you'll be asking yourself 'Who is this Barbara Novak?' and suddenly have a craving for CHOCOLATES!

I am hands down loving this book. At first I got alittle worried with the begining, but it turned out to be a sweet read. I read this book of course in a 2 & 1/2hr span. I just drifted right along with it. Very funny how the author jumped from the two main characters, I liked it. Great read for by the pool, or on a trip. Not too much to read but light enough to get fullfilled from it. I loved the characters Barbara and Catcher, their crazy twists on the truth & their devious plans for eachother. Now I want to see the movie. Hope its as good as the book.

Life for Kiernan was not as picture perfect as she'd made it seem. Born as Norma, Alias as Kate Matthews and as interior designer, Kiernan Malloy. Kiernan trapped her husband Taylor Hudson into marrying her by telling him that she was pregnant. I invision Kiernan to be a little off upstairs if you know what I mean.

Brooke, pschyotherapist to Kiernan was badly beaten by her first husband and ended up falling in love with Taylor Hudson. Careers were soon in jeopardy when Brooke finds out that Kate Matthews,(Kiernan) is the wife of the man she had fallen in love with.

Joie, Brooke's bestfriend, ended up pregnant not knowing whose the baby daddy. It's between Brent and Evan, who are best buddies; but we later learn towards the end of the book that Brent was bent over while Evan was laying pipe to his rear end when Joie walked in on them. How did Joie react to the situation? You'll have to read the book to get all the juicy details. I rated the book 3 stars because it took so long to grab my attention. I nearly put it down twice.

One of my coworkers suggested I read this book because in her words..."This book is GOOD! You won't be able to put it down!" So I took a chance on a new author and I do have to agree with the majority and say it did have a slow start. I thought about returning the book to my coworker twice, but I hung in there and I must say, I was very pleased with the storyline and colorful characters.

The characters were believable and didn't seem made up at all. I was very impressed with this author's knowledge of the Wall Street and high society life. Very impressed! The ending had some good surprises that made the story altogether a good one!

I did not want the book, but it was sent to me by a book club. When I first started to read the book I was confused. I did not understand who was who or what was what.
Then after the book began to make sense I relized that I could not stop. I shared it with some of my friends and they like it too. You just have to hang on before you can get in to it.

The author had a good story that was poorly executed. The book started off very slow, picked up and got me interested and then feel off. There's lots of drama, and interesting subjects but the ending is too "and they all lived happily ever after" Not one of my favorites; only worth buying if it is on sale.

This book name dropped too much for me and everything that happened with the Brooke and Taylor happened off scene. Even the first time they made love happened off scene. It would have been nice to spend more time with them when they were actually doing something instead of rehashing what they had already done. The only time the book seemed to come alive was when Kiernan was on the scene. At least I understood her motives and why she was the way she was. Brooke was a sad person in comparison because I never really felt like I knew her. As for the subplot with Brooke's best friend and her boyfriend it was totally unnecessary for this book. If the author had taken the same route with Brooke and Taylor (such as the reader actually seeing their relationship blossom) as she did with the secondary characters this would have been an outstanding book. Good luck to Tracie in the future. You have a lot of potential.