take my message to your brothers and tell it twice
Alexandra Potter.
I went through a bit of a phase.
Cos I started with Who's That Girl? which first caught me with the grinworthy musical reference and then hooked me with the premise. I didn't actually write down what I thought of it but oh I was very impressed with the subtle and not-so-subtle empowerment. It was an excellent book, worked so well in both directions. Startled me on some aspects but definitely got me intrigued about the rest of her books.
Me And Mr Darcy I had to get immediately. My review from Facebook: I absolutely adored the pop culture references in the start of this novel even if the protagonist seemed a bit too unselfaware and pathetic for my liking. Unfortunately, what promised to be a fabulous situation turned into yet another Wide-Eyed American On The Other Side Of The Pond stupidity, finding everything from black cabs to After Eights fascinating. Which was so utterly annoying and one-note and took over the narrative so thoroughly that the awesome possibilities totally flew out the window. Our protagonist turned into an utter moron, taking way way too long to realise the parallels to her own situation. She utterly lost my sympathy, the plot completely failed itself, and damn me if that wasn't one of the most unattractive cliched Brit male love interests I have ever come across. Every time he said 'crikey' or 'blimey', I wanted to throw the book right across the room. For shame, Alexandra Potter, I expected much much better.
Still I persisted and went next to Be Careful For What You Wish For. Facebook review: I really had only one problem with this book but that was a biggie ... being the absolute thick-wittedness of our protagonist. The fact that she was realising things several pages after me severely damaged my liking for her, almost completely eroded any respect I might have had for her, and made me fairly contemptuous. That aside, this is such an absolute winner of a book, hilarious writing, almost cringeworthy detail of female realism, wonderful characterisation of everybody else, a heartbreaking moment, and such a fabulous feelgood ending.
And then there was Do You Come Here Often?. After being so irritated by stupid female protagonists, I began it with severe trepidation. And awwww, it was wonderful. These characters weren't stupid, they were vulnerable and/or horrifically misguided but they were never ever pathetic and never dumb. I think that's cos of the omniscient narrative, how wonderfully deeply Potter unpacked those emotional states and made me understand them completely and sympathise even though I knew they were wrong.
And that journey of transformation was just pure skill and sureness, fabulously guided and fabulously structured with this great scope and landscape. How beautifully all the characters' stories dovetailed and reflected upon each other, taught each other.
I'm almost embarrassed to admit Alexandra Potter embarrasses me sometimes. She has this brilliant way with detail, describes the minutiae of daily chaos, making the scene so real that I'm right there with Grace on the bus, digging out change with the phone clamped to my shoulder. The absolutely delicious level of atmospheric detail carries over to the emotional nuance but then she always goes one step too far --- be it nose-picking or farting or toilet habits --- and I find myself blushing with equal parts horror, delight and admiration. Quite literally thinking "I can't believe I just read that, did I just read that? I'll re-read it, holy fuck, she did write that. I can't believe she put that on the page. Homigod, my face, where can I put it?"
But she does it for a reason. And that reason always becomes clear. It may feel gratuitous at first but then it's not at all. *nods*
Few punctuation errors, a misspelling of Manly as in Beach, but god, flawless novel in every other aspect. And I finished it with such a huge sense of delight.
Chick lit at almost the finest. Definitely one of my top ten.
There are a couple more of hers I want to track down, except for the LA one. Not innarested, ta. I love my UK-based chick lit.
I went through a bit of a phase.
Cos I started with Who's That Girl? which first caught me with the grinworthy musical reference and then hooked me with the premise. I didn't actually write down what I thought of it but oh I was very impressed with the subtle and not-so-subtle empowerment. It was an excellent book, worked so well in both directions. Startled me on some aspects but definitely got me intrigued about the rest of her books.
Me And Mr Darcy I had to get immediately. My review from Facebook: I absolutely adored the pop culture references in the start of this novel even if the protagonist seemed a bit too unselfaware and pathetic for my liking. Unfortunately, what promised to be a fabulous situation turned into yet another Wide-Eyed American On The Other Side Of The Pond stupidity, finding everything from black cabs to After Eights fascinating. Which was so utterly annoying and one-note and took over the narrative so thoroughly that the awesome possibilities totally flew out the window. Our protagonist turned into an utter moron, taking way way too long to realise the parallels to her own situation. She utterly lost my sympathy, the plot completely failed itself, and damn me if that wasn't one of the most unattractive cliched Brit male love interests I have ever come across. Every time he said 'crikey' or 'blimey', I wanted to throw the book right across the room. For shame, Alexandra Potter, I expected much much better.
Still I persisted and went next to Be Careful For What You Wish For. Facebook review: I really had only one problem with this book but that was a biggie ... being the absolute thick-wittedness of our protagonist. The fact that she was realising things several pages after me severely damaged my liking for her, almost completely eroded any respect I might have had for her, and made me fairly contemptuous. That aside, this is such an absolute winner of a book, hilarious writing, almost cringeworthy detail of female realism, wonderful characterisation of everybody else, a heartbreaking moment, and such a fabulous feelgood ending.
And then there was Do You Come Here Often?. After being so irritated by stupid female protagonists, I began it with severe trepidation. And awwww, it was wonderful. These characters weren't stupid, they were vulnerable and/or horrifically misguided but they were never ever pathetic and never dumb. I think that's cos of the omniscient narrative, how wonderfully deeply Potter unpacked those emotional states and made me understand them completely and sympathise even though I knew they were wrong.
And that journey of transformation was just pure skill and sureness, fabulously guided and fabulously structured with this great scope and landscape. How beautifully all the characters' stories dovetailed and reflected upon each other, taught each other.
I'm almost embarrassed to admit Alexandra Potter embarrasses me sometimes. She has this brilliant way with detail, describes the minutiae of daily chaos, making the scene so real that I'm right there with Grace on the bus, digging out change with the phone clamped to my shoulder. The absolutely delicious level of atmospheric detail carries over to the emotional nuance but then she always goes one step too far --- be it nose-picking or farting or toilet habits --- and I find myself blushing with equal parts horror, delight and admiration. Quite literally thinking "I can't believe I just read that, did I just read that? I'll re-read it, holy fuck, she did write that. I can't believe she put that on the page. Homigod, my face, where can I put it?"
But she does it for a reason. And that reason always becomes clear. It may feel gratuitous at first but then it's not at all. *nods*
Few punctuation errors, a misspelling of Manly as in Beach, but god, flawless novel in every other aspect. And I finished it with such a huge sense of delight.
Chick lit at almost the finest. Definitely one of my top ten.
There are a couple more of hers I want to track down, except for the LA one. Not innarested, ta. I love my UK-based chick lit.