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Summary: ~Classic tale of the wealthy older man & the younger woman ~
Review: As I listened to Steve Martin reading the book. I felt like it was being read to me by someone I knew. I pictured what the people looked like and his discriptions were precise. *If this was made into a movie who would play Mirabelle..? That was my constant thought. She is a 28yr.old artist type working her way to nowhere at Neimans a college grad of few words. She sizes men up by the shoes they wear. Mirabelle lives in a bubble she is naive and along comes this wealthy older gentelman who she thinks will save her. She tries to play it cool. She is not cool she is a 28 yr old child who has no future but she does not know it. I listened in my car and missed my exit. I wanted to hear what happened next to Mirabelle and Ray Porter. The author never just calls him Ray it is always First & Last name. Making him seem important,but reminding us of Mr. Porters age and libido. Why would a 28 yr old ever be attracted to a man 50+? Is this real life.. Makes you understand why she is on celexa! I got the book for Christmas (it was on my list) but I am not a reader. I am however a Shopgirl and this title fits perfectly on my bookshelf with other books,that I do not read but the titles match either my personality or my lifestyle. When I found it on cassette I had to get it and see what I was missing.. The beginning is slow but soon you are wanting to know more about Mirabelle,Jeremy,Lisa & Ray Porter. I especially enjoyed the way each scene was setup..Made the story easy to follow. I was able to visualize L.A, Neimans, The Time Clock Cafe & the faces.
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Summary: A pleasant way to spend a couple of hours...
Review: If you liked Steve Martin's movie, A Simple Twist of Fate, (he adapted the screenplay) then you will probably like this book. It was a fast easy read. I blew through it in a couple of hours on a plane. An interesting story about being alone in a world full of beautiful people, when you don't feel so beautiful yourself. The emotional rollercoaster of day to day life, when you wonder if the anti-depressants are still working and a coming of age story for all three of the main characters. It's a different side of Steve Martin, his intellegence and wit shines. It's a curl up on the sofa and waste a rainy afternoon kind of book.
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Summary: Steve Martin wrote this? Wow...
Review: This is such a departure from his comedic performing and movie writing. However, he also succeeds in this genre. I'm envious of his talent, to say the least. "Shopgirl" is compact and well written. What Martin spares book length, he adds in character depth. His characters are layered and complex. As you read, you'll empathize with their lonliness, family dramas, heartache, and dreaming for things seemingly unattainable. Be prepared. You're not going to find lots of action, surprise, and adventure between these covers. This is one of those books where it's not so much the story that's interesting -- it's the *telling* of the story, as it unravels in a predictable -- but noneless compelling -- way. I highly recommend it. Enjoy!
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Summary: Just Don't Get It.............
Review: all the hoopla over this story, that is. It is short but I pushed myself to finish. On every page I was telling myself that certainly this would pick up in the very next paragraph. For me it never clicked. I just don't think it is all that great a story and I'm sorry I wasted my money on it. If you want to read it wait until it is available in the library. A much wiser decision than I made.
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Summary: Steve Martin can write some pretty serious stuff!
Review: When I picked up this book I assumed it would come with the wit and hilarity that follows Steve Martin, I was wrong. I enjoyed this book. I thought he did a great job of getting into the minds of his characters without drowning us in symbolism. May December romances are very common and I thought this came to the true heart of the matter. Enjoy, I know I did.
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Summary: An tight, descriptive story that hits home
Review: Very few people will read this book and not somehow relate to its few characters - there is something in here that to which anyone can relate. Steve is demonstrating his ability not only at humor but also at social commentary and the tricky nuances of personal and sexual relationships. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and hope that he has the ideas and descriptive power for a novel in the near future.
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Summary: A good read
Review: A lovely tale of loneliness, lust, love, friendship and the struggle for meaningful human connection. The novella is populated with characters who falter and fall, misunderstand and are misunderstood, just get by or don't even try, but in the end somehow scrape up enough self-belief to steer their lives along a more satisfying path. Martin's nimble, thoughtful writing is dotted with unexpectedly funny descriptions - unexpected despite knowing he is a comedian because they ambush the reader in mid-narrative with incisive, knowing clarity. A good read.
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Summary: This was a take-it or leave-it book!!!
Review: Don't get me wrong...I love Steve Martin. "Shopgirl"...well...I won't say I love it because it would be lying. I found it to be an average read. I'm an avid fiction reader and have spent many worthwhile hours reading tasty tidbits. This wasn't a Hostess Twinkie by any means.....more so a little extra cheese on your burger. Mirabelle was an underdeveloped wallflower and her beau, Ray was a sloth. Jeremy was the only person in this book to spark any interest on my part.
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Summary: An introspective look at human nature.
Review: Who would have thought that this short novella would be packed with such a wry, witty, and insightful undercurrent of thought? Mirabelle is stuck in her everyday grind as a salesgirl for Niemans in LA, her specialty area is the not so popular glove counter. It is here that she meets the millionaire that is soon to change her life, but not in the way one might expect. Martin has clearly defined the opposing thought process between man and woman. He says yes, she hears no. He's being honest, she's hearing rejection in what he thinks is an attempt to communicate. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a short quick read, written with an intelligent edge, most enjoyable is Martin's ability to show the quirky side of his characters, those things that we all recognize in ourselves but keep hidden from the world. This book is much more than I expected. It just recapitulates the fact that good things come in small packages. 2/15/01
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Summary: A Shining Little Silver Sliver of Life
Review: Steve Martin does a surprising thing when he becomes the author of Shopgirl. He transcends the giddy acting which has made him famous and becomes a man who can tell a perceptive and engrossing story, however short and surface-skimming, about a lonely young Girl who meets an older, perceptive man, and the profound impact he comes to have on her so-far brief and difficult life. I'm not saying Shopgirl is a great masterpiece of literature. (I even admit to stumbling over his use of language every now and again). I'm just saying it is a fair and likeable foray into fiction for Mr. Martin, and I for one am glad he wrote it. I love this little silver book with the sweet, smart girl inside. Believe it or not, I was in tears at the end of it. The amazing thing here is not that Martin was able to find a willing publisher for his book at the drop of a hat. It is that he somehow found it in himself to see the world from Mirabelle's eyes and give this girl a voice. This little book, in its little way, means something. Mirabelle is a lost and lonely soul, alienated in her little corner of Los Angeles, almost unwittingly poised at the springboard between delayed adolescence and full-blown, independent womanhood. She is just about ready to strike, ready to say, "here I am, world, and have I got some great stuff to show you." But she doesn't know that yet. For now, the mousy and depressed (but beautiful) Mirabelle lives alone, and works away the sunny California days in the shadows of air-conditioned Neiman Marcus, the glove department, to be exact. It is a quiet place away from the crowds where Mirabelle stands, leaning on the counter, for hours at a time, often with no company but her own wandering thoughts. She is an artist at heart, having already obtained her Arts degree. She draws on her days off, and perhaps imperceptibly to her own self, dreams of a place where her Art is her focus, and not this lonely little corner of the world where dust gathers and people walk by to shinier, more inviting climes. Into her life comes a much older man, Mr. Ray Porter. He notices her right away, notices both her beauty and imperfection, and appreciates both, from his more experienced standpoint. He desires her from the beginning, in part because of her lack of self-consciousness and youth, and starts up a relationship with her. Once they are together in any sort of way, the two will never be the same again. The relationship will change them both forever. Martin brings a tangible aura of sadness and ache to his story which transcends its simplicity and brevity. As another reviewer noted, you feel as if you've read a much longer, more complex work, when you come to the end. Mirabelle's story stays with you even after the book's cover is shut and the pretty silver object sits once again, closed and silent, on your nightstand. I liked this story because it didn't make Ray and Mirabelle's relationship out to be any more, or any less, than what it was. And also because it gave Mirabelle a chance to dust off her quiet young wings, to stretch them out, and prepare them for flight. This book is an apt reflection of 21st century America, and of those months or years wherein we struggle, as women, but also as men, to earn our place in the world, to earn respect and a living, and hopefully both. Thanks Mr. Steve Martin for giving us this little glimpse into what is, or what may be, a little story in LA which has Big consequences for the young girl who lives it.
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