Rating: 
Summary: Star light, star bright
Review: "Marjorie Morningstar" is one of my all-time favorite books. I first read it in my teens, and since then, have read it more times than I can count. Every time I do, it's like returning to favorite places with old friends.I once read a proverb that said you can get whatever you most want out of life, but can't get your second choice. I'm not sure I agree -- in fact, I hope it's untrue -- but that, in a nutshell, is the crux of this book. Marjorie Morgenstern, the protagonist, is the only daughter of a well-to-do Jewish family living on Central Park West. Her two great ambitions in life are to achieve fame and fortune as an actress, and to make a brilliant marriage. She succeeds at one of them. Herman Wouk (the author) has made Marjorie a more sympathetic character than the bare facts suggest. Yes, she's a pampered princess -- but she's beautiful, intelligent, charming, lively, and fun. Surprisingly for someone from such a privileged background, she's also feisty, articulate, and assertive -- which is good, since she's got several uphill battles lying in wait for her. Her determination to use her talents and abilities may have made her an oddity in her time and place (1930s New York), but it's a goal that most modern readers will empathize with. The rambling storyline follows Marjorie (and several supporting characters) from Manhattan, to the Catskills, to Europe, and back again; in search of fame, love, wealth, adventure, and success. With time and experience, Marjorie matures significantly in some ways -- but in others, she remains immature, spoiled, and narcissistic. The strong point of the book is Wouk's characterization. All the characters are three-dimensional and believable, people whom we feel we know. George, Marjorie's high-school boyfriend, is sweet and ineffectual, crushed by life's downturns yet getting through it one day at a time. Noel, the man whom Marjorie falls in love with, is gorgeous, brilliant, and multi-talented, with far too much charm for his own good. He's also shallow, directionless, commitment-phobic, self-destructive, and a borderline sociopath. Wally, a homely, witty bookworm with crystalline intellect, driving ambition, and a puppy crush on Marjorie, has a surprising way of popping up center stage in Marjorie's life just when she thought she'd stashed him safely on the sidelines. Even the minor characters -- teachers, classmates, co-workers -- have clarity and resonance, like those caricatures that are two dots and a squiggle, but somehow actually look like the person. A particularly memorable example of this is when Wouk is describing yet another skirmish between Marjorie and her mother. A less adept and compassionate writer would have let Marjorie's mother remain a stereotyped caricature -- an overbearing "Jewish mother" -- or someone who wants to spoil her daughter's fun because her own looks and youth are long gone. Not Wouk. In the midst of the argument (about whether Marjorie's wardrobe was so inadequate that she was "going around in rags", as I recall), he flashes back to the mother's life when she was Marjorie's present age -- an immigrant girl toiling in a sweatshop, dressed in real rags -- and how lucky Marjorie seemed to her by comparison, and how seeing Marjorie's safe, secure, happy life made up for her never having had those things herself -- while at the same time, she felt a bit envious. In that instant, the character turns from "Mother" into "Rose"; a lonely young girl with a very hard life, not really old enough to be out of her parents' house, let alone in a strange country where she doesn't even know the language. The shift from "Mother" the authority figure to poor little "Rose" is so abrupt and total as to be almost disorienting. The one glaring exception to Wouk's touching, shaded characterizations is his treatment of Marjorie's classmate and on-and-off friend, Marsha. Marsha is equally bright and talented -- however, she's overweight, unattractive, and comes from a poor family -- so her ambition manifests itself in less appealing ways. She borrows money compulsively, tells fibs to make herself seem important, and allows herself to be used sexually in exchange for attention and affection. Marsha obviously adores and hero-worships Marjorie -- as someone like that will when they have a friend who's pretty and popular -- and would probably do anything to be allowed to hang around with her. I liked and felt sorry for Marsha, although somebody like that would be rather exasperating to be friends with. But Wouk persistently demonizes her. He can't seem to get through a single sentence about Marsha without using the word "fat" or otherwise stressing how repulsive he finds her. When the reader catches up with Marsha years later (in the epilogue), it's obvious that she's unhappy, even though she's attained all her goals. It seemed awfully extreme treatment for a character who was more pathetic than anything else. The dated feel of the book may also make it problematic for some readers. Just about everybody in the book (including Noel, a callous bigmouth on the subject of women and sex) assumes that women should get married young, raise kids, and never work outside the home. Marjorie takes for granted that she's going to remain a virgin until her wedding night, and deliberates for years - literally -- about whether to have premarital sex. I don't expect characters set in 1937 to have a 2002 worldview -- but from a contemporary perspective, many of their assumptions are difficult to relate to. Those quibbles aside, the book was and is wonderful -- an exciting, adventurous, funny, clever, romantic, sentimental page-turner -- and all the better for reinforcing my lifelong belief that New York City is the capital of the world. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best Coming of Age book For Girls Ever Written
Review: "Marjorie Morningstar" Is the Story about a young jewish girl in 1930's New York at the height of Anti Semitism that is at times uproariously funny, heart-warmingly touching, and written with extreme candor about Jewish Culture, its scruples, beauty, traditions and restrictions and its effect on a this truly profound, intelligent girl. Over the course of the story we will see Marjorie through her reckless teenage years and all the drama that it entails, and eventually blossoming into a young woman as she discovers adulthood, men, relationships, sex, politics, and the yearning to become a personage in the world of the Theater. She Fails, She Succeeds, she Crys, she rejoyces, and she grows up. Along with "The Catcher in the Rye" and "The Bell Jar", this is one of the First noteable novels about Coming of Age. Interestingly, it was written by an Adult Male. If you are young, you will very soon relate to it, and if you are old, you will look apon this young girl as yourself.
Rating:
Summary: All American Dreams
Review: A coming of age novel, brings the story of Marjorie Morningstar, an aspiring actress, to life. After being thrown into the dark world of theatre, Marjorie's life changes forever. There Marjorie meets Noel Airman, the man of her dreams. No matter what Marjorie did she could not seem to get Noel to marry her, so Marjorie put aside her now seemingly childish dreams of acting, and got a job working for her father. To sail across the Atlantic Ocean to get Noel back once and for all, Marjorie saved money as rapidly as she could with her new job. Wouk's unique writing style keeps the plot moving with great intensity and his vivid descriptions delight the mind with lively imagery. Wouk's character development makes the story more believable, because the character's problems are true to life and Marjorie changes as she grows up in the ten year span of the novel. This story will pleasure readers for years to come with Marjorie's charm, wit and zest for acting, while following the All American Dreams.
Rating:
Summary: All American Dreams
Review: A coming of age novel, brings the story of Marjorie Morningstar, an aspiring actress, to life. After being thrown into the dark world of theatre, Marjorie's life changes forever. There Marjorie meets Noel Airman, the man of her dreams. No matter what Marjorie did she could not seem to get Noel to marry her, so Marjorie put aside her now seemingly childish dreams of acting, and got a job working for her father. To sail across the Atlantic Ocean to get Noel back once and for all, Marjorie saved money as rapidly as she could with her new job. Wouk's unique writing style keeps the plot moving with great intensity and his vivid descriptions delight the mind with lively imagery. Wouk's character development makes the story more believable, because the character's problems are true to life and Marjorie changes as she grows up in the ten year span of the novel. This story will pleasure readers for years to come with Marjorie's charm, wit and zest for acting, while following the All American Dreams.
Rating:
Summary: All American Dreams
Review: A coming of age novel, that brings the story of Marjorie Morgenstern, an aspiring actress, to life. After being thrown into the dark world of theatre, Marjorie's life changes forever. There Marjorie meets the Noel Airman, the man of her dreams. No matter what Marjorie did she could not seem to get Noel to marry her, so Marjorie put aside her now, seemingly childish dreams of acting to get a job working with her father. Saving money as rapidly as she could to sail across the Atlantic Ocean, to once and for all get Norl back. Wouk's unique writing style keeps the plot moving with great intensity and his descriptions delight the mind with lively imagery. This novel will pleasure audiences of all ages for many years to come.
Rating:
Summary: All American Dreams
Review: A coming of ago novel, that brings the story of Marjorie Morgenstern, an aspiring actress, to life. After being thrown into the dark world of theatre, Marjorie's life changes forever. There Marjorie meets Noel airman, the man of her dreams. No matter what Marjorie did she could not seem to get Noel to marry her, so Marjorie put aside her now seemingly childish dreams of acting, to get a job working for her father. Saving money as rapidly as she could to sail across the Atlantic Ocean, to once and for all get Noel back. Wouk's unique writing style keeps the plot moving with great intensity and his vivid descriptions delight the mind with lively imagery. Wouk's character development makes the story more believable, because the character's problems are true to life and Marjorie changes as she grows up in the ten year span of the novel. This story will pleasure readers for years to come with Marjorie's charm, wit, and zest for acting, while following out the All American Dream.
Rating:
Summary: A great novel
Review: I can't wait until my daughter is old enough to read this stunning ascent-into-womanhood book. Unfortunately, as she is at present only 15 months old, I'll be waiting a while.
It's difficult to describe how this book touches me. Much like Wouk's The Caine Mutiny, my favorite book of all time, the main character's coming-of-age is realistic and interesting. Marjorie is a great character. This is a book I couldn't put down on first reading, and have reread at least once or twice a year since. Every time I find something new in it.
I guess in a way, Marjorie is Everygirl. When we reach the end, she has grown up and so have we, a little bit.
If only they would make a movie out of it that would do it justice....
Rating: 
Summary: the double standard was alive and well!
Review: I first read "Marjorie Morningstar" as a teenager in 1971. I thought it was beautifully written, but was shocked that Marjorie was made to feel so guilty over having ONE sexual affair before marriage--and with a man that she loved, too!
The double standard may have been prevalent in the 1930's, but I doubt if ALL women who had sex before marriage were as guilt-ridden as Marjorie! That's why I love the chapters where she is at the theatrical camp. She meets other young women who are having affairs with boyfriends, and they are too busy enjoying their lives to feel guilty. Too bad she wasn't the same way.
The novel is well-written, athough the major focus is on Marjorie's desire for sex--and her shame and guilt over feeling such a normal, natural desire. When I discovered this book in 1971, virginity before marriage was already an outdated belief and now, it still remains outdated! If birth control pills had been around in the early and mid-1930's, perhaps Marjorie could have had a few blissful love affairs without all the shame! Yet---the men in the novel, including the handsome and debonaire Noel Airman, were allowed to be as sexually free as they desired, without the shame and guilt. However, Noel IS punished for his wicked ways by ending up as a miserable aging bohemian who never found happiness.
In the 1970's, I also read "The Winds of War," another bestselling novel by Herman Wouk. By the time he wrote this one, Wouk had obviously changed his views regarding females and sex. THIS novel's main character, Natalie, was a single woman in the early 1940's having a love affair--but without ANY of the guilt or shame that poor Marjorie had to suffer through!
I was angry that Marjorie described herself as "damaged goods" because of her affair with Noel. And the ending--where Marjorie is a gray-haired, grandmotherly-looking matron at age 39---yes, 39!--is extremely depressing.
Rating:
Summary: Reading this book is an annual ritual
Review: I first read MAJORIE MORNINGSTAR for a high school American Literature class and have been re-reading it practically every year since. What a classic American romance novel! While almost any professional working woman today would take issue with some of the generalizations in the book, the search for the perfect love is as relevant today as it was when it was first published more than 40 years ago.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read classic
Review: I first read Marjorie Morningstar five or six years ago, and have reread it several times since. In my opinion it's an all-time classic. Mr. Wouk does an excellent job on character development and also vividly describes American (or at least New York) values and aspirations from the 1930s to the post-war days of the 1950s. Mr. Wouk artfully manages to keep the plot flowing throughout the (large) book by covering a broad range of topics and scenes yet, at the same time, not wandering too far from the book's central theme. Marjorie Morningstar often seems to be thought of as a "woman's book" but it's not; I'm a male reader and was captivated with Mr. Wouk's work. Back in 1955 the book was THE publication of the year, resulting in a TIME Magazine cover story about the book's prominence. Also strongly recommended: Youngblood Hawke, another epic novel written several years later by Mr. Wouk.
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