Rating:  Summary: I was gonna trash it but i kept reading! Review: And it was well worth it. I was definitely bored in the first few chapters. I hated that the charachter was such a pushover, thinking that I couldnt beleive there were people like that . But I kept reading, and then I fell in love - I was entranced! It made me laugh out loud and the characters were soooo awesome. Between Amber and Melinda I really couldnt stop laughing. The book turned out to be a very light read, and I finished it was too quick!
Rating:  Summary: Very Cute Review: Another good vacation or break-up book. Nice women falling for boorish, selfish men--who can't relate to that?!? And it has the Brit factor--can't go wrong.
Rating:  Summary: Fast, funny and fabulous! Review: What a great book this is - an intriguing, joyful and engaging read with many a clever twist in a tale which never flags and is not a page too long. Above all, it's stylishly and intelligently written, with a number of unusual sub-plots - involving Minty's best friend, and her mother - which are very skilfully woven into the overall fabric. Minty is a lovely heroine, and after so much stress and unhappiness you feel she deserves her happy ending...!
Rating:  Summary: Not much there Review: If you're looking for a light, witty read with an engaging main character and an interesting plotline, this is not the book for you. Making Minty Malone is one of those books you feel obligated to finish reading simply because you started it. When Minty is dumped unceremoniously at the altar, you almost don't feel sorry for her because of the preceding recitation by Minty that makes it crystal clear what a cad her fiancee is. So you begin by being frustrated that she would even consent to marry such a man in the first place. Apart from her being "too nice", there are no hints about what her finacee's redeeming qualities may have been - he is a one-dimensional "bad guy" and Minty is a one-dimensional "good girl" who allows herself to be used by everyone including relatives, and co-workers. Aren't people more complicated than that? If they are, Wolff gives no hint of her characters' depth, and for that reson, my frustration only got worse as the book went on. It progressed until I had no remaining genuine curiosity about what would happen to Minty and couldn't have cared less whether she found true happiness and fulfillment in the end.
Rating:  Summary: Sooooooo Good!!!!! Review: There's a lot of rubbish on the market in terms of British chick lit, but this book is a dream of a read - gripping, intelligent, touching and *very* funny. It's also beautifully written with a great plot. Wolff's confessional style reminds me a little of Marian Keyes in that both writers create heroines who are engaging but deeply misguided, and who are forced to stop being in denial and to face the ugly truth about themselves. Loved the assemblage of secondary characters - talking parrots, pregnant cats, radio 'pwesenters' with cash and connections rather than talent, and I even liked Minty's domineering cousin Amber who moves in with her and tries to take over her life. A very entertaining, clever and in many ways, inspiring book about learning not to be a doormat and finding out who you *really* are.
Rating:  Summary: un-original Review: I finished this book in less than 1 week. Not because it was hard to put down, but because it was so perdictable that I was searching so hard (by reading faster) for something original that this author had to write about. And, I am still amazed that how poorly written this book is. One can easily see that the author uses characters in the book to play out arguements of the main top: how nice is too nice? But it was done with such transparency that bored you to tears.
Rating:  Summary: She's just like me .... Review: Unlike Bridget Jones obsessed by her diet and man, Minty Malone shows her life is more than that: relationship with the person around her, success in her career etc.. I might be one of many girls who keep being nice to the others, and feel good when she yelled ¡®No¡¯ or lied ¡° I¡¯m busy¡¯. And I empathized her when she had her hair cut. It¡¯s very hilarious and delightful.
Rating:  Summary: Minty's Wild and Funny Ride Review: It will be a challenge to catch your breath while you're reading Minty Malone. After she is stood up on her wedding day, Minty's struggles to regain her dignity and self-respect. With the help of her varied colegaues at work, including one daft reporter, a friend who winds up moving in, an erstwhile and eccentric writer and some strange parents, Minty's manages to look inside herself and identify that she is the cause of many of her problems by being "too nice" (kind of the flipside of Nick Hornby's "How to be Good.") Minty becomes more confident and self assured and soon, good things happen to her. Minty's story is only one facet of this book. Amber, her roommate (picture "guess who's coming forever", is hilarious as an author who can't sell any books so she buys her own books. Her parents - a mother who overindulges in social causes and a father who is starved for affection - are in worse shape than Minty, if such a thing is possible. And her workmates are a riot - from the producer who can't get his girlfriend pregnant to the inept reporter who can't pronouce her r's (but it somehow got Barbara Walters millions) and a boss who is afraid of his wife and stepdaughters. In comparison to these people, Minty's life is a beach. The best part but subsequent weakeness is with the ending. Minty and Amber go on a wild goose chase to Los Angeles to look for a writer that Minty falls in love with. This whole succession of events borders on the bizarre but is also a wonderful steroptype of the Hollywood mentality. But after Minty finds her love, we're left asking "What's So Great About Him"? About the only characteristic that is ever revealed about him is that he is good-looking (he is also very abrupt and honest to the point of being insensitive). After Minty is revealed as being shallow for getting engaged to a msn based on his looks, she promptly goes out and finds the same type of man. And after 400 and some odd pages, we're told very little of why she would be so attracted to this man. So what's the lesson here - that it is ok to be shallow? Fine but I guess that is why the world is in the state i's in. Doesn't honesty and decency count for anything? I guess not. I like Isabel Wolff's writing but it does not yet compare to her contemporaries like Nick Hornby and Lisa Jewell with regard to being able to tell a story as succinctly as possible and being able to create characters that you would truly love. With Hornby and Jewell, I think of their books for days after finishing them. With Minty Malone, I came away thinking "is that it?". Minty comes across as being a British combination of Rhoda Morgansetern and Mary Richards and both characters are still the standard for the outrageous and single and flawed woman personna.
Rating:  Summary: Even Better than Tiffany Trott! Review: Having read and loved "The Trials of Tiffany Trott" I was eager to dive into "Making Minty Malone" - and I was not disappointed. This is a very funny and touching book. If you are one of millions of women who feel the need to be "nice" because you were raised to always be aware of other people's feelings, then you will relate to this tale. Minty has always been too nice and too willing to bend to other people's wishes. But when she is jilted in the middle of her wedding vows, this marks the beginning of a reincarnation for her. It takes her a while to get over her fiance (we as the reader know full well why he is such a louse!) but when she pulls herself together and gets on with her life and career she really blossoms and takes full control. This is one of those books where you really like the main character and want so much for her and I found it very hard to put down once I started it. A really fun read.
Rating:  Summary: Maybe living well IS the best revenge Review: If you've ever proclaimed that you were no longer a nice person, you'll probably identify with good old Minty Malone, a heroine with an understandably fragile heart. Whether you find yourself exhilarated by constant emotional waves, or just nauseated by them, I'll bet you won't want to miss what's going to happen to Minty Malone next. And when Minty begins to make those things happen, I'll bet you'll become absolutely engrossed in this novel. Okay, it's long- maybe a little too long. And it's too sweet to enjoy as a literary staple. And it's naive, in a Bridget Jones' Diary kind of way. But it's enjoyable, simple entertainment. What's the shame in that?
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