Rating: 
Summary: Very Readable by Fizzles in the End
Review: "An Almost Perfect Moment" is very readable and entertaining, though it turns quite dark and is ultimately depressing.Plus, I don't think they made Diet Pepsi in the early 70's...I think we only had TAB and Fresca.
Rating:
Summary: Very Readable by Fizzles in the End
Review: "An Almost Perfect Moment" is very readable and entertaining, though it turns quite dark and is ultimately depressing. Plus, I don't think they made Diet Pepsi in the early 70's...I think we only had TAB and Fresca.
Rating: 
Summary: An Important Book
Review: An Almost Perfect Moment is a very funny book and a delight to read. That said, it also has a Faulknerian quality that ultimately makes it profoundly disturbing. Kirshenbaum unfolds the world of Canarsie and the characters who inhabit it, characters who try to understand their own lives, but lack the articulation to express their feelings and visions. Kirshenbaum explores the possibilites of miracles, profound loneliness, futility and pride. Though the reader may not want to identify with the sometimes stark emotions of the characters, it becomes impossible not to. This is a truly brilliant book, the type of book that has become rare in modern fiction.
Rating:
Summary: best yet
Review: binnie kirshenbaum is my favorite writer. she is amazing. her work is the funniest and saddest i've ever read, and this book is her best yet. the way she tells the story of these very ordinary people is hilarious. you can hear the brooklyn accent throughout but time and time again the laughter was cut short when i realized i was crying. it's about love and faith and hope. it's all wonderful, but my favorite parts involved the two school teachers. they were everyone's school teachers and kirshenbaum reveals their hearts and souls with comic touch and a sharp knife. read this book. read all her books.
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Book
Review: Binnie Kirshenbaum's latest novel is the funniest yet most poignant book I've read this year. From the hilarity of a Jewish teenager who looks like the Virgin Mary and sings the "Ave Maria" in a Brooklyn accent, extra r's included, to the gutwrenching portrayals of pathetic schoolteachers whose lonely lives draw our sympathies despite their often distasteful personalities, Kirshenbaum dazzles the reader with her insight into the human condition. What seems at first to be just a comic novel by the end is profoundly sad, and this is what impresses the most. You will recognize yourself in this wonderful novel. And wish you hadn't.
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Book
Review: Binnie Kirshenbaum's latest novel is the funniest yet most poignant book I've read this year. From the hilarity of a Jewish teenager who looks like the Virgin Mary and sings the "Ave Maria" in a Brooklyn accent, extra r's included, to the gutwrenching portrayals of pathetic schoolteachers whose lonely lives draw our sympathies despite their often distasteful personalities, Kirshenbaum dazzles the reader with her insight into the human condition. What seems at first to be just a comic novel by the end is profoundly sad, and this is what impresses the most. You will recognize yourself in this wonderful novel. And wish you hadn't.
Rating: 
Summary: Authentic and touching
Review: I admit I started this book with a little apprehension, knowing that it was written about a teenager. I was more than pleasantly surprised. Ms. Kirshenbaum has managed to take what is at its heart a very sad story about loneliness and make it amusing, and in its way, uplifting. She also nails the Jewish women in Brooklyn, definitely written from experience. I found myself laughing and cringing at the same time; I think she may have known my grandmother! I will definitely be buying Ms. Kirshenbaum's previous books and await her next one. Note to a previous reviewer, Diet Pepsi was introduced in 1964.
Rating:
Summary: Authentic and touching
Review: I admit I started this book with a little apprehension, knowing that it was written about a teenager. I was more than pleasantly surprised. Ms. Kirshenbaum has managed to take what is at its heart a very sad story about loneliness and make it amusing, and in its way, uplifting. She also nails the Jewish women in Brooklyn, definitely written from experience. I found myself laughing and cringing at the same time; I think she may have known my grandmother! I will definitely be buying Ms. Kirshenbaum's previous books and await her next one. Note to a previous reviewer, Diet Pepsi was introduced in 1964.
Rating:
Summary: A great, quick read!
Review: I could be a bit biased because I live near the location of this book, but I thought Binnie Kirshenbaum was very successful in giving this book the "feel" of a Jewish neighborhood in the 70s. I enjoyed the relationship of Miriam's friends. I found the storyline incredibly interesting, and I definitely didn't find the ending predictable.
I really enjoyed it!
Rating:
Summary: "An Almost Perfect Moment" is more than almost perfect
Review: In my list of favorite authors, little known Binnie Kirshenbaum has inched her way to the top. Kirshenbaum is a professor of fiction writing at Columbia University, and her writing was revealed to me by a total fluke. A year ago, a friend gave me her novel "Pure Poetry," and I have been hooked ever since. I am a Kirshenbaum addict. Judaism is an ever present theme in her novels, and she often addresses the interaction between modern day Jews and modern day Germans. Incidentally, she has a huge following in Germany, where she is far better known (Move over David Hassellhoff, the Germans have a new love). Her books have a unique blend of humor, philosophy and sexuality that make her storytelling at once thoroughly engaging and deeply in tune with the human condition. Her latest novel, "An Almost Perfect Moment" is a huge departure from her previous work, and for this reason I was a little apprehensive. She retains the Judaism, but moves away from the Jews and Germans and instead examines the life of a Jewish teenager from Brooklyn in the 1970s. She also completely switches narrative styles. I am very familiar with her first-person introspective narratives, and when I realized this novel was written entirely in the third-person, I wasn't sure what to make of it. However, as I kept reading, I became of the belief that this book is the best piece of Naturalistic fiction I have ever read. The story follows Valentine Kessler, a Jewish girl growing up in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn in the 1970s. Valentine is the identical image of the Virgin Mary, and as time progresses she develops a profound fascination with the Catholic faith, something she keeps hidden (along with most of her other feelings) from her mother. Her formerly buxom and currently obese single mother Miriam does everything she can to make her daughter have a normal life. She relies entirely on the sagacious wisdom of her Mah Jongg partners and dearest friends, three women who are part Linda Richman, part Greek Chorus. Valentine is enigmatic and beautiful, and enchants most everyone she knows, including her math teacher John Wosileski. The story follows a year in her life, a life far different and yet oddly similar to that of any teenager. The most wonderful thing about this novel is its elegant mix of Judaism and Catholicism. Kirshenbaum takes care to contrast and compare the religions beautifully, and the recurring symbolism of the Virgin Mary through the young Jewish protagonist is simply captivating. Also, by taking a step back into omniscient narrative, Kirshenbaum lets us see for ourselves into the lives of all the characters. She occasional sets up little glimpses into the background of even the unimportant characters, a technique which really adds atmosphere and dimension to the novel as a whole. "An Almost Perfect Moment" is an absolutely perfect example of literary genius. Everything about it is fresh and unique, and the story is simply mesmerizing. By taking a step outside her main characters, Kirshenbaum lets us see even more deeply into their inner being. I strongly recommend this novel to anyone intrigued by the human spirit.
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