I Am So On Fire
Don't faint, but I finished another book. I know, I know, I really need to calm down with all this speed reading. Thanks to jury duty last week (sadly, the realm of jurisprudence never had a chance to behold my sparkling intellect---I didn't even leave the juror's waiting area), I got to read a book in one sitting! This despite the not inconsiderable interference from Montel and Days of Our Lives on the TV blaring at the front of the room.
Overall, I think I'd recommend Look at Me by Jennifer Egan. Caveat: I'm no good at plot summary, as will now become apparent. A car crash renders a fashion model completely unrecognizable. The book follows her attempts to resume her life in New York, and it traces a parallel story line about the teenage daughter of the model's childhood friend. Oh, and throw in a pre-9/11 terrorist cell and Big Brother-ish Web site that pays people for the rights to repackage their ordinary or extraordinary lives on the Internet. The author manages to weave Big Themes (identity, public and private personae, and the obsession with fame and appearance) among the more mundane plot elements.
I really liked Egan's first book, The Invisible Circus, and though I tend to view second books warily (Paging Donna Tartt! Was there ever a more disappointing follow-up novel than The Little Friend?), I found this one just ambitious and compelling enough.
Join us next time for your regularly scheduled boring Mommy blog. (Hey, I heard that sigh of relief!)
Don't faint, but I finished another book. I know, I know, I really need to calm down with all this speed reading. Thanks to jury duty last week (sadly, the realm of jurisprudence never had a chance to behold my sparkling intellect---I didn't even leave the juror's waiting area), I got to read a book in one sitting! This despite the not inconsiderable interference from Montel and Days of Our Lives on the TV blaring at the front of the room.
Overall, I think I'd recommend Look at Me by Jennifer Egan. Caveat: I'm no good at plot summary, as will now become apparent. A car crash renders a fashion model completely unrecognizable. The book follows her attempts to resume her life in New York, and it traces a parallel story line about the teenage daughter of the model's childhood friend. Oh, and throw in a pre-9/11 terrorist cell and Big Brother-ish Web site that pays people for the rights to repackage their ordinary or extraordinary lives on the Internet. The author manages to weave Big Themes (identity, public and private personae, and the obsession with fame and appearance) among the more mundane plot elements.
I really liked Egan's first book, The Invisible Circus, and though I tend to view second books warily (Paging Donna Tartt! Was there ever a more disappointing follow-up novel than The Little Friend?), I found this one just ambitious and compelling enough.
Join us next time for your regularly scheduled boring Mommy blog. (Hey, I heard that sigh of relief!)
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posted by Suzanne @ 10:10 PM
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