Helpful Score: 2
OK, I figured out how to get through this book: skim the first few pages of chapter one, then skip over the following 150 pages. No, I'm serious.
The author's writing is repetitive and her attitude is disgraceful; her behavior pre-unemployment is the class-A stereotype of a boorish American yuppie. Don't get me wrong, I like unlikable characters if the story is told in a compelling way. For example, I lovingly followed Scarlett O'Hara, a narcissistic borderline sociopath, through over 1000 pages of Gone with the Wind. Ms. Lancaster is no Margaret Mitchell. Actually, Ms. Lancaster is sorely in need of a good editor - were 212 snark-based footnotes really necessary? Could the author not work this hilariousness into the storyline?
When Lancaster has been unemployed for a while, and her get-presents-quick marriage scheme has come and gone, the interesting part of the story finally comes. Lancaster begins to morph into a human as she moves to the ghetto, sells her stuff, lets her roots grow out, and finally gets evicted. Lancaster starts rejoining society with the rest of the heathens around the same time she starts giving a darn about the well-being of folks (and animals) other than herself. The closest she comes to redeeming herself is an episode where she comes to the rescue of her bedridden husband, who is paralyzed by depression and unable to help himself when he can't afford to continue his meds.
This book is about 200 pages too long, but I did enjoy the last 3rd of the story. Like other readers, I recommend checking out Lancaster's blog to get a better sense of this author before investing in any of her books.
The author's writing is repetitive and her attitude is disgraceful; her behavior pre-unemployment is the class-A stereotype of a boorish American yuppie. Don't get me wrong, I like unlikable characters if the story is told in a compelling way. For example, I lovingly followed Scarlett O'Hara, a narcissistic borderline sociopath, through over 1000 pages of Gone with the Wind. Ms. Lancaster is no Margaret Mitchell. Actually, Ms. Lancaster is sorely in need of a good editor - were 212 snark-based footnotes really necessary? Could the author not work this hilariousness into the storyline?
When Lancaster has been unemployed for a while, and her get-presents-quick marriage scheme has come and gone, the interesting part of the story finally comes. Lancaster begins to morph into a human as she moves to the ghetto, sells her stuff, lets her roots grow out, and finally gets evicted. Lancaster starts rejoining society with the rest of the heathens around the same time she starts giving a darn about the well-being of folks (and animals) other than herself. The closest she comes to redeeming herself is an episode where she comes to the rescue of her bedridden husband, who is paralyzed by depression and unable to help himself when he can't afford to continue his meds.
This book is about 200 pages too long, but I did enjoy the last 3rd of the story. Like other readers, I recommend checking out Lancaster's blog to get a better sense of this author before investing in any of her books.
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