Alline A

I really enjoyed this book. So many of the tangential conversations are laugh-out-loud funny, while the very real grief comes through loud and clear,. I have about 20 pages with my favorite sections dog-eared, and they never fail to make me smile, even when I know what's coming. This book seems better than the average "chick lit" (hate that phrase, but it is what it is); comparable to early Jennifer Weiner or "The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing," a generation later. Recommended for when you need a not-too-serious but still well-written and absolutely charming book!

I had not read a book by Daniel Wallace before. I HAD seen the movie "Big Fish;" it was quirky, and charming, so thought I'd take a chance.

What I found was definitely quirky. Very little charm, however. Edsel reminded me a lot of Quoyle in "Shipping News" - a lovable loser, whom one worried about page after page after page. I think the bottom line is that I simply felt extremely uncomfortable while reading this book. Edsel's apartment is robbed by his drug-dealer neighbor and he doesn't move out. His mother is crazier than a loon, and a horrible mother, besides, but he is not dissuaded from any interaction with her. It's just one cringe-worthy episode after another. I didn't find it entertaining - it was just unpleasant.

I REALLY wanted to like this book. I wanted to fall in love with the quirkiness of the characters, and join them on their life-affirming adventures. I wanted to leave a positive review on BookBrowse (which I LOVE). Unfortunately the characters just gave me the creeps. I found that I simply didn't want to spend any time with them, not even to find out if Edsel ever gets to Destin, falls in love, or lives happily ever after.

Oh, how I wanted to love this book! As a former retail copywriter, I looked forward to having a peek into what it was like at one of the forerunners of the industry. Instead, I found myself plodding through, dutifully, more out of a commitment to BookBrowse than to a desire to find out what happened. While LIllian was sympathetic, she was not very likeable. I simply did not care. Upon reading the author's notes, I was pleased to find that the book was based on a real person; and to learn that a woman had not only survived but thrived in the depression as a copywriter. However, the story as told just didn't work for me.

I was terribly disappointed in this book. It was filled with cliches, cheap tricks and red herrings. The protagonist is a pathetic doormat with whom we are supposed to identify and commiserate. While I finished the book it was with a groan, not a sense of delight. I felt tremendously manipulated by the author, and not in a way that was at all pleasurable or interesting. I'd recommend skipping this book.