stevienotnicks's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5
Who knew Steve Martin could write complex, punch-you-in-the-gut drama?
Shopgirl follows Mirabella, a clerk in the glove department at Nieman Marcus. She lives a pretty mundane life with few romantic prospects until she catches the eye of one Ray Porter and her life is forever altered.
In only 130 pages, Martin developed multiple characters with a complexity you rarely even find in lengthy novels. Is Ray problematic? Absolutely. Is Mirabella self destructive? You betcha. But are both characters relatable and even I dare say, likable? 100%.
Shopgirl was adapted to film in 2004 staring Steve Martin as Ray and Claire Danes as Mirabella. I can’t wait to watch the film and see how these relationships come to life.
Quick note about the book — it does touch on some potentially triggering subjects and themes like depression, suicidal thoughts, significant age gap relationships, and general misogyny, so make sure you’re able to handle that before diving in!
Who knew Steve Martin could write complex, punch-you-in-the-gut drama?
Shopgirl follows Mirabella, a clerk in the glove department at Nieman Marcus. She lives a pretty mundane life with few romantic prospects until she catches the eye of one Ray Porter and her life is forever altered.
In only 130 pages, Martin developed multiple characters with a complexity you rarely even find in lengthy novels. Is Ray problematic? Absolutely. Is Mirabella self destructive? You betcha. But are both characters relatable and even I dare say, likable? 100%.
Shopgirl was adapted to film in 2004 staring Steve Martin as Ray and Claire Danes as Mirabella. I can’t wait to watch the film and see how these relationships come to life.
Quick note about the book — it does touch on some potentially triggering subjects and themes like depression, suicidal thoughts, significant age gap relationships, and general misogyny, so make sure you’re able to handle that before diving in!
kristicuse's review
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kristina_h's review
4.0
Maybe it's because I listened to this book read by the author or maybe it's because I can relate to Mirabelle - but I adored this story. Steve has a knack for well-written prose and although the story itself is not necessarily pleasant or uplifting, it's beautiful in its realism.
If you're looking for a quick, peppy read, the size of this book will deceive you. It's geared to someone who finds comfort in dark emotion.
If you're looking for a quick, peppy read, the size of this book will deceive you. It's geared to someone who finds comfort in dark emotion.
migrex's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
carlygwyn's review
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
tylerrrrrrrr's review
5.0
A pleasant novella. I enjoyed imagining what life in early-2000s Los Angeles must have been like. I liked the characters, but was a little displeased with the ending.
heatherhazereads's review
3.0
"It's pain that changes our lives"
Mirabelle is a recent L.A. transplant from small town Vermont, working selling gloves at Neiman's instead of doing art, her true calling. She ends up meeting two very different men under wildly different circumstances and spends the bulk of this novella figuring out where to hand her fragile heart.
I picked this up to fill a challenge prompt once I realized that among hundreds of books I own, this was literally the closest thing I could find for "a love story". I don't remember how or why I came to own it, but frankly feel like I would have been better off not having read it.
Ooof, I know how that sounds.
First, it had a lot of like....weird locker room talk? I can't really explain it but cringe worthy descriptions of women and women's desires were pretty common. It was odd. The redeeming quality of the book was the Jeremy character. Not just in the faux pas misidentity blunder (which was highly entertaining), he was the only one that was even a little.....interesting? It was overall strangely dry and odd. It felt a bit like I was peer reviewing a draft of a creative writing assignment. I don't regret reading it, but I'm not sure I would attempt his writing again.
Mirabelle is a recent L.A. transplant from small town Vermont, working selling gloves at Neiman's instead of doing art, her true calling. She ends up meeting two very different men under wildly different circumstances and spends the bulk of this novella figuring out where to hand her fragile heart.
I picked this up to fill a challenge prompt once I realized that among hundreds of books I own, this was literally the closest thing I could find for "a love story". I don't remember how or why I came to own it, but frankly feel like I would have been better off not having read it.
Ooof, I know how that sounds.
First, it had a lot of like....weird locker room talk? I can't really explain it but cringe worthy descriptions of women and women's desires were pretty common. It was odd. The redeeming quality of the book was the Jeremy character. Not just in the faux pas misidentity blunder (which was highly entertaining), he was the only one that was even a little.....interesting? It was overall strangely dry and odd. It felt a bit like I was peer reviewing a draft of a creative writing assignment. I don't regret reading it, but I'm not sure I would attempt his writing again.
linneahedvig's review against another edition
2.0
damned depressing, not good for reading on planes, which is what I did. I thought it was happier! Not so much about lonely girls in LA.
bericson13's review against another edition
4.0
I know this is probably vapid to most people. But there was something about this book. Something about Mirabelle. I bawled at the end. I loved every word. Call me a cliche, I don't care.