A review by mycouscous
Miss Harper Can Do It by Jane Berentson
4.0
It's rare that I find a voice in a novel that matches those of my friends and myself. Miss Annie Harper, as a narrator and wannabe memoirist, is irreverant, sarcastic, and at times befuddled by the orderly chaos of her life. If I lived her in fictional Tacoma world, I would probably try to be her friend. Her account of life in the US while her boyfriend is deployed in Iraq comes across as an authentic depiction of the non-flag waving faction of the homefront. She has her faults and confused moments, which only helped her to become more real for me.
My only minor problem with this semi-light and humorous read was the character Gus, Miss Harper's best friend. He appeared as valiant and noble as Mr. Willoughby initially does in the Emma Thompson movie version of Sense and Sensibility: I kept expecting him to pull out his own minature version of Shakespeare's sonnets and then run off to marry a rich, snobby girl.
Miss Harper Can Do It is not a groundbreaking literary piece, but rather an enjoyable, alternative look at those left behind when people are shipped off to war. The mundane, the kooky, and the relationships all make this a satisfying, somewhat girly read.
My only minor problem with this semi-light and humorous read was the character Gus, Miss Harper's best friend. He appeared as valiant and noble as Mr. Willoughby initially does in the Emma Thompson movie version of Sense and Sensibility: I kept expecting him to pull out his own minature version of Shakespeare's sonnets and then run off to marry a rich, snobby girl.
Miss Harper Can Do It is not a groundbreaking literary piece, but rather an enjoyable, alternative look at those left behind when people are shipped off to war. The mundane, the kooky, and the relationships all make this a satisfying, somewhat girly read.