Myfanwy Collins 2005-10-17

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

This is the story of Money Breton, her children--Mev and Paulie, the men in her life--Hollis and Dix, the people she works with and for, and the odd cast of characters she meets in her daily wanderings.

Told in short flashes and blurbs with only the occasional scene that is more than two or three paragraphs, and with Robison's dry and spot on humor and her characteristic ability to make you cry without even trying, this book is nothing short of brilliant as it weaves the reader through the addled and complex brain of Money, script doctor, lover of bad men, mother of lost children, and sufferer of ADD.

Ultimately, this is the story of how Money falls apart and comes back together, continuously, and just keeps on living. She lives despite the fact that her daughter is addicted to methadone and despite the fact that her son has been brutally raped and because of that is imprisoned in a witness protection program. She lives despite the fact that the people she works for are crazy and produce crappy movies (which she writes) and despite the fact that the men she spends time with are all wrong. She lives because everywhere she sees herself or a there-but-by-the-grace-of-god version of herself. Her friends are the Deaf Woman next door and the version of herself she talks to and her cat who keeps running away, only to die in the last section.

But Money keeps going. Because that's what you do.Like Money, Robison takes risks and, in the end, they pay off. Read this writer, is what I say. You won't be sorry.

2004-04-03

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Seems obvious that reader from BerkelEy CA doesn't usually write reviews

2004-02-12

6 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

Save your money. Save your time. I read close to a 100 books a year (I'm an English professor), but I don't usually write reviews. I decided to write this one as a warning. This book has nothing going for it. It contains clip upon clip of disjointed, pointless rants. It's absolutely unreadable. I would give it zero stars, except that's not an option.

ra2sky 2003-08-22

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

I had a hard time with the writing style. It was so jumpy, so terse, so "left unsaid" that I felt like the author was trying too hard to make me think. (She would probably be a very good poet!) The storyline involving her son Paulie was the most compelling part of the book, in my opinion, but I thought there was not enough written about this subplot. The writing was clearly well-thought, and there were some very funny and witty passages, but I guess the book seemed too disjointed for me to rate it higher.

2003-08-12

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

This is the best book I have read in a long time. You'll laugh; you'll cry. The format is a little different, but you should find yourself hooked almost immediately.
The characters: a neurotic Hollywood script doctor; her methadone addicted daughter and hospitalized son; some truly wacky neighbors; a couple of la-la land soulless bozos, and an exasperating cat.
Money Breton is a character you will remember and this is a book you will want to keep.