I've read other reviews that were unforgiving about the way that this particular novel was written, and while some have their points, others seem to miss the charm and wit of the book. Yes, there are issues, but have we ever truly seen a perfect book? This book has some good qualities in it, but it also shows us that we need to really examine our society and our way of life.The character names were commonly used to critique the book because they were completely generic, but the point of having names like Guy, Girl, Buster, etc. is to put the reader into a position of role-playing. The reader takes on the guise of the character and starts imagining this world on his or her own. It is quite an innovative technique. It also makes you not only empathize with the characters, but it makes you question their choices easier. Their moral downfalls become yours.The writing was choppy, and that was heavily disappointing. Toward the end, almost everything seemed to be disjointed. I don't know if that was from lack of skill or if it was the writers trying to have the reader feel that the world was unraveling around them. I think it was probably the former.It is definitely a chick-lit novel that brings up some very tough issues, including feminism, sex trafficking/slavery, and glass ceilings. It also shows that anyone can basically become a hypocrite and sacrifice their own moral ideals just to make money and keep their job. That is a telling thing about our society, so I think that the writers putting that in a novel like this is a very gutsy thing for them to do. I'm glad that they show that the main character learns from her misdeeds, but I worry that maybe her character learned too late. You would think that someone who considers herself to be of such learned and charitable stock would be able to realize before the last chapter that what she's doing is so far away from being the good little feminist that she makes herself out to be. I guess that she's supposed to be as clueless about her hypocrisy as those people that she so willingly judges.The book could have been better written. I wish that it were better written, honestly. Maybe if the writers had better understood what they were aiming for or how to approach the topic, it would have been better. Since it isn't, I can just say that it is a fairly good book. And considering that it is just chick lit, I'm letting some of its issues slide and cutting the writers some slack for their mistakes.
Maybe one of THE worst books I've ever read. I just kept going, hoping it would get better somehow. But it never resolved into anything at all, and I am sorry I wasted the time. The characters were all entirely unsympathetic - the main character was whiny and I had so much trouble empathizing or feeling any sort of sorry for her. Usually I love when a story is based at all in Connecticut; this time, I was ashamed that she was presumably FROM Waterbury (it's barely mentioned). The storyline is a mushy, messy, unfollowable thread. None of the characters were understandable, nor predictable in any sense of the word - and not in the "this is real life, people are unpredictable" sort of way. They just were entirely irrational and unrealistic. Additionally, the book stressed me out more than anything else. At first I thought it might justify my feelings of trying to find a job in a terrible economy, but I don't think it even accomplished that simple task. These authors simply should not have continued to pursue novel writing - they just don't seem to understand it. It appeared they had an interesting concept going into the book, but it was terribly executed.The only reason I gave it one star is because in one scene of the book, the main character prints out a mission statement, and is all gung-ho about it. It actually motivated ME to print out my thesis and get cracking on that again. But...that could have been because I was so miserable reading this book, anything would have been preferable....
What do You think about Citizen Girl (2005)?
Um. What was this?I read The Nanny Diaries a few years ago and found them a quick, brainless read. So when I had a bit of a cold and saw this at the local library, I thought it would be good to read over the weekend while fighting some viruses and hanging out on my couch. Well, wrong.Apparently this is a satire, and it is certainly exaggerated in all possible ways, but what exactly was this trying to tell me?Everyone in this book is meant to appear very archetypal by having names like "Girl", "Guy", "The Bank", "My Company" etc. The only capable (female) manager is called Manley because... I'm not sure why. The book keeps mentioning gender studies and feminism on every other page without ever lending these terms any kind of meaning beyond something like this:Old feminists get caught up in pointless rivalries that are unrelated to women's issues, and they are evil bosses who put down young feminists. So young feminists are better off working for men, all of whom are evil pigs, and porn is where the money is and deep down, all young feminists just dream of servicing men anyway, as long as it's marketed to them in the right way. "Girl", the main character, never speaks up for herself and just hurries to apologize for everything she says and does and rushes to do whatever the Evil Men require of her, and sells out half-knowingly so she can keep her job and its big paycheck. She struggles with not being liked by everyone, and puts up with a crap boyfriend, and doesn't know what she's doing most of the time, and mysteriously, that makes her a feminist, according to this book.I'm unconvinced.
—Anke
how utterly depressing. you think it can't get worse after the ending of The Nanny Diaries but then it does. the authors employ the same trope of using "Girl" as the main character's name, her boss is "Guy", the person she dates is "Buster", another character (a woman) is named "Manly". they obviously think they are sooo clever and so much smarter than their readers. the problem is, the book tries to be about women, and feminism, and the way women identify, and why women are afraid to be identified with what the Barnard Center for Research on Women calls the "F-word" (feminism). however, it falls into every cliche possible, none of the characters are sympathetic, and the ending just makes it even worse. it's so over the top and riduculous it's hard to imagine they thought they could get people to identify by calling her "girl". bad, bad book.
—stephanie
HOLY MOTHER OF SUCK.I should have put it down as soon as I realized the main character's name was "Girl." No, really. And her boss is named "Guy"! And her boyfriend is named "Buster"! And the woman brought in to reorganize her company is named "Manley"! Wow, authors, you're so smart, your readers will never figure that out! ... wait.1. Girl is not at all a likable character. What a whiny cliche of feminism. I have a hard time reading a book when I find nothing to connect with or like about any of the characters. A chick (ooooh, I said chick! Way to hold womyn down!) who doesn't "allow" her boyfriend to go to strip clubs, who counts the ways to be offended as a woman in every situation she's in ... yeah, not someone I'd EVER hang out with. Yet she sticks with some loser who ditches her for a ride after the first time he meets her. Awesome.2. The story went nowhere, except to drill in our heads that all men are sexist pigs who'd rape us given half a chance, and anything to do with sexuality or the sex trades is WRONG WRONG WRONG. Sorry, the stripper mom on her cell phone telling her kid goodnight was MAKING. A. CHOICE.3. And by the way, get the hell over yourself, crying in the shower after you had a drunk mindless screw with YOUR BOYFRIEND. Seriously? I can't believe he didn't dump you right then and there. Grow up, skank.I think I'm all set. Ahhhhh.P.S. I loved the authors' other 2 books!
—Patty
