What do You think about Rosie (1997)?
I've only read one other book by Anne Lamott (Bird by Bird, which I really enjoyed). I like her writing style and I enjoyed the character of Rae, but I was troubled by some of the book. For an author celebrated for her honesty and empathy, I sensed a lot of prejudice in the book: toward people of different religions, sizes, skin colors, and educational background. Lamott wrote about the main character, Elizabeth, as though she were better than others because of her love of reading and her beautiful tablecloths and good taste in food. Yet I actually found Elizabeth pretty repulsive and narrow minded. And she doesn't grow much as a character. Lamott's writing is good, but I found the story and characters unappealing. I don't think I'll read anything else by Lamott.
—Kourtney Collum
This book was written in 1983 and it was interesting reading about life as we knew it 20 years ago. It wasn't because anything dramatic was happening other than the random references to Reagan and Russia etc. but it was more about the portrayal of the emotional time. Anne Lamott was an alchoholic herself and has been free of it for a long time. I wondered whether this story was partly autobiographical in a way. The acid trip was weird and felt odd being included but then it may have been part of the times back then. I read the book quickly and felt better about it as I read on and on. Like another poster mentioned, I felt like putting it down in the beginning. It struck a cord and I am glad I stuck with it and finished it through to the happier ending. I am reading the sequel of Rosie next. Glad to know there is a third one as well.
—Annie Smith
I love Anne Lamott's non-fiction - she's really funny. But after reading this early fiction for a second time (the first was many years ago) I was left wondering why I remembered liking it so much. Elizabeth is a whining, self-indulgent trust funder, who in spite of heavy drinking, reads the classics, cooks gourmet meals and has a killer garden. All else bores her to tears. A traumatic event at the beginning of the book is entirely glossed over and another involving Rosie and the neighbor is neatly resolved. The kid is wise beyond her years in a not-so-believable way. You never hear what she is doing when her mother is out drinking in the bar, not remembering her drive home. Rae is a great character but the way she and Elizabeth become best friends in about two minutes does not ring true. Lots of unlikely events occur including not one, but two, dogs being hit by moving vehicles within a short time span. Not impossible, but when truth is stranger than fiction, the editor should step in.
—Lisa
