Strange Bedpersons is another re-release of an earlier Crusie novel. It also has a very similar plot concept to another Crusie book, The Cinderella Deal, that may give you a feeling of deja vu.Comune-raised, Tess Newhart, is out to save the world one cause at a time. An unemployed teacher who volunteers her time at a project for disadvantage youth, she buys her clothes at the thrift store, lives in a rundown apartment in a poor neighbourhood and has a tell-it-like-it-is attitude. She is so busy being the non-conformist, living in the moment that she often does not stop to think about the consequences of her actions. Tess is the complete opposite of Nick, her ex-boyfriend. Nick Jamieson is a lawyer whose goal is to make partner. His career is important to him and because his clients move in the elite social circles, he's very aware of appearances. When Nick comes to Tess asking for her to pose as his fiancée to help land a big client and finally snag a partnership at the firm, she hesitates but eventually decides to help. Afterall, despite being mad at him for the circumstances that caused their breakup, she feels she owes him for all the good stuff he's done for her. Besides, she needs a job and wants Nick to help her land a position at a posh private school. Of course Tess did not expect was to fall for her sexy ex all over again, or discover the man Nick is trying to woo toward the law practice is a fraud. Now she has to decide whether to out the well-known author, or keep her mouth shut. Between the sexual tension, keeping her highly vocal opinions to herself, a love interest that is completely wrong for her best friend, and the fact that Nick is slowly changing her into someone else, Tess is afraid something has got to give and she just hopes it will not ruin Nick’s career in the process.I found this book rather slow off the mark. It just wasn't doing it for me at first. The banter between Tess and her friend Gina at the beginning of the book, made me feel like I had entered the story midway. Having just read The Cinderella Deal recently, it was also hard to get past the glaring similarities between the two books. Luckily, the book picks up momentum after the halfway mark and totally ramps into high gear for the hilarious finale. Strange Bedpersons is a witty and entertaining tale of two extreme opposites attracting. Crusie always has a way of writing that tells a story that causes the reader to shake their head and laugh at the antics the characters go through. I especially liked how Tess steamrolls through life, only to learn a valuable lesson about stopping and thinking about how it will ultimately affect those around her.
When I finished reading this, I intially wanted to give it a five. Upon reflection, I've realized it has several major flaws which I did not notice at all at the time and did not mind in the slightest while reading. I was simply having too much fun.First, the plot twist near the end is incredibly predictable and telegraphed from a mile away. I think I figured out the shocking ending about a third of the way in. Second, the main character has some serious self-righteousness going on, and initially, it appears that the author does not realize the problems.Fortunately, the unbalancedness of the portrayal evens out a bit by the end. Tess comes to realize that some of her very-well-justified declarations and actions are actually just as jerky as those of her ex. Which is good, because otherwise she'd deserve to be smacked. This is a wannabe-Manic Pixie Dream Girl, from the perspective of the girl, who eventually realizes that insisting on having sex on a piano at an open house for the opera actually could ruin her guy's life. Thank you.The slow realization that organized, careful people actually have reasons for what they do (and there are advantages to dating us) was rather gratifying. But all of that is secondary to the trademark Crusie banter, that snaps and crackles along so wittily that you'd pretty much be willing to keep reading if the entire plotline consisted of sitting on a garbage heap throwing rotten banana peels at each other. There's a fantastic, mortifying scene with his uptight parents that reads as a dress rehearsal for the even better scene in Bet Me. I love how, after running around and trying to be subtle, her characters have a tendency to give up and just say what they're thinking in the most hilarious way possible, even if that's telling the high society mother that the reason Tess keeps dropping her fork is that they're conferring under the table, and just give them a minute down here.
What do You think about Strange Bedpersons (2003)?
Another early (94) Crusie. I probably wouldn't have picked it up if it had been an unknown author. The story line was a bit dated. Tess, raised in a commune, is a 30 something liberal, staunch feminist, do-gooder, anti-yuppy, etc. who is inexplicably drawn to a success oriented, upward climbing lawyer, Nick. I had a hard time with Tess and found her motivations unconvincing at times. They all seemed to be based on political and philosophical beliefs, dated ones at that, even for 16 years ago. She sometimes seemed more like a stereotype than a real person. I also wasn't convinced that a fellow commune resident she knew for only a month when she was 8 could have had such a profound and lasting impact on her life. Mostly, I was annoyed by her attitude towards Nick who was a stand-up guy, if a bit tightly wound and controlling at times. A few different times, she became either furious or terribly disappointed if he didn't agree to have sex in places where they might be discovered, even though getting caught could have damaged his career. Because Nick's career and desire for success doesn't meet her values, she can't look beyond her own needs until she is confronted by a friend. Otherwise she frets about only having sex in bed -- must be too bourgeois. It couldn't be something as simple as a kink, LOL. I did find parts of the story cute and when Tess wasn't being awful to Nick, they had some great chemistry. By the end of the book, you could see them spending the rest of their lives together very much in love and driving each other crazy on occasion. The secondary characters were interesting and added to the story. Another plus was much of the dialogue is classic Crusie. Lots of fast, darting conversations, non-sequiturs, and off-beat humor. Several lines made me smile and one even made me laugh. So, not the best by any measure but not bad. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone not a big Crusie fan. If only she wrote faster these days. But then maybe her books wouldn't be so much fun.
—Willow Brook
A tad bit too over the top funny to take too seriously, but it was enjoyable in a cute sort of way and It made me laugh out loud quite a few times. I don't usually like getting back to together romance but the way this one was done was entertaining, so I forgave the too funny by half outlandish comedic aspect that went a little too far at times. The heroine was frustrating to say the least, but I can't say the girl was dull. She had personality in spades. The interactions between her and the hero were very entertaining. They had really great chemistry that kept you rooting for them to get together. What really got on my nerves though was the heroine's indecisiveness regarding the hero. In one sentence she would despise and love him all at once. It was annoying at times. I did love when they both finally said their I love you's. It caught me by surprise because I wasn't expecting it at the time. I like surprises in my romance. It keeps you on your toes, lol. This was my first JC and I will try her again.
—LuvGirl
I wish Crusie could write chick lit all the time. I get that she wants to do other things but she's so good at it. I mean just hearing her characters talk and banter is such a fun time, and they're all so real and great to hang out with. Plus this book has fake dating! Tess is an awesome heroine, I loved her penchant for saving the world and thrift clothes. Nick was realistic too, and I also adored the side characters, particularly Nick's secretary.I'm trying to pace myself and not devour all of her (old-ish?) books at once, buuuut it's hard.2015 Pop Sugar reading challenge: a book from an author you love but haven't read yet
—Mireille
