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Book Reviews |
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Shopgirl
by Steve Martin |
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Click on title or picture to buy from amazon.com |
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Bella You can enjoy Steve Martin’s novella, Shopgirl,
in a single sitting. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of Martin’s
writing, and his ability to shift moods quickly in this short book. Here’s a
sample: “As the evening
loosens, confounding the normal progress of a party, the conversations gel
into one, and the topic, rather than jumping wildly from politics to schools
for kids to the latest medical treatments, also gels into one. And the topic
is lying. They all admit that without it, their daily work cannot be done. In
fact, someone says, lying is so fundamental to his existence that it has
ceased to be lying at all and has transmogrified into a variant of truth.
However, several of them admit that they never lie, and everyone in the room
knows it’s because they have become so rich that lying has become unnecessary
and pointless. Their wealth insulates them even from lawsuits.” Mirabelle is the Neiman Marcus shopgirl
from the title, and Martin takes us into her life in a way that it delicate,
ironic, magical, but rarely comedic. In these few pages, we become engaged in
relationships and entanglements of the heart that Martin handles with
compassion and care. Enjoy ninety minutes with this fine book. Steve Hopkins, November 14, 2000 |
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ã 2000 Hopkins and Company, LLC |
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