Customer Reviews

51/50: The Magical Adventures of a Single Life

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

...or, looking for love in all the wrong places.

Kristen in still young, clever, now reliably sober, employed, and living in the LA she loves, but she's lonely and wants a man in her life. She vows to go on 51 dates in the next 50 weeks. Using at the least the power of numbers to her advantage, after all that she should have met at least one man eligible for a rewarding long-term relationship, right? Well, depends. In any case, the premise of the book is to do a chapter per date, and the book works as a sort of diary of her love-life, family life, work life, and general state of mind for that year; the blurb on the back cover suggests a cross between Briget Jones Diary and A Million Little Pieces, but I was thinking more like Groundhog Day.

Not every date is really a new date with a new man; sometimes the dates are one of Kristen's uncles, her mom, her healing shaman, her horse, a walk through the observatory; sometimes it's a date, but she has a way when sitting in front of a guy with a cup of coffee, of going into herself and her memory, so instead of a story of what a loser or jerk or prince this new guy is, we often get a good deal of back story on the guy she'd really prefer to be with, usually some beautiful loser who would be poison for her today (and was poison for her when she really did date him). Sometimes the chapter is entirely back story. There is also a lot - A LOT - about her previous abuse of alcohol, nitrous, cocaine, one nighters, herpes, and her new life now that she is sober. She is smart, and can certainly capture a moment in writing, but she's not as tough to pigeon-hole as a personality as she likes to claim she is. Her obsession with her own past story, including her difficulty in forgetting some relationships she'd probably have been better off not having, without question makes it much more difficult to get into a new one. Poor Oliver, so much more thought wasted on him now that's he's history than was spent while he was around!

There are many girls who are attracted to one personality type in a man, and once they have him, they somehow expect to have him act in a way diametrically opposed to who they are. They want the bad boy, say, or the dweeb, but then expect him to be a gentleman or a stolid protector, etc. It does not work that way; with guys, what you see is usually pretty much what you get. Kristen is disappointed in so many of the people she meets, she knows full well that they just are not the bad boy creative cycle-boy tattooed sexual superman deep conversationalist she wants; and if they are, then they are thoughtless, rude, and definitely not sober. Well, duh.

The book isn't all head-slappingly frustrating. Kristen writes touchingly about her family, her difficult life with (and without) her ne'er-do-well drug-dealing father, her Republican and her gay flower-shop owning uncles, her unconventional and real friendships, etc. This is without question the best part of the book. But as for the dating, one can see where this is going from pretty far away, and, strangely, it's tough to feel that much sympathy.

...but 51/50 turned out to be completely engaging. our protagonist, and author kristin mcguiness, opens with something of a personal challenge to herself: with newly found sobriety and a personal history that has precluded dating deep into her twenties, engage in a journey that winds through men, spirit, and the hills around L.A. in search of something special.

51/50 is as much autobiography written in real time, as it must have been a philosophic and spiritual journey. the book itself is as much a character as is her mother, shaman, father, uncles, friends, her horse, and the men who bounce around in her personal pinball machine. ordinarily i personally find this sort of journaling repellent as a form of literature, but this kristen mcguiness compels you to look deeply into each connection she makes and the context she brings to every meeting.

who knows if hers is a sympathetic figure. from her own description she is beautiful and, well, purely L.A. she escapes deep addictions to alcohol, coke, and lifestyle and, through determination and, well, genetically imbued spunk, to get her dream job, remain beautiful, and write. who among us has time (inclination?) to go out on 50 dates in a year?

she embodies the archetype that the rest of us either admires from afar, or detest for the happy superficiality. some speak of the NY Yankees in the same way, and woody allen has opinions on the differences between NYC and L.A. we all do, and you will bring that bias with you in this celebration of all things L.A. kristin embraces L.A. the way the heroines of Sex and the City embrace NYC, though 51/50 wanders through both.

who NEEDS to read this book? the answer might surprise you. men. fathers need to read of the role they play in the lives of their daughters. men need to be reminded of the complexities and legacy of what goes on in the minds of the women they love... or the women they just met. while kristin is on a journey in 51/50, forget about that. this book could turn into 501/500 and be every bit as engaging as we accept the invitation deep into her life of conquest. every date/week/whatever offers up a perfect little cupcake of understanding, any one of which is worth celebrating. but here you will want to take the whole box home. and learn.

if you are familiar with Shantaram and gregory david roberts's prose, you will find a familiar writing style here. every one of the fifty chapters builds and resolves neatly and builds for the next, a satisfying read that allows context to mingle with content.

i am not sure how this book is being marketed, but i am pretty sure that the target is not 50 year old men (moi). the cover on the pre-release vine program "uncorrected proof" is a condor's-eye view of a really skinny chick supine on a lawn with polaroids of dudes. the emphasis in the title is the word "magical". the tattoo on the ankle is a butterfly (drawn from meaning on date 39). unless their sisters buy it for them, this book will never land in the right hands. ...and i am not sure the sisters will be so enthusiastic about reading it.

but the book is worth the effort. buy it if you are single. buy it if you are a guy. buy it if you are a dad (married, or not) for insight into the mind of this one little example of the lovely machinations of one female mind.

i reserve 5 stars for the likes of Moby-Dick. this gets 4 stars and a "what is kristin mcguiness going to do next?"

Living on the East Coast, I have always heard the stereotypes of the self-absorbed, narcissistic egomaniacs on the opposite coast. Ms. McGuiness does little to disprove this image. I found her "adventures" annoying and trite.
McGuiness is highly critical of others despite obvious issues of her own.

Her writing style is nothing short of mediocre. She tries, but fails, to utilize flashbacks in her story telling. The effect is distracting and takes away from the point she is trying to make at the given time. I found myself not caring whether or not she found "true love." Or if she ever even went on another date.

What irked me the most was her portrayal of her first and third date Richard. He seemed like a genuinely nice and interesting man. The type so many women would be very happy with. However, the facts that he did not sample every single flavor of gelato and was not a fan of Indian food were the nails in his coffin. Thank goodness we have Ms. McGuiness to warn us about such unsophisticated, "normie" men! Well, I guess we can't all be recovering alcoholics/drug addicts with Daddy-issues like the author herself!

It's hard to put a definite finger on what makes 51/50 so compelling. The author does a remarkable job of letting the reader in, sparing no details which might embarrass, yet also undoubtedly enhance, the finer points of the story. Not a shred of nuance is lost, as Katherine McGuiness allows each reader into the deepest recesses of her soul.

Being "out there" is a terrifying experience for anyone. For someone like Katherine McGuire this act of bravery could be downright paralyzing.... yet she makes it as light as is possible. Always mindful of her childhood wounds as well as her adult foibles, McGuiness pursues the love of her life with courage, dignity and, at times, a little dose of naive charm. The various characters along for her ride are too numerous to mention; the title of the book gives some indication to the fact that Ms. McGuiness is not a wallflower. She is, however, running scared. The question becomes, is she frightfully running away from or toward someone?

Pick up this easy read and examine for yourself. A fine, fine piece of writing, perhaps specially equipped for beach reading.

51/50 The Magical Adventures of a Single Life is a "memoir mix," combining the familiar elements of purposeful dating, substance abuse, and an absentee father into a story that uniquely belongs to Kristen McGuiness.

A recovering alcoholic, underemployed, and recently relocated to Los Angele, Kristen commits to going on 51 dates in 50 days to find someone to love and the life that she is supposed to have. The 51 dates create a framework for the story, which Kristen smoothly uses to share her battles with substance abuse, her complicated relationship with her father, her career frustration, and her unconventional journey of self-discovery. Somehow, the approach of learning about past, present, and future Kristen holds together, providing insight, understanding, and a connected story.

51/50 is an honest memoir, sharing Kristen's thoughts and actions without editing out any personal embarrassment. The holistic approach Kristen takes with her story makes the book something more than "chick lit" or a recovery memoir--it is a modern tale of longing, pain, and the awkwardness that is sometimes life.

If you are a fan of memoirs, especially those written by women, you will 51/50 an engaging, well-written book, and one that makes the reader hope Kristen stays sober, makes friends, and finds love.

In 51/50: The Magical Adventures of a Single Life, author Kristen McGuiness takes us along on her personal journey to find a romantic partner as she continues to live in sobriety. Tired of not having found a life partner, Kristen sets out to have 51 dates in 50 years to greatly increase her chances of success. One of the things I liked about this book is that each date is described in a chapter along with pertinent information about Kristen's life and former drug/alcohol use and recovery. This format gave the book almost a short story format with chapter that could both stand alone while adding a piece of the puzzle to Kristen's life story. It was a great book to read while traveling or when a reader has only a few minutes to read a chapter or two. Kristen's date stories are both comical and insightful. I enjoyed the journey as well as following her personal evolution.

I liked this book quite a bit.

However, you can't judge a book by its cover. This is not a fizzy, frothy account of someone who sets up 51 Internet dates with the greatest of ease so she can blog and ultimately get a book out of it. Kristen McGuiness has baggage, and it's a bit of a leap for her to even acknowledge that she deserves to find love. So the dates aren't all variations of coffee-dinner-movies with strangers. Some of them are telephone conversations with her mom or her Nana or her gay uncle. Or her shaman. Yes, there is a shaman, and I have to say, I found the accounts of her sessions with the shaman to be quite compelling.

McGuinness figures out pretty quickly that her dream man is some version of her father. She has had great loves in her life but they fizzled out, pretty much like her dad fizzles out when the going gets tough. I like Kristen McGuinness. She has no illusions about herself, and she is pretty realistic about men too. Although she is a recovering addict, we do not have to sit through an account of all 12 steps of her recovery. She goes to meetings but does not hash them out in merciless detail. Meetings are where she sees people she knows or meets new people.

I won't ruin the ending, but I will say I liked it. There are a lot of memoirs out there about addicts who turned their life around. This one is not searing or gut-wrenching or any of those other adjectives that are so often applied. It is simply an account of a young woman reclaiming her life. Recommended.

Too much of 'aren't I amazing because I can naval gaze?' There are some funny parts, but all in all, it was hard to finish.

51/50 author Kristen McGuiness loves Los Angeles, horses, and Griffith Park Observatory. She's in her early 30s, has a few years sober in AA, and is proactive enough to take matters into her own hands when smug married friends tell her "you'll find love when you stop looking for it" or "it will happen when it's supposed to." Kristen's not waiting for the fickle finger of fate to designate her love-readiness; she's gonna get a man on her own. Thus we have 51/50, her memoir of 51 dates in 50 weeks in the City of Angels.

I applaud her chutzpah; she tells her friends and family about her project and goes online (mostly at the Onion) looking for her man. She also revisits hard-to-shake men from her past, namely Oliver and Jimmy Voltage. She goes on blind dates and hook-ups recommended by friends. She goes on so many dates that she identifies patterns and phases of the date; even though she can tell pretty quick whether there's "chemistry" she does have a few surprises.

51/50 is an excellent case study in what happens when young women with "daddy issues" try to find love, even when she knows she has emotional baggage. Kristen is the daughter of a drug-running father who lived the high life (in every way) before landing in jail for a very long time. I'd expect Kristen to have more swagger about her, but she was still pretty young when dad went to prison. But Kristen still loves him and still waits for him to Show Up and Be Dad, her most hoped-for 50th date. She has a tough journey ahead of her, but she has courage on her side.

For those who love LA or miss it, this book will be great as she oohs and ahhs over the Griffith Park Observatory, goes horseback riding through the hills, hits parties and visits friends in favorite neighborhoods (Silver Lake in particular). There are several "LA Types" here: the shaman, the rich handsome A-hole from Beverly Hills, and plenty of "Prius-driving liberals" with Obama bumper stickers. But most people are average 30-somethings, some in recovery, some not, and of course those who probably never will find recovery, like her dad. I'm sure lots of female readers will identify with her story. At the end of several early chapters it sounded like she should be out on a ledge somewhere, soliloquoy-ing with great passion the profound lessons learned on her date. And it did seem profound--at first. When I saw a pattern forming it seemed forced, and finally I just thought it was funny. Lots of these dudes are duds and there's no reason to imbue meaning where none exists. We get it.

Kristen is a lovely girl--long blonde hair, she looks like Laura Dern but softer with fewer right angles. I hope she finds what she's looking for. I suggest CoDA or ACoA meetings to help her on her journey. AA goes only so far.

Literally couldn't finish this book. I can usually push through even if I am not interested, but I just couldn't with this one. I thought the book would be about her love life but it seemed to be more about her addictions and overcoming them than about her dating. What I thought would be a lighthearted book felt very heavy. Not to mention it was very fragmented and hard to follow.