The ABCs of Love [Paperback]

Sarah Salway (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 27, 2004

Recounting tales about her lecherous boss over drinks with her best friend Sally, media employee Verity Bell makes observations about the world of romance that correspond with every letter of the alphabet, from Ambition to Zest, and searches for her own true love.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Written in brief entries from "ambition" to "zzzz," Salway's confident debut novel chronicles the existential ups and downs of British 20-something Verity Bell. The alphabetically arranged mini-chapters make for an inventive, pleasant-enough gimmick and an episodic narrative, as Verity muses on her career (A is for attitude: "I work as a secretary in the media... something I don't always talk about because some people seem to think I'm showing off"), her friendship with the fabulous Sally (B is for best friends: "my best friend, Sally, has become the mistress of a millionaire called Colin"), her feelings on Gwyneth Paltrow (G is for you-know-who: "If I looked like Gwyneth Paltrow, nothing could possibly go wrong in my life") and other issues of love, friendship and family. With both parents deceased, Verity clings to Sally as a sort of substitute family, but struggles with her insecurities and her envy of Sally's "perfect" existence. "Sally and I are friends.... I am not jealous of Sally. I am especially not jealous of Sally's relationship with Colin." Despite Verity's apparent disdain for Sally's adulterous romance with Colin, she too falls madly in love with a married man. Unsurprisingly, their steamy affair is not the solution to Verity's problems; rather, it exacerbates her self-doubt as she plays second fiddle to the wife and children. Ultimately, Verity's life takes an unexpected turn, and she emerges a stronger and more creative woman. Salway wraps her bright, comic writing in bite-sized chunks that make this first novel an easy-reading pleasure.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The power of stories to explain, create, and mislead is the theme of Salway's unsettling novel. Teenage Molly has run away from home and found refuge of sorts with Mr. Roberts, who offers her a job in his stationery store and lodging in a room upstairs. The price is to tell him stories of her escapades, while standing on a top of a ladder with him holding her legs. She makes these stories up, or does she? Miranda, friend and hairdresser, has her own stories, as does Liz, the local librarian who supplies Molly with romance classics. Then there is Tim, the mysterious boyfriend she sees only in the park, and his secretive ways and odd behaviors. Is anyone who they seem to be? Eventually one discovers that there is a bit of truth in the lies and that stories are more revealing than the reality they embellish. The reader knows Molly a bit better by the end, but Salway leaves us a touch confused and rather disturbed by what has gone on. Danise Hoover
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (April 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345467035
• ISBN-13: 978-0345467034
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.4 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,705,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Unique Voice, May 18, 2004

By 

RL (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The ABCs of Love (Paperback)

In the ABC's of Love, Verity Bell takes us through the alphabet and into her psyche, in a series of understated, humorous and spot-on observations about her life.

With an eye for character-defining detail, Verity watches herself from the outside, not quite letting on if she is completely aware of the story-line beneath the words. "It is posher as well as more interesting to be haunted by internal ghosts who make you miserable," she has learned. "The good thing about being in love is that I can recognise John's faults in an adult fashion," she concludes, after another series of let-downs by her married lover.

Like Candide, each page delivers a nugget of self-delusion the reader can identify with, and the word associations prompt you to see the quirky connectedness of all things. V is for Vacuuming, but it is really about John missing the dog at home who attacks his Hoover. "Doors" starts off with the intriguing fact that British TV ads never show closed doors, and leads to a memory of Verity's mother telling her to stay in her room. "It wasn't cruel, she just wanted a break from me."

The cumulative effect of Verity's vignettes, each a story in itself, is to create a world very much like the one that goes on in our heads: a series of seemingly disassociated thoughts that add up to a life rich with meaning.

In a sense, the cover of this book can be deceiving. The ABC's of Love, `A Novel of Romance from A to Z' is darker, funnier and more perceptive than you might be expecting. Sarah Salway has a unique voice and a disarming way of communicating her view of the world. I want to see what she does next.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart, lively read, April 27, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The ABCs of Love (Paperback)

I loved this book. It's short and a quick read, but it's very well written. Verity is Every Girl and yet also her own person. I recommend this for all the fans of "chick lit" and authors like Rita Ciresi or Jane Green.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, easy read, September 24, 2004

By 

Suzanne Peterson (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The ABCs of Love (Paperback)

This book is an alphabetized list of vingnettes that take whimsical look at Verity Bell's love life. It is light and fun in some stories, yet deeply serious and somber in others. I wasn't expecting to get so drawn in because the book is quite a short read, but by the end I was definitely rooting for Verity.