Customer Reviews

All Is Vanity (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Many of the reviews claim that one of the book's major faults is that the characters are a far cry from reality. I find the opposite to be true.Perhaps there is some embellishing involved but Margaret and Letty can easily parallel people in my own life who I have known since my own childhood and so I can say with much certainty that the both of them are not such unlikely people as you might think.

The one complaint that I do have about this book is that 2/3's of the book is build up and then the ending comes a bit too quickly, I think. If she could have played up the events in the end I think I would have been more satisfied. Especially with an ending that is tragic, I had a sense that it was a bit abrupt. Otherwise, I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes character studies especially. Fascinating!

Schwarz has written another solid novel. Her writing is clear and succient and her way of shifting the point of view adds much to the story. Letty's story is sometimes tragic, sometimes hilarious and I laughed out loud in several parts. I did think Margaret came on too strong much of the time and I was unable to muster an ounce of sympathy for her. Not as strong as Drowning Ruth, but overall, a good read.

I have a positive review for this book, though I understand it can often be hard to follow up for a book like Drowning Ruth- with so much acclaim. I felt this was a strong second book for Schwarz. I enjoyed reading this book, but let me say that I do understand where a reader can wonder in the first 100 pages or so where this story is going...I mean, if you read the jacket of the book, you know where it's going, but...it takes a bit to get there. After I got further into the book, I understood the strong back ground was to show the reader what it was like to BE Margaret, a writer-want-to-be (at that point). After that brief intro to her & her friend, the book really picks up, and I begin to groan for Letty & her situation, finally taking note where it is headed. I really enjoyed reading this book, thought the ending was worthy as well, and whether I liked the ending or not makes a big difference to me. The only thing I would change is that on the jacket of the book, to not mention where Margaret gets her story idea from. I think more & more things for movies & books aren't left to the reader or viewer to discover, we're given the whole plot in a preview or review. This jacket doesn't give it all away, however, I think it would have been an excellent surprise in reading, if one didn't know where Margaret's big inspiration was going to come from. Other than that, I'm definitely recommend reading this book. It will give you an appreciation for writers.

If you are either an aspiring novelist or a chronic overspender, this book may leave you distinctly uncomfortable. Since approximately 50% of the reading public is writing a novel, and 98% of the population spends too much money, you may recognize yourself. Many readers will instinctively cringe at Schwarz's mercilessly photographic rendering of Margaret and Letty, ever-hopeful novelist and overachieving spendthrift, respectively. I can vouch that this novel will linger in your conscience long after you finish it, like heartburn after a too good meal. Perhaps you are not as wildly grandiose as Margaret or as financially haphazard as Letty. Perhaps you are as self effacing and realistic as I am, since I relished every moment of this book. And the after-effects have been lasting. I have only a few minor grandiose fantasies left.

From the moment I picked up a copy of this book at work, I was hooked. Having a taste for character driven plots, I really felt that I could sink my teeth into this piece. I was right! What I found in reading All Is Vanity is that the characters in this book were very -real-. They have strengths and weaknesses and are multifaceted individuals who are quite different from one another and yet it is absolutely believable that the two could be friends. There is a type of chemistry between the two women that is illustrated so well.I have to admit that, in part, perhaps my enthusiasm for this novel comes form the fact that it hits just a bit too close to home for me. I, like I'm sure many readers could, can easily draw parallels to my own life. Who, who has any love of writing at all, hasn't imagine writing The Great American Novel! It can't be helped. One would like to be humble and keep feet on firmly planted on ground but it is still nice to be swept in the moment. After all, if you are going to strive to be something, why not strive to be the best? It's funny and yet painful to watch Margret struggle with this Goliath of a goal she has set for herself and yet anyone who has been there knows it so well...You just HAVE to laugh...just after suppressing the urge to cry...At any rate...I digress. The point is this... IT's funny how a book which in a way addresses art reflecting life (Or all out carbon copying it) should do the same for me, the reader! I've read several reviews that complain that the ending is a disappointment or that the characters are not likeable. When it comes down to it, it is a matter of opinion. If my experience counts for anything, however, I would like to say that IN their downfalls...these people are made more real. I don't know about you, but I know that I don't always do the right thing the first time around. (Or second...or third...) So this book was a wonderful study in human nature and the nature of friendships and ambitions and the gambles and consequences we face as a result.The character's voices are clear and so real and flow so naturally that it's hard to believe these people do NOT exist. In short it's an excellent book. I recommend it highly. It's thoroughly entertaining, engaging and....frighteningly close to real life. Then again, isn't that what makes a good book?

Christina Schwarz has written a novel that is such a clever, but scathing indictment of the artistic hubris of average people, that it almost seems mean, or unfair. Unfair, because she has written an engrossing, fascinating novel - with a message - that brilliantly characterizes a woman who wants so badly to write an engrossing, fascinating novel - with a message.

Mean-spirited or no, it's a great read. I finished it in two evenings, which is incredibly quick for me. It reads almost like a cautionary tale, but what really grabbed my attention and held it so firmly was the detail of the characters, and the very nuanced layer of heartbreak, betrayal and dissapointment that seeps through every paragraph somehow.

I hesitate to give it all five stars, however, mostly because I feel like the backbone of the story doesn't really emerge until more than halfway through the book. The structure of the novel is clean, and it makes sense, the first half mostly devoted to the slow breakdown of Margaret, and the second half mostly devoted to Letty's downward spiral, and it does set up a cadence that fits nicely with the cringe-worthy (in a good way!) finale. Like others here, I felt a bit cheated by the synopsis on the book jacket. Instead of turning pages expecting to see the betrayal finally happen, it should have emerged as a nasty little surprise. I guess that's what I get for reading too much about the novel before starting it myself!

This book is - in many ways -- very different from Schwarz's debut novel, *Drowning Ruth*, but it is equally excellent. Here, the setting is contemporary, and the tone - though laced with rue - is strongly satirical (in contrast to the historical setting and more earnest tone of the first book). For me, part of the pleasure in reading *All Is Vanity* lay in finding that an author I've loved in one genre writes masterfully in another, as well. But I also see in *All Is Vanity* some of the same themes that made *Drowning Ruth* so compelling. Both stories examine the potentially destructive power of envy and competition in close relationships between women. Though omnipresent, such feelings are famously hard for women to acknowledge directly. Schwarz takes them on, across the safe distance of a few generations in *Drowning Ruth*, and with the leavening of humor, in *All Is Vanity*. Schwarz's wit allows her to comment on (among other things) the "mommy wars" - the fierce and largely covert competition between women who define themselves mainly as mothers, and those whose identities are moored in careers. At the heart of Schwarz's book is a gentle warning to women of both persuasions: the quest for identity can founder on preoccupation with the world's regard, whether it be regard for one's children, one's work or one's possessions. However, there is nothing preachy about *All Is Vanity*; like Schwarz's first book, it is great fun to read.

I picked this book up because I loved Drowning Ruth, which is by the same author. This book isn't quite as much of a page-turner as Drowning Ruth, and I think it's primarily because the characters aren't quite as likable.

Here's the skinny on the plot: Margaret, a teacher who has quit her full-time job to write a novel, is lifelong friends with Letty, whose husband recently received a tony job at a very financially-secure museum. Margaret lacks focus and has made little progress on her novel. She feels like a failure, but even more, she dreads letting everyone know that she hasn't succeeded in her Hemingway-esque pursuit. Letty, on the other hand, is a sweet mother who is quickly caught up in the materialistic world of the very wealthy. On a whim, Margaret begins writing about her friend, work that is little more than a re-telling of thinly-veiled reality. As Letty begins to get in over her head, accumulating debt and encountering other financial problems, does Margaret (her supposed friend) warn her? Does she help her get herself out of the mess she's gotten into? NO. Margaret encourages Letty's materialism so that she can keep "writing." The whole fiasco ends badly, of course.

I really ended up hating Margaret. She was so self-centered and conceited. And the fact is, she couldn't write. But instead of finally admitting that to herself and throwing in the towel, she abused her poor friend so that she could put together what was, in the end, a very mediocre novel.

The story is a little depressing, but very good. I had to put it down a few times, just because I knew what heartache was coming for Letty, and I almost couldn't take it! I do recommend it, though.

Margaret, an English teacher in a New York private school, makes the brash decision to leave her position and spend the next year writing a novel. In her infinite wisdom, she believes this will be an easy task despite never having published as much as a short story before. She has illusions of grandeur, that her best-selling novel will show the world how brilliant she truly is and turn her into the talk of the town. After spending several months having a great amount of difficulty "getting started" - she has no direction for her book and she procrastinates her time by doing a million other absolutely necessary things such as painting the room her computer is in a soothing color more condusive to writing - she realizes that she is in big trouble, especially since she's been lying to her husband and everyone else around her that the novel is going great and is halfway finished.

Meanwhile, in L.A., her best friend Letty, the two of them inseparable since grade school, is having troubles of her own. Her husband has recently secured a position with the famous Otis museum, and Letty, who has been raising a family of four on a modest budget in a modest home,] is trying to transform herself into fitting her new "affluent" social position. She buys a house in the right part of town, near Beverly Hills, and then gets caught up with redesigning and redecorating the house in a way that keeps up with the Joneses, even though she finds the whole idea of that ridiculous on many levels. The two friends correspond via email and as Letty describes the daily "hardships" of purchasing the right club chairs and hiring the right gardener, Margaret finds inspiration in Letty's life. She begins writing a novel that mimics her best friend's new reality, urging Letty into financial burdens and social situations for which she is not suited or which she cannot afford just so that her novel has the necessary heightened tension and drama.

The book mostly alternates between Margaret's narrative and Letty's email letters, and Schwarz gives us an entertaining (and on some level, horrifying) glimpse into the pretensions of the upper middle class, the folly of ambition, and the precarious bonds of friendship. Darkly comic and often clever, this novel is written briskly and lively enough to be effective for the story it's telling. If you're looking for a deep meaningful book, look elsewhere. Or, if you're one who has to like the
characters in order to enjoy a book, this might not be a good choice either. Because, certainly, it is difficult to like either of these women, but as a pair they serve up plenty of light entertainment.

In some ways this book is similar to "I Don't Know How She Doest It"--both are contemporary urban comedies. But "All is Vanity" is a deeper and richer character study, and, while Schwarz writes with a scalpel--the book is a most dead-on and hilarious depiction of envy and ambition--she is making a number of important and unplaesant points about modern, upper-middleclass life and mores. This is a wholly satisfying--and sophisticatedly written--novel.