The Art of Undressing [Mass Market Paperback]

Stephanie Lehmann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2006

Ginger's mother, Coco, used to be an exotic dancer, though now she makes her living selling sex toys and teaching classes like "The Fine Art of Striptease." A straitlaced, self-respecting twenty-five-year-old, aspiring pastry chef Ginger has no desire to follow in her mother's high-heeled footsteps. She's too busy trying to convince her sadistic French cooking school instructor of her talents in the kitchen.

When Ginger gets sweet on a fellow student, she finds herself ill-equipped in the art of seduction. And when she discovers she has a reputation for being "just one of the guys," suddenly, she's looking for some motherly advice on how to catch the man she loves.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"* 'Stephanie Lehmann is funnier, smarter, sharper, more insightful, and a lot more honest than your ideal best friend.' - Pamela Redmond Satran, author of Babes In Captivity * 'Stephanie Lehmann is brilliant.' - Cathy Yardley, author of L.A Woman" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Stephanie Lehmann is the author of The Art of Undressing, Thoughts While Having Sex, and Are You in the Mood? A playwright and contributor to Salon.com, she lives in Manhattan with her husband and two children. You can visit Stephanie at www.StephanieLehmann.com.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451214110
• ISBN-13: 978-0451214119
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.6 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,919,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A pleasurable page-turner, June 23, 2005

By 

Meryl K. Evans "Content Maven behind meryl.net" (Plano, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Art of Undressing (Mass Market Paperback)

The story set in New York City begins as conservative twenty-something Ginger Levine moves back in with her uninhibited former exotic dancer mother, Coco. Though Coco is 43, Ginger finds men including her own boyfriend ogling over her mother. While Coco wears anything and everything that appears daring, sexy, and outrageous, Ginger goes to the opposite extreme, dressing plain and not sexy, and she doesn't like to reveal herself even to her boyfriend.

Ginger begins a new venture as she starts cooking school partly paid for by her uninvolved and unemotional father. Of course, she meets Tom in class and can't stop thinking about him, but the class ingénue has already claimed him. To make things more difficult for Ginger, the instructor verbally abuses her making her feel like a lousy student.

Coco no longer dances as she's old by dancer standards. She holds classes covering how to strip, dance, seduce, and generally feel good about being a woman. Ginger helps sell related wares at the end of class.

Her father's wife passes away and he asks Ginger to help with her things. She sees it as an opportunity to get to know her father and her 13-year-old step-sister. She learns a few things about her father and his other family during the process.

Women like Ginger hide their bodies and constantly doubt their looks, talents, or both. The characters in the story are diverse enough that a reader will connect to at least one of them.

Meanwhile, since Tom is dating another woman, Ginger gets to know a talented chef. This scenario ensures you don't figure out who she ends up with, if anyone. So it's not your typical, predictable chick lit. The only thing missing from the wonderful book is closure on the dead step-mother's journal. Lehmann includes humor, conflict, and warm-hearted moments in her easy-to-read and pleasurable story.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Amazingly Awesome Read by Stephanie Lehmann!, February 15, 2005

By 

Rian Montgomery "Rian Montgomery" (Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Art of Undressing (Mass Market Paperback)

After finishing this third wonderful novel by Stephanie Lehmann, I've discovered a few things. First off, she is near the very top of my list of favorite writers. Second, there is a definite trend with her books. Not only do they all have daring titles that cloak true gems of the stories within the pages, but they feature main heroines that are flawed in some way, but are also seriously likeable.

In this third novel, "The Art of Undressing", we have Ginger Levine. She lives with her ex-exotic dancer mother (named Coco) in Manhattan, attends cooking school paid for by her wayward father, and has just broken up with her boyfriend Ian, who seemed more interested in her mother anyway. Ginger is the complete opposite of her beautiful, outspoken and feminine mother. She dresses much more plainly and is afraid to open up and be "sexy" around men. Ginger's main problem seems to be that she is overcompensating for her mother's outrageous activities. She feels that she is too plain and un-sexy for a man to like her, but she doesn't know what to do about it.

Not only that, but a guy she likes in her cooking class seems to be spoken for by a gorgeous girl, and the instructor Jean-Paul seems intent on making Ginger miserable enough to quit the class. Meanwhile there are issues to be dealt with at her father's house. Will Ginger give up on her cooking class, and men in general? Or will she realize the help she needed was right in front of her, all along, and that things aren't always what they seem to be?

I enormously enjoyed this novel. Lehmann has used her signature style of subtle humor, straight-forward storytelling and realistic characters to spin yet anther delightful and touching tale. She has a way of taking the most ordinary of characters and making them into someone that everyone can identify with on some level.

Overall, I very highly recommend this book!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than meets the eye, March 12, 2005

By 

Bearette24 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Art of Undressing (Mass Market Paperback)

On a plot level, this is the story of an insecure woman, Ginger, whose mother, Coco, has an overabundance of sexual confidence. A former stripper, Coco now teaches classes on how to be sexy. Ginger has to break up with one boyfriend who seems to be more into Coco than Ginger. Ginger is also a cooking student, and her teacher insults her abilities.

On a deeper level, this novel explores a lot of issues that are familiar to a lot of women: feeling uncomfortable in your own body, wondering if you're attractive enough, jealousy, faith in your talents. I walked away from it feeling as if I had learned something, about how you don't really need validation.

Also, the details are wonderful. Lehmann did her research on the sex industry, and it shows. The cooking school is also brought to loving life.

Recommended.