Customer Reviews

Big Girl: A Novel

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(23)
1 star:		(74)

 

 

Don't get me wrong; Ms. Steele is still writing books you want to read, just because it's DS -- the problem is that the storyline of this book was something that I can't imagine Ms. Steel even venturing into in 2010. To see women so subservient to their narcissitic mates, to allow cheating, to be verbally and emotionally abusive to your own child, isn't something I would have thought she'd write. I thought she was about the strong women while having problems that they overcome because of their strength and relationships. This one made me angry, not only because of the content (big people), but because she wasn't more of an advocate for the way these women are treated. It made me very sad to see that she wrote in this vein.

Again, because it's Danielle Steel, I read it, but was hugely disappointed in what I thought her viewpoint of this might be. She could have really had a voice in how parents treat their heavier children, or those that aren't perfection. Instead she continued to feed the disparity between the children, and allowed a mother, a woman (her primary audience) to be so manipulated and subservient to her husband. All she cared about was playing bridge and doing her husband's bidding, then treating her first born as though she were a non-person. The impact she could have made on the issues she covered would have been enormous, but instead the story continued along without her seeing what impact it had on what she and her narcissistic husband referred to as the "tester."

Our society looks at heavier (big) people in disgust, and she continued to feed into it, instead of making it better for the girl, I think the storyline made it worse. Big girl spent years in therapy and right up to the last page, DS didn't do anything to make the parents see and realize what they'd done to a daughter that didn't deserve it. The story could have been written with empathy, feeling and resolution, but instead, it continued on with the abusive parents being none the wiser.

The perfect child was given a lavish wedding that was probably in excess of $200,000 in cost, and was cheated on prior to the nuptials, and instead of being strong and standing up on her own, or having her parents stand beside her and with her with a different decision, it was swept under the rug and the wedding continued. What does that say? That it's all right to be cheated on, it's all right for you to accept it, because you're marrying money? Her parents knew and it was kind of like a "oh well...these things happen." Hell yeah they do, but any self respecting woman, regardless of what Mom and Dad said or thought, would have stood up for herself and said "this doesn't happen to me," and a good swift kick in the bridegrooms priviledged butt would have gone a very long way in sending the correct and moral message to all readers.

Because it was a Danielle Steel book, and because I read every book she writes, I read it, but my disappointment goes beyond the words I can convey. She could have made a difference, a real difference, but instead, for artistic reasons, chose to set us all back 50 years. Shame on her; I can only hope future books bring back the strong, independent and self-reliant women I've come to know through her stories. Thank you for reading my review.

I have heard that "popular" authors like Steel often have others help write their books. This must be the case with Steel. It is the only explanation for the constant and consistent repitition in her books over the last 7-10 years. There is no way an author could write 160 pages and say the same thing over and over, at least in my mind.

I find it interesteing the Steel has labeled this character "big", "fat", etc at a size 12-14. She describes Victoria as having "killer legs" yet is huge at a mere 20 pounds or so overweight. What planet is Steel from? She clearly has no concept of weight, size and clothing size.

The story is a waste of time, paper and ink. Nothing of interest is said or happens. Why I waste my time reading her books anymore is unknown. At least I am smart enough to get them from the library for FREE. I would NEVER buy a Steel book unless its her early work (back when quality writing and story telling were important to her).

SKIP THIS!!!!!!!

Let me preface this by saying this is the first Danielle Steel book I've read, and I'm only about 100 pages into it. I don't know if I can finish it, but I am trying my hardest as it's a book club read.

I have no idea if she always writes like this, but this reads as I would imagine an "Idiot's Guide" does. There is no such thing as nuance, and if you didn't get it the first 10x she told you, don't worry; she'll tell you 10 more times...and that's just on the next page. It actually makes me angry to read it because I keep thinking, "How dumb does she think I am?"

As for the characters, they are incredibly one-dimensional (really, I'm a third through the book, and no one has learned anything new?) and outdated. It's 2010, and the mother in this book went to college and got a degree but could care less since she only wanted to snare a husband. Seriously? And she keeps telling her intelligent daughter that she shouldn't do things that look smart because boys don't like that. Again...seriously???

It's truly a painful read. I honestly think this is the worst book I've ever read, and there have been many books I haven't liked. Usually, I dislike them because I find them boring, slow, or just not my style. I've never happened upon something quite like this.

At the very least, wait on a library list for it. Do NOT waste you money.

ETA (1 month later): While it never got better for me, this book did inspire great book club discussion. Topics were sensitive touch points....It's too bad she didn't give the book the depth and intelligence it deserved.

The following is written in the style of "Big Girl." If you think this is a great review, then you will LOVE the book.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Danielle Steele is a bestselling author. She writes books. She thinks of stories, and she writes them down. And then her publisher publishes them. Because she is an author who writes bestselling novels. She has been writing bestselling novels for years. Sometimes Danielle writes long novels and sometimes she writes shorter novels. Writing is what she does, and she loves it. Danielle loves writing down stories, and her publisher loves publishing them. And everyone makes TONS of money, because she is a bestselling author. She writes books, and she enjoys writing them.

Lately, Danielle has decided that while she still likes writing, it takes too long to write good books, and her readers don't care, anyway. She realizes that if she just bangs out a novel that has no plot, and just repeats the same two or three ideas over and over and over again, her readers will buy it. Because they will buy anything she writes. The fact is, Danielle is an author who writes bestselling novels for her readers, who are not very demanding. Why take the time and trouble to write a novel with well-drawn characters, interesting situations, good dialogue, or even a plot? Her readers will buy her books, regardless.

She tells her publishers her latest idea, about a girl who is a few pounds overweight, but her parents and sister are not. The girl wants to be a teacher. That's pretty much the whole book. They are delighted with this idea. They all agree that Danielle Steele readers will love this book about a girl who wants to be a teacher and struggles with her weight, while her parents don't. The girl in the book has a sister who also does not struggle with her weight. So the girl feels like an outsider. It would be different if the girl's mother or father or even her sister also struggled with their weight. But they don't. And the girl feels like she is different from them. And she wants to be a teacher and lose weight.

Danielle and her publishers all agree that this is a fine idea for a novel. Another thing they all agree is that when Danielle writes one of her novels, and they publish it, everyone makes tons of money, regardless of whether it is a long novel, or a short novel, both of which she enjoys writing. So they publish her latest plot-free book, and decide to call it "Big Girl."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I haven't read anything by Danielle Steele in a long time, but I have fond memories of some of her earlier work - dependably easy, breezy books with great stories and likeable characters. This will be the last time I ever pick up one of her books. She should be embarassed.

This book is proof, if needed, that Danielle Steel is so out of touch that it's time for her to stop writing things she knows nothing about. The book's heroine, Victoria, is made to feel inferior for being a blue-eyed blonde in an otherwise dark-haired family - and we ALL know that blue-eyed blondes are practically revered in American society. She's described as having great legs and being ten to fifteen lbs. overweight, yet is said to wear a size 14-16, not fat by anyone's standards and if I'm correct, she wouldn't be that size if she was only 10-15 lbs. overweight.

Victoria's parents are outdated caricatures from the 1950's. And then there's the writing. Choppy little sentences. And in the first chapter alone there must be a dozen sentences that start with And.

It would be amusing if it wasn't so annoying.

When will DS ever write a novel without so much repeating. I have finally figured it out. She is trying to fill up the pages.

This book made me angry right from the first few pages. Needless to say I plodded through it and I was disappointed.

Victoria's height was never mentioned only that she apparently was large busted and thick around the middle. Since her being tall was mentioned, I doubt very much that she was "Fat" at only being overweight by 25 lbs. 45 lbs would be a more understandable amount to want to lose.

DS's last book was something I enjoyed and I was hoping she was on a roll again, but NOT!

If you think someone who is 25 pounds over weight worthy to write a book about like she was morbidly obese then half of America needs to go on a diet! I read the book and like other readers was amazed at the poor treatment of the character for only needing to lose 25 pounds and she was tall, long great legged and big busted. I just could not figure out how she was being treated this way, it all made no sense and her ending didn't either, her parents and spoiled sister never became the wiser?? She could have written this as a short story, it really dragged on, repeating the same sad story line over and over. The character sounded pathetic. I couldn't stand the way she just kept flying home to visit her terrible parents (on teacher salary) Not a great book. I have read many of DS books and this was not of her early books quality.

Victoria Dawson loves her younger sister Gracie, but always felt inferior to her sibling. Her parents especially her father confirmed that belief making it clear she was a failed test before they got it right. Mom just sits silently in affirmation.

Victoria leaves home accepting a job at an elite Manhattan school, but her verbally abusive dad calls her a loser for taking such a position. She begins to have an obesity issue and firmly believes she is unlovable although she seems to have everything going as a swinging single in New York.

This is a fascinating character study of a woman who seems to have everything, but lacks self esteem after growing up being told she was a worthless loser while her sister was perfect. Victoria is an intriguing individual who rates herself as useless because that is all she heard from her parents. The problem with this family drama is just how verbally abusive her parents are towards the Big Girl as they are so over the top with their nastiness towards their first born vs. their kind nurturing of their second child, they lack credibility and are two dimensional. Still in spite of the cardboard vicious parents, fans will root for Victoria to realize how much she has going; overcoming negative fostering.

Harriet Klausner

Although I agree with those who say this book is repetitious and inane, at least it is entertaining my 92 year old mother. She is bedridden and can't read any more. Although she has some dementia, she can follow this book (because of the repetition, no doubt) as I read it to her. I guess that's something good that can be said for the poor writing and nonexistent editing.

My mother's comment today was "I blame Victoria. She lets them treat her badly." That's my mother! Never a doormat, that lady!

It comes a time in an authors life when they just run out of ideas and need to stop writing. Danielle has been writing for decades now and the stories are not interesting, redundant and unrealistic. She hasn't written a readable book in almost 15 years. Danielle's is merely trying to fill the pages in her books. It was sooo competitive and down-right outrageous that I only read half of it and just threw it out. What a waste of money, time and sanity! I didn't care what happened to the main character at all because she wasn't developed enough. 25lbs over weight! are you kidding me Danielle? Anyone knows the taller you are, the more your weight distributes. Big girl is merely a portion of an idea that was written from chapter to chapter with no real thought put into it. There was so much that could have been done with this book but it flopped and so does Danielle. If I could give this negative stars I would. It's time to take all your millions and retire on a huge island somewhere. You've made enough money. We readers deserve more than this trash on paper. Don't even waste your time putting this on wait-list at the public library, it's stinks that bad.