12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laugh Out Loud Funny, November 21, 2001
Definitely read this with a friend in the room. (One who doesn't mind being interrupted while you read aloud from every other page.)
This book is full of the type of wit that I wish I possessed.
Not for people who like a very straight-foward plot. It is a bit overpowered by the prose, but with prose like this who cares? I reached the end and immediately wanted to either start over or invite Fisher to lunch.
Fisher has scored another hit.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Carrie, you can do better!, December 11, 2004
I really like Carrie Fisher. She grew up in the highly artificial environment of Hollywood with famous parents and yet has a compelling down-to-earthness that I admire. In interviews, she sounds like a very bright woman full of self-deprecating wit. Both "Surrender the Pink" and "Postcards from the Edge" sounded a lot like Ms. Fisher herself, to good effect. Yes, her characters don't live like the rest of us. In fact, most of us probably wouldn't want to live their lives, even if those lives are easier in material ways.
So, I'm convinced she was having a bad week or month when she wrote "Delusions of Grandma." Instead of the madcap, witty work of her other books, this one tries too hard. Ray, the protagonist's boyfriend, hangs around waiting for her to become less self-indulgent and self-obsessed and finally gives up. We feel for him, probably more than for her. She knows she is self-obsessed but can't seem to stop herself. Almost anyone has a habit they can't seem to break -- eating, alcohol, etc., etc.-- but when the habit is ALWAYS considering yourself and your whims first, it's really hard for other folks to have sympathy.
I love Ms. Fisher's other books. I think she has now thoroughly mined her own life for material. Maybe she could hire a research assistant to bring her information about something else, so she could apply her formidable wit to a fresh situation?
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
intriguing characters but so self-indulgent, June 4, 2002
I found myself skimming this book for the good bits - the ones that are witty or where things actually happen. But about two thirds of it are just tedious wallowing in intelligent but pointless musings. Some fierce editing would have made it an enjoyable book.
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