Customer Reviews

Dorothy on the Rocks

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An amazing first book from a talented writer. I laughed out loud and couldn't put it down! For everyone who's ever been in love, lost someone, had too much to drink, or wished for a fairy godmother - a great read!

Maggie Barlow is that friend some of us are lucky enough to have; y'know, the one with the untethered, seemingly "artsy" life, who arrives at any occasion equipped with the best war stories and funniest anecdotes of disasters avoided or endured.

You sling back a few together. Then a few more; and at some point she goes home and part of you is grateful that you are not privy to her personal, work-a-day life. The one that you sense is mostly unhinged.

Barbara Suter's funny, often biting account of her heroine's longing for, and self-sabotaging of her pull toward love, will hold you in its grip till its final page.

Like Oz, the conventional world does hold some Magic for this over-aged, boozy Dorothy. Unlike Oz, its witches, flying monkeys and bogus Wizard are not perched along a yellow brick road; but are burrowed deep inside of a cave of her own making. Luckily, we get a seat right beside her as she tries to dig herself out.

I read this book under an umbrella at the beach. I was so engrossed in Maggie's world that I didn't notice the rising tide until a wave spilled across my blanket! I loved this book - it made me laugh and pulled me in like Maupin's "Tales of the City." I'm waiting for the next installment!

After reading all the reviews (all of which are 5 stars), I figured this would be a great, humorous, and light read. However, I was greatly disappointed!!! This story could have been told in 100 pages instead of 325. There were too many characters that we were introduced to that had no point to the actual story. I couldn't help but get frustrated with Maggie. I wanted to grab her by the shoulder numerous times and shake some sense into her. I am a college student so I can't relate to being 40 and having their life feel like it's not going anywhere... but I can relate to going directly to alcohol and nicotine when things get rough. I wasn't to keen (and slightly disturbed) on the ending, which I'm not going to say why because I don't want to ruin it for the people that still want to read it. I did giggle in a couple of parts, but for the most part I thought that this was nothing special.

This is definitely a book that you can go without reading, if you have a girl friend that owns it... borrow her copy. But don't waste your money.

DOROTHY ON THE ROCKS is a book that will make you laugh out loud. You follow Maggie through Manhattan's Upper West Side and along the way you meet geriatric actors in the children's theater company Maggie performs in, the younger man she's sleeping with who still lives at home, Mr Ed the talking Westie and Maggie's personal fairy godmother-- who happens to be the reincarnation of her cabaret piano-playing accompanist, twelve inches high, with wings, and pixie dust. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you won't be able to put DOROTHY ON THE ROCKS down. A great read!

Dorothy On the Rocks does not live up to the reputation of the publisher, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. I sent it to my mother when she was recovering from knee replacement and then she gave the book to me this fall and I read it. Could have done without the bad language. There is some humor but lots of sadness, too. I only wish some more books would be published in this large paperback format which is what I was looking for--books in paperback with larger print.

Barbara Suter is one phenomenal storyteller!! Her wonderfully engaging novel tells the story of actress/singer Maggie Barlow. Suffering from some sort of midlife crisis, Maggie chain-smokes and drinks very excessively. When she is cast as Dorothy in a childrens' theater production of the Wizard of Oz, she becomes acquainted with the cast of delightfully amusing characters. Ms. Suter cleverly shuffles between reality and fantasy with the presence of a fairy godmother who appears from time to time. Every single page of this book was a delight to read! As a middle-aged woman, I could relate to this story in so many ways. I really loved this amazing book and highly recommend that you grab a copy and start reading!!

I was given this book by a friend who raved (about the book). She defensively qualified it as 'chick lit,' guarding against the possibility that I might not like it. I loved it and proclaim that any man who wouldn't like it is a man who wouldn't appreciate perceptive and illuminating art. Barbara Suter's Maggie Barlow is sharp (abrasive, actually) and funny. That's because she's scared--scared of success on any level. She'll drink herself into a coma, smoke herself into an iron lung, and verbally thrust spears at anyone ready to love her to insure her self-fulfilled prophecy of ultimate failure. But what a fascinating non life she has. And all the while, dogged by her late accompanist who stalks her as a Barbie sized fairy godqueen.

Suter juggles reality and fantasy so brilliantly that you put the book down (only when you've finished it--try doing so before that!) wondering when you will be visited by your late beloved ones in the guise of walking, talking, and flying Barbies or Kens. She's that good. I laughed out loud and cried out loud. I want her to write me another. Put everything else down--you'll get back to it--and read this book. You'll be so glad you did. And if not, Maggie and I say "screw you."