The English American: A Novel [Hardcover]

Alison Larkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2008

Adopted at birth into a loving, tidy family, charming, chronically untidy Pippa Dunn hopes that finding her birth parents will help her understand why she's so different from everyone she knows - and somehow cure her of her inability to trust even the most devoted of men. She meets her untidy, creative birth mother in Georgia, her charismatic birth father in Washington DC - and moves to New York to be near them, while pursuing an exciting new career. At the same time, she re-connects with a man she hardly knows, who also seems to understand her and sends her seductive emails from around the world. She's found her 'self' and everything she thought she wanted. Or has she?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Based on her semi-autobiographical one-woman show of the same title, Larkin's debut novel takes a comedic but heartfelt look at issues of identity, heredity and self-acceptance. Pippa Dunn—British, 28 and living with her sister in West London—loves her adoptive parents dearly, but has rarely felt at home with the primness and very British emotional restraint with which she was raised, as her funny, anxious narration demonstrates. When Pippa discovers that her birth mother, Billie, is an American (from Georgia, no less) she feels compelled to travel to the U.S. to meet the the sweet, understanding, empathetic ethereal mother she's always imagined. Not surprisingly, both Billie and Pippa's birth father, Walt, fail to live up to her imagined ideals. Although Larkin's premise leads to worthy reflections in Pippa's winning voice, awkward attempts to marry the birth-mother search to a conventional romantic comedy plot are less successful. Through a midbook e-mail exchange, we learn that Pippa met her soul mate, Nick (now a banker in Singapore), in a London park seven years before, but wasn't ready to feel love. Nick the banker-cum-painter is far too tortured and emotive to be believable, and the ensuing romantic revelations are predictable. Pippa, however, is a complex, compelling character—truly an amalgam of her heredity and her environment—and readers will root for her as she uncovers her roots and finds herself. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

Despite loving her English mum and dad dearly, Pippa Dunn—adopted as an infant from America—never feels she fits into her family. Her fear of abandonment has her looking for the wrong men, in order to leave them before they leave her. At the age of 28, Pippa goes to America seeking her birth parents: beautiful, artistic Billie and her married lover, Walt, who gave up their daughter for the sake of their relationship. The first blush of parental love is intoxicating, with Pippa seeing her traits in others and feeling truly free to express herself. Then reality (Billie’s possessiveness, Walt’s evasiveness) sets in, and Pippa faces the issue of nature versus nurture. Pippa’s long-distance correspondent through all this is fellow adoptee Nick Devang, but her true source of support is right in front of her. A predictable romantic outcome is easily forgiven, given comedienne-actress-playwright Larkin’s vivid description of the obstacles facing adoptees who find their birth parents. Drawn from Larkin’s own life, this debut novel—like Pippa herself—is smart, funny, and utterly charming. --Michele Leber

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st Simon & Schuster Hardcover Ed edition (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141655159X
• ISBN-13: 978-1416551591
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #960,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of Both Worlds, March 5, 2008

By 

Carole "Carole" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The English American: A Novel (Hardcover)

The Best of Both Worlds

'The English American" is both an immensely readable and enjoyable novel, and a story with deep meaning on multiple levels. Likewise, its heroine, Pippa Dunn, embodies the best of both worlds: genteel British upbringing on the one hand, and irrepressible independent American spirit on the other. But there is more; the more you read and reflect, the more is revealed, not only about Pippa, but also about oneself. I felt connected to Pippa and enjoyed traveling with her on her journey "across the Pond" and back again, and also within. It doesn't matter whether you have experienced any of the situations presented by "The English American," whether you are a man or a woman, young or old. It speaks to the human heart, with both humor and spirit.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Tawdry, Slow, and Boring. Threw Up a Little in My Mouth., January 29, 2010

By 

sirrah231 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The English American: A Novel (Hardcover)

I will confess that there were parts that I found cute, quirky, even darling. Especially the contrasts between American and British culture. And it was nice for once to have a British character actually defending Americans against all the bashing that seems so prevelant in many novels of similar ilk. However, I cannot believe all the glowing reviews of this book. Sophomoric, predictable writing with an annoying central character and poorly drawn charicatures of supporting characters. Are we supposed to believe that the young ingenue is REALLY so dense that she doesn't see a man falling for her? And the man she pines for, an artist aquaintance from years back whom we get to know superficially through their e-mail exchanges, is so lackluster and one-dimensional I am left scratching my head as to what, exactly, she's so attracted to. With gems such as "Yes, my love. Your nipples were hard, and so was I" ... barfo!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put this book down, February 21, 2008

By 

Jamie "McKay" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The English American: A Novel (Hardcover)

It's hard to find a book that makes you feel and think feelings and thoughts you've not experienced before - but is also a really fast read and therefore PERFECT for the plane or the beach - but this novel is it! Alison Larkin has written a real page-turner that affected me so much I read it in one sitting, my heart thumping as I waited to find out what would happen to the heroine I fell in love with on page one. By the end of it you feel you know the characters personally and the humor is wickedly funny throughout. It's a sexy book too - Nick's emails are HOT! I had the same romantic dilemma as Pippa, and I was so relieved it panned out as it did, but I honestly had no idea what would happen. The characters have stayed with me days after reading it. I loved Pippa and her adoptive parents. And the birth parents were fascinating characters too.
It's like you're spending the pages with a great friend who you just love. It's SO easy to read - I need that. Loved it. Roll on the next Alison Larkin novel!