Customer Reviews

To Feel Stuff

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After falling in love with "Like the Red Panda" I waited so long for the follow up. I have not been dissapointed at all. It made me laugh in the same uncomfortable way. All the little idiosyncrasies of the charecters in the story make for an entertaining read. A wonderful and engrossing story.

I got this book out of the bargain bin at a local bookstore thinking it'd be solid, but not too good or it would be on the shelves right? I was surprised when I found it to be an enveloping, entertaining story. Seigel's writing is spectacular. This book is fantastic. Five freaking stars all the way

I can't help being a devout fan of this writer and her amazing voice. So far she's written two novels and I adore what she does with her sentences . . . her style is flawless and always enchanting . . .

Listen, that she writes quirky, thought-provoking scenes that leave you breathless, that's part of her gift . . . Nobody gets inside here characters' mind beter, or is writing mind-blowing erotic sex scenes in this country . . . well, maybe Anne Tyler and Joyce Carol Oates.

I say Siegel is the literary daughter of Joan Didion and Kate Braverman. Yes, she is that good, and if you don't buy and read this book right away, you will be the poorer for it.

I can't wait for #3, or a collection of stories . . . either way I'm a big fan--as if you couldn't already tell.

I picked up this book because the idea of the central characterI picked up this book because the idea of the central character's constant encounters with back to back illnesses intrigued me. I was disappointed when this was not a focus of the book but I was still entertained with the style of the book. I enjoyed the way the author wrote, the phrases she used and the imagery she created with her words. I did not care for the format of the book, as I found the dialogue a bit hard to follow with the changing of character point of view. I enjoyed the book; however, I gave it a 3 as I was very disappointed with the end. The book seemed to end abruptly with all loose ends being tied together in one short space. I also found the book's subject to be a bit fantastical and hard to follow. I would recommend this book for people who enjoy the rich use of words but not to one looking for a good, well developed plot.

I can't believe Andrea Seigel hasn't been widely recognized for her amazing story telling skill. I love her writing and can't wait to read more!

Elodie Harrington has taken up permanent residence in the Brown University infirmary due to the parade of illnesses that march through her frail body. She has become the central focus of several people: To Chess Hunter, the charasmatic a capella singer whose violent attack she silently bore witness to, Elodie is a diversion and the object of his affection in a budding romance. To Professor Mark Kirschling, MD, Elodie is a medical anomaly and a case he is intent on cracking to further his professional career. And to the ghostly apparation, Elodie seems to be the only person who has the ability to make contact with him, yet she's not quite sure what exactly he wants from her.

Seigel's writing is uniquely her own--humorous, eloquent, and suspenseful. She manages to weave a story that has great pacing, an intriguing plot, and supernatural undertones. Seigel brings Elodie to life in a story that calls into question human frailty and mortality.

Healthwise, Elodie is the weakest of the three narrators, yet Seigel manages to make her the most "real" through her dry humor, keen observations and compassionate nature. The things that may seem to make her the most neurotic--constantly switching shampoos; drinking Coke first thing in the morning; reading the STD pamphlets in the pharmacy waiting room; getting first dibs on pharmaceutical gifts; and watching the Home Shopping Network--are the things that endear her to the reader.

Seigel, author of LIKE THE RED PANDA, has provided a wonderful read in her sophomore book. She is a great example of the new generation of writers. Andrea Seigel is definitely one to watch. BookFinds looks forward to this young writer's next endeavor.

Andrea Seigel's sophomore novel makes me wish I were back in college. First because there are so many juicy themes in "To Feel Stuff" that I wish I *had* to invest the time to write a thorough essay rather than getting off easy with a quick review: Science vs. the supernatural, love and/in isolation, post-traumatic growth and metamorphosis. And what would a psychoanalyst uncover in Seigel's take on the doctor-patient relationship?

Second, "Stuff" makes me wish I were back in college because of Seigel's handling of young love. Considering that this book is largely a love letter, it is remarkably unsentimental. The young lovers are passionately, deeply in love. Their love is so simple yet is turned over and examined from every possible angle, just out of curiosity and awe at the newness of it. Yet they have no illusions that it will survive the summer break. This is the least naive treatment of love since "The Rules of Attraction." (In all honestly I've only seen the movie, not read Bret Easton Ellis' book, but I think that counts for partial credit.)

Beyond the intriguing themes, and the nostalgia it evokes, "Stuff" is just so damn well written. Seigel's metaphors are drawn from such mundane sources as a trip to Chuck E. Cheese, yet leave the reader nodding emphatically with complete understanding of what she was trying to convey. Further, the book is full of brilliant moments: Elodie tallying another day on the baseboard, since she had collapsed and happened to be their anyway, Chess catching sight of Elodie for the first time outside the infirmary and, of course, "Girlfriend in a Coma."

Seigel's first novel, "Like the Red Panda," made me cry. (Um, in a manly kind of way.) "To Feel Stuff" made me laugh and wonder. What's next?

I really enjoyed this story. The struggles and successes of an ill college girl and her life in the infirmary provide for an awe-inspiring glance into the core of human interaction.

Seigel's sophomore effort, To Feel Stuff, is about a college girl riddled with sickness after sickness, so much so that she, quite literally, lives in the Brown University infirmary. In comes soon-to-be love interest Chess Hunter, a popular, charming, a capella singer, who has been savagely beaten with a crowbar, temporarily crippling him. (Also into the mix comes a doctor looking to use our heroin's perplexing conditions to get himself published, and a ghost encounter or two.)

There are small things about the book that could be criticized. It is written in three alternating first-person perspectives: a letter from our our protagonist to her love interest, his letter back to her, and her doctor's report in a quasi-medical journal -- I am not crazy about this technique. Also, the Doc's writings don't use characters' full names, but rather first initials only (obviously to give it a more realistic, medical journal flare) so he calls the protagonist, Elodie, just E, her boyfriend Chess is C, etc. This gets clumsy at times -- especially when he refers to more characters (E's parents are A and S, for example).

All that said, here is the bottom line:

I loved this book. Seigel's writing feels so comfortable, so familiar, so effortless. The best way I can describe it is like putting on an old sweatshirt or pair of jeans that just feels soooo right. Just as in her first book, Like The Red Panda, it is not the plot or subject matter that makes the book terrific. It is Seigel's use of the language, the ease with which she tells a story. This is not to say that her writing is unsophisticated -- quite the contrary. But she manages to do it without pretense. Seigel's first book knocked me out because of her wonderful writing style. It's only gotten better.

There is so much to recommend about this book. I was very interested in the mystery of a girl with unexplainable illnesses and the doctor/patient relationship. Both of these were hinted at and explained in very compelling little morsels at the beginning of the book. I was a tad disappointed, however, to find the story instead move towards young co-ed's in love with a dash of ghostly encounters to spice things up. I agree with another reviewer who said it ended too abruptly. I really wanted to hear more - it was an involving read and very well written.