Customer Reviews

A Girl Could Stand Up

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

 

 

This book could have used a good editor. For my money, the book ends on page 272; unfortunately, the book is 372 pages long. There are some seeds of good story telling here, but the writer doesn't trust herself to stay with her main characters and give the reader a satisfying journey with them. Instead, she introduces new characters right up to the last page of the book, relinquishing or giving short shrift to the ones we've grown interested in. I also found myself growing exasperated with the self-conscious quirkiness of the characters. A little goes a long way with a story like this, and it's much easier to relate to characters who who don't seem to have their idiosyncracies pasted on. The book jacket draws parallels between this writer and John Irving, and it's true to some extent. But it's Irving's weaknesses she seems to share, not his strengths, ie., his tendency to dispatch characters heartlessly, to throw in ill-advised and unnecessary plot twists, to leave us with the sense that we've spent a very long time with characters we still don't fully know.

Nevertheless, I was very taken by the premise of the book -- the child who loses her parents in a freak accident and ends up being parented by two flawed uncles. If she could have stayed with that, and the boy Raoul whom she finds in her loneliness, the book would have held my attention much more.

i read the excerpt of this novel in the magazine _real simple_ and got hooked in just a few pages.... this is an exceptional novel and the author's style is not bland as one of the above reviews suggested, but rather intriguing. you may find yourself drawn in just as quickly as i did.

this book is about a six-year old girl who lost her parents in a tragic accident and then her two uncles one a cross dresser and the other a photographer whose a carefree bachelor were appointed as her guardians. this book describes these eccentric characters and their life in the little girls narration. how she copes with her parents death and how she adjusts to this different life style. her friendship with Raoul, their weird adventures.

Marshall has written this book in an unusually remarkable manner creating a mixture of drama, mystery and amazingly fantasy all woven together. you cant help being entranced when reading this book. imagining it was like literally being under a spell. realistically you might not agree with the characters way of living and might not even like the end on a basis of principle but still you cannot help liking all the characters.

Although you can tell this was her first novel because the writing style and story-telling structure of the book was a little complicated. its an intense book, not your usual bedtime story.

I was so disappointed when I finished this book. I grew to love the characters and was so sad to see them "go". This book definitely is oddball and the storylines are not ordinary or obvious. But as kooky as they are, the characters are so well-drawn and interesting, that they soon become irresistable. I especially enjoyed the main character, Elway, and her imaginative - and non-judgmental - outlook on life. Leslie Marshall is a wonderful writer - she has a very poetic, yet humorous style. There are smiles and laughs and surprises throughout. Just buy it. It will be one of the most enjoyable books you'll ever read.

Oh, man, prepare to suspend belief and just sit back and enjoy this one. I mean, when the book starts out with a little kid's parents being electrocuted in the Tunnel of Love and her being sent off to be raised by two bachelor uncles (one of whom is a transvestite), you just have to go with the flow. Things flow along, and Elray (that's the girl - don't ask about the silly name) meets Raoul, who introduces her to the concept of sexuality; then she meets Granny Harwood, long dead - but she's not. Then she meets...well, just read it.
It's all a little over the top, and one gets the sense that the author is sometimes trying too hard. But, in spite of some faults, A Girl Could Stand Up stands as a testament to the `new' definition of Family, in all its myriad manifestations.

"...the raw challenge of a bizarre situation that had the appeal of possibly yielding a giant pot of gold." In some ways, this quote is an apt description of this novel. Reading this book is much like going on an amusement park ride -compulsive, silly, ridiculous, gripping, pleasurable, exhilarating. There are great moments of emotionally charged tension and anticipation that inevitably lead you somewhere unexpected. I loved the sense of adventure and the humor and weirdness of it. And the love story between Elray and Raoul is magical.

The only reason I read this book is because I belong to a book club and this was the selection. I voted for something else!

I liked the main character, and her best friend, and their activities made for really good reading. However, large parts of the storyline were sometimes tedious to get through. I found myself skipping ahead more than once, and only finishing because I didn't want to miss out during the book club discussion.

Maybe I just came from too "normal" a home, but I don't understand why so many novels have to center around dysfunctional or non-traditional families.

At least most of the adults in the novel had good intentions, and more redeeming qualities than bad ones, and there is a lot to be said for that. And, it was fun to read about the evolution of their family tradition, however weird.

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. It is just OK, but nothing I would rave about and recommend to friends.

Quick read, never lags. Quirky characters and a few plot twists. Shame on Publisher's Weekly for giving away so many plot details. I'm glad I read the book before reading their review. A little fanciful, but where's the harm in that?

I LOVED this book! It was clever, zany, and impossible to put down! It's about a six year old named Elray who is orphaned at age 6 and left to be raised by her two hilarious uncles. The book follows her hysterical journey from childhood into young adulthood, and documents all of her extraordinary adventures. The book is full of unique characters and comical situations. It is unlike anything I have ever read before. I hope that Leslie Marshall comes out with another book soon because I can't wait to read it!

The best way I can describe this wise and charming book is: Harper Lee meets Augustine Burroughs. That should give you advance notice of the wonderfulness of Marshal's wild inventiveness.