Customer Reviews

High Drama in Fabulous Toledo

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"High Drama in Fabulous Toledo" is a funny, readable, delightful novel from an author I will be watching. If you like women's fiction but long for something truly original and fresh, THIS IS IT. Her writing style just carries you along - it's a compelling and new way of getting to know a character - which makes it one of those books you can't wait to get back to. Adventure and philosophy, sociology and brain studies fans will find much to think about here, all in the form of an entertaining read.

How much of what you choose to do and say is influenced by your interior life? Most of us smuggle the contraband of our dreams in our pockets, existing part-time in an isolating underground that no one ever sees, as do the characters in _High Times in Fabulous Toledo_.

Lily James' people live parallel lives that only intersect when a ludicrously botched kidnapping forces them to confront the glaring difference between what they have imagined their lives and themselves to be, and who they really are.

This story is a hilariously tragic fable that pierces the truth of our fantasy lives. Lily James shows us how our imaginary identities both shape our authentic selves, and isolate us from one another. A fast, funny romp that left me hoping for more from this young and brilliant author.

I want Lily James to write about my kidnapping! ... or at least about my hometown!
This is one quirky tale about a kidnapping gone very wrong. Two parts love, one part terror, added to a heavy dose of comedic BRILLIANCE and you've got a book you'll want to read again and again.
Lily James' ability to crawl beneath the skin of her characters and drag you along with her is uncanny and terrific - not to mention terrifying and exhilerating.
This is a Hal Hartley film waiting to be made. Hear that HAL HARTLEY?? You need to make this movie!!
This and _The Great Taste of Straight People_ make me a permanent member of the Lily James fan club.

Lily James is as fearless a writer as anybody on the planet. She does things with her narrative that I've never seen done before, and does it in a way that is thoroughly entertaining and readable. This is a difficult book to describe, because it doesn't really fit into any one genre. I should say that I didn't come to this book as an unbiased reader, since Lily and I both belong to the same e-mail list for writers. I wouldn't have bought it, though, if I didn't like the way Lily wrote in general; and I wouldn't be writing this review if I didn't genuinely love the book. So buy it, read it, and enjoy Lily's unique way of telling a story. You won't be disappointed.