Customer Reviews

Lucy Crocker 2.0: A Novel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've been looking forward to a new Caroline Preston since I read Jackie by Josie a few years ago. (If you haven't read that yet, do so -- wonderful book.) Ms. Preston balances a wide range of issues here in dealing with the modern American family: the role of technology in family, difficulties between parents and teenagers, work versus home, the price of success. She raises Thoreau's Walden as a potential model -- but then challenges it as well, instead pleading for balance between old and new.

With so much on her plate, it's not surprising that Ms. Preston loses track of a few of her storylines: the entry of an old boyfriend late in the game seems forced, and neither the reader nor Lucy benefits from the exchange. Further, Ms. Preston tells the story in alternating viewpoints between three of the four family members; the fourth character, one of the sons, seems oddly two-dimensional by comparison.

But despite these shortcomings, Lucy is a charming, engaging and well-told story, which I read in just a few sittings. Ms. Preston, how's the next one coming?

Lucy Crocker 2.0 is an even better book than Preston's wonderful Jackie by Josie. It has the same strengths, memorable characters, a gentle ironic spin, and a satisfyingly concluded plot, but she's focusing here on our dot.com, web-enabled, screen-obsessed world, and asking whether we shouldn't chuck them all out the door and head for the woods. That's what Lucy does, and the result is fun to read and full of insight.

I loved Caroline Preston's "Jackie by Josie", but I was extremely disappointed by "Lucy Crocker 2.0". Lucy struggles with marital problems, miscarriages, and bratty kids. She doesn't find any humor in her situation and neither can the reader. Since Lucy nearly always plays the victim, she doesn't make an exciting heroine. Lucy plods through life and isn't perceptive enough (or is too depressed) to sense deception. At her own software company, she is unceremoniously demoted to consultant because she is oblivious to office politics. Her conniving brother swindles her out of twenty thousand dollars and she lets him off the hook. Her ex-boyfriend easily manipulates her into helping him commit a crime. Her own children fabricate a ridiculous story about their early release from summer camp and she believes them. Lucy may be a talented artist and a skilled outdoorswoman, but in terms of relationships she's a wimp and just about everyone around her takes advantage of this fact. Despite a tan and a new hairdo, Lucy isn't any different at the end of her journey. If you're looking for a funny novel with snappy dialog and interesting female characters, then I would recommend Jane Heller's "Name Dropping" or Adriana Trigiani's "Big Stone Gap".

Awash in perceived failure (several miscarriages, a workplace fiasco, her husband's affair), Lucy Crocker retreats to her father's wilderness cabin to sort out her life -- having first shipped her precocious 13-year-old twins off on a canoe trip, and left a blistering I'm-leaving-you email for her husband. Skillfully shifting point of view allows us to see how everyone in the family confronts their demons -- the might-have-beens, the mistakes, the rash choices, the regrets -- and ultimately triumphs. Literate, charming, funny, warm and oh-so-real, this is a beach read with brains. When you're finished, dive into Caroline Preston's first novel, "Jackie by Josie," which explores some of the same themes in a different, yet also effective and engaging, way.

When I first picked this book up, I thought it was going to be the standard story I've read before. Woman is upset with life and family, sets off on adventure of self-discovery, and ends up deciding it's not so bad after all. Well...that's the farest thing from the truth. This is a TRUE delight. I was charmed. I found Lucy to be very endearing and I enjoyed her character tremendously. It's a wonderfully funny book about a family, YES. But, it's also so much more. I think that it's an all-around book for anyone looking for a great treat on those long summer days. It's not too taxing and loads of fun.

Having read Jackie By Josie a couple of years ago, I knew I would enjoy Lucy Crocker 2.0 just as much. However, when a book sits on my bookshelf for so long, the excitement about reading it tends to go away. I finally decided to read it, and now I'm wondering what took me so long. Lucy Crocker 2.0 is a delightful book and one that speaks volumes about marriage, motherhood, and self-identity.

After many miscarriages, Lucy Crocker found solace in designing a #1 best-selling computer game, Maiden's Quest. Ed, her husband and founder of Crocker Software, encouraged her in this process, but is now nagging her about the sequel. But Lucy's got writer's block, cannot concentrate for the life of her, and therefore, the progress meeting with Crocker's game team did not go over so well. To top it all off, Lucy finds a questionable e-mail to Ed from his sexy employee, Ingrid. But that's not the end of it -- Lucy's twin boys, Benji and Phil, who run their own business installing software and designing websites for businesses, are spending their free time browsing porn sites. Oh yes -- Lucy is having a very bad day.

While Ed is away at a gamer's convention, Lucy decides to take control of her life that seems to be quickly unraveling. With a retreat to her father's old cabin at Little Lost Lake in Wisconsin, Lucy is certain to figure it all out. But Benji, Phil and Ed are in for some adventure of their very own....

I enjoyed this book a lot and thought it rang true about marriage and being a mom. Caroline Preston's writing style was very refreshing and made perfect sense. But there was something else about it that I can't quite pinpoint -- maybe it was the tone of a frustrated housewife that kept me turning pages. One thing is for sure: Lucy Crocker 2.0 is a journey of discovery. Readers will no doubt be glad they rode along.

This is a fun read -- perfect for the plane, beach, or rainy day. It's about marriage, motherhood, and redefining oneself. And just because it is fun, does not mean it cannot tackle big issues: the impact that technology has made in our lives, what happens after instant success, and the importance of self-discovery.

Caroline Preston has crafted a great story, tackling big issues with a light touch.

If you didn't see the ending to this story within the first 40 pages, you're in serious denial. This was the most contrived, laughably bad book I think I've read since Sweet Valley High. The stereotypes of the characters are sophomoric, and the storyline has been done, done, and redone. I read it like you watch an awful made-for-TV movie - it's so bad you can't tear yourself away. ugh.

I took this novel on an airplane to London with me, and even though I'm a white knuckle flyer, I didn't want the trip to end. In fact, I was laughing so hard the man next to me wrote down the title of the book! I loved the tantric massage, the mink farm, those adorably nerdy kids. Ms. Preston is a fabulous story teller and I rushed out and bought Jackie By Josie. Any reader is in for a real treat!

Being a guy, I don't usually venture into domestic fiction, but a female friend told me I absolutely had to read Lucy Crocker 2.0. And so I did, and oh, man. This woman, Caroline Preston, can really write. She's funny, the plot really moves along (tons faster than those "pot-boilers" you hear about, believe me), and I feel I really know her characters as people. So then I read her Jackie By Josie, and that's terrific, too. Why had I never heard of her? And when she's going to write another one? I can't wait!