Reminiscent of the works of Philip Roth, this brilliant and harrowing portrait of loveless modernity--written by the author of "Sweet Desserts"--mixes satire, tragedy, and tsunamis into a shocking, potent brew.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Eloise is on a fervent retreat from mankind--greedy, cruel, and worthless species that it is. She would, however, very much like a man. "On a scale of human suffering," Lucy Ellmann asserts, her heroine's "celibacy was of little account. But in an ideal world it would be recognized as the tragedy it was. This, in a woman who from the age of five suspected she wanted more sex than she would ever get." Alas, Eloise's temporary crushes on her mover, a gardener (not even her own), and the neighbor's architect have resulted only in disappointment and a criminal waste of lipstick. Her real obsession remains George, an American she had an affair with on a New England holiday six years earlier. But after she returned to England, the relationship eventually fizzled and she is now condemned to a life of misanthropy and felines. She is also on a furious letter-writing and list-making streak. In one lengthy roster she assesses social (i.e., "damaging") encounters according to the recovery time they require. In another, she explains "HOW EVERYTHING WRONG WITH THE WORLD IS MEN'S FAULT," including whistling ("Men are forever announcing their presence with this territorial tunelessness") and male nipples ("Borrowed jewelry for a chest that is too flat. They even stuck nipples on their medieval armour! Ridiculous. Insane.").
Unbeknownst to Eloise, her long-lost lover is actually in England, on a creative-writing sinecure that is only making his own writing--an ill-fated script and an ice-hockey-fixated epic--worse, not to mention turning him Anglophobic. As far as George is concerned, the British are video-crazed, sex-avoiding, and deeply narcissistic. For one thing, "most of Benjamin Britten's (incredible) reputation here's due to his name being BRITTEN." When these star-crossed lovers finally meet again in Connemara--along with a giant-vegetable-growing burglar and letter bomber; a man whose wife drowned while she was rescuing their pet ("It wasn't that their dog wasn't worth saving," he thinks, "a gentle fellow who never barked"); and various other misfits including three old ladies on a shoplifting spree--the results are spectacular. (Think Deep Impact, but on a smaller scale.) As Ellmann's third novel careens from the deadly serious (the Holocaust) to the deeply absurd (mangoes are better than men because they don't "lord it over everybody at committee meetings"), it may well exasperate some readers. Others, however, will be charmed by this fruitful, extreme concoction. --Kerry Fried
Review
It is an odd, comic and sometimes entrancing tale, one that grows both increasingly fantastic and increasingly ramshackle. Only toward the end, perhaps, will the reader begin to suspect its true nature, one that elevates the witty obsessions of the first part into a sorrowfulness between dream and madness. -- The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review, Richard Eder
Lucy Ellmann's third book is subtitled A Lament. That it is: a rambling, sometimes very funny rant about love and loneliness.... Ellmann, an American, makes her home in England, which is currently far more hospitable to her brand of literary experimentation than the United States. -- The New York Times Book Review, Lisa Zeidner
What keeps Man or Mango from devolving into a predictable portrait of an unhappy woman are Ms. Ellmann's raucous, bawdy sense of humor and her highly tuned radar for the absurdities of modern life.... The novel's shock ending, like its annoying interpolations, not only undercuts the poignancy and humor of Eloise's story but also coats the entire book with a pretentious gloss. In the end, it's a defensive strategy, not unlike Eloise's posture toward the world, that distracts attention from Ms. Ellmann's rich and very real talents. -- The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani
Lucy Ellmann's third book is subtitled A Lament. That it is: a rambling, sometimes very funny rant about love and loneliness.... Ellmann, an American, makes her home in England, which is currently far more hospitable to her brand of literary experimentation than the United States. -- The New York Times Book Review, Lisa Zeidner
What keeps Man or Mango from devolving into a predictable portrait of an unhappy woman are Ms. Ellmann's raucous, bawdy sense of humor and her highly tuned radar for the absurdities of modern life.... The novel's shock ending, like its annoying interpolations, not only undercuts the poignancy and humor of Eloise's story but also coats the entire book with a pretentious gloss. In the end, it's a defensive strategy, not unlike Eloise's posture toward the world, that distracts attention from Ms. Ellmann's rich and very real talents. -- The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dark and Twisted Humor,
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This review is from: Man or Mango? (Paperback)
Man or Mango is a twisted little book, full of dark and twisted humor--it's certainly not for everyone, but if you enjoy a bit of black comedy every now and then, you are sure to enjoy this terrific novel. The novel mainly concerns Eloise--a misanthropic recluse given to hilarious rants--and her former lover George, who is just ever so slightly more social than Eloise. The two are former lovers, haven't seen each other in years, and they each live in their separate worlds trying to avoid misery that company brings. Sounds miserable, but it's truly funny. As I said before, not for the faint of heart, but if you can take it, you'll love it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting read,
By A Customer
This review is from: Man or Mango? : A Lament (Hardcover)
This is a strange, quirky book by an incredibly talented author. The characters are wonderful, the most alive and unpredictable ones I've read in a long time. The structure of the book isn't traditional or intentionally satisfying, which is refreshing and frustrating at the same time. In all, though, it's quite an experience if just for the way she can turn a sentence.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A clever writing style,
By A Customer
This review is from: Man or Mango? (Paperback)
This book is great for those who like to think about what is going on. Lucy Ellman has a unique writting style that grabs your attention and puts you into the lives of her characters. At the end there is an ending you would not normally expect, but one that is thought to of brought the story to an end.
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