Customer Reviews

The Men's Guide to the Women's Bathroom

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

 

 

Claire St. John is a divorced attorney who splits from her high-profile New York life when she learns that her husband is having an affair. Moving back to her hometown of Austin, Texas, Claire decides to give up her life as an attorney and instead decides to take up life as a novelist--an unemployed, inexperienced novelist. Her topic of choice: a self-help novel for men that will help them understand the mystery that is the women's restroom. Somewhere along the way, she meets Jake Armstrong, an organic food distributor who just might be the man to help Claire believe in love again. Along with her hilarious cast of friends, Claire tries to navigate the dating life, establishing her new career, and getting over her ex.

In The Men's Guide to the Women's Bathroom, Jo Barrett attempts to answer the age old question that has plagued men for years, "What exactly goes on in the women's bathroom?" The answer is simple. Everything. Bad date? The bathroom is where women go to make a sneak call to their friends informing them of the catastrophe. Bad day? The bathroom is where women sneak in a mid-day cry before heading back to the office. For any and all emotions, the women's bathroom is the place where we can find sanctuary, a place for peace when the world seems filled with chaos. Jo Barrett has captured the essence of the women's bathroom and placed it in the context of a fun, lighthearted chick lit novel that was a joy to read and entertaining to boot.

Laugh-out-loud (LOL)! There is something to smile about--or chuckle over--on every page!

The prose is light and fun, the characters amusing and often ironic, and the plot thickens. I think this is this novelist's first book--and it appears she has a bright future!

This book also would make a good gift for girlfriends (and boyfriends!).

This book was fun to read and is actually more for women who enjoy a little comic relief now and then. It is well written too. I read it very quickly which means it keep my interest. I highly recommend this book for women.

Despite being the latest darling of the chick lit craze, Barrett's book suffers from a major flaw in characterization. Namely, how was Claire intelligent enough to get through law school despite suffering from such a woefully inept sense of humor and an inability to employ her brain beyond matters of choosing the right lipstick for landing herself a man? More troublesome than the sheer banality of these books is the way sassy one-liners have become a kind of shorthand in women's fiction for independent female identity.

This is a light, fast paced and breezy chick lit book that I enjoyed reading. I loved that on every page there is something to chuckle and giggle about. The main character, Claire, was really easy to relate to because I think there's so much of her in every women. She's just one of many great characters in the book.

I haven't read anything by Jo Barrett, but now I plan on reading her next book.

If yall ever lived in Dallas or Houston, or knew someone who did have actual Big Texas Hair, well then I recon you oughtta be readimg this here novel. If you know the difference between Red Neck and Red Mcombs, then this page turner is fer you. Hummers. houseboats, oil money, Austin; this is a Texas tall tale thru amd thru. And just like all true stories, it actually had to happen to be true.

I read the other reviews, and see points in the negative ones. However, that said - this isn't intended to be anything other than light fun and a great laugh. I can't speak for what the author intended it to be, but that's how I took it. If you pick this book up because you flat need a good laugh, then you will get your money's worth. The author does have some interesting takes and phrases on stuff that has been said over and over, and I found myself sending emails to my gal pals with some of the lines from the book. I mean come on, who can't relate to the Veggie and the Carb friends? What a great look at it.

So, if you want to be entertained and have some good belly laughs, but don't expect to be enlightened or read something that stays with you for days while you figure out all the twists and turns, then this book is for you. Enjoy.

Claire St. John, recently moved back to Texas from New York after a painful divorce, has a breakthrough one drunken evening: she's going to write a book for men about what goes on in the ladies' room. The book will be filled with practical advice for the more clueless members of the species. The Men's Guide to the Women's Bathroom, the novel, is pretty much your standard chick lit, with the requisite cliches: the love interest, the gay best friend, and the nutty mother.

There's nothing here that really distinguishes this book from all the other tripe that's published today. Nothing is fresh or new or exciting. The humor is canned, and the writing style is childish. This book really isn't worth the time or the money you might otherwise spend on it.

New York based divorce lawyer Claire St. John decides to leave the Big Apple and her high paying job to return to her hometown Austin, Texas after catching her spouse cheating on her. Claire vows no more men in her life and considers writing a book based on the best advice column in the world: the women's bathroom.

Planning to heed the guidance of the strangers written reverently on the walls to avoid male jerks, Claire quickly gets rid of Manhattan mush as her friends and family welcome her back and her mom gives her a rent free home. However, there is one problem in her campaign the "Year of the Claire" that surfaces upon her reverting back to Longhorn status; she is attracted to organic food business mogul Jake Armstrong, but her salsa mouth keeps getting in the way.

This is a whimsical chick lit tale as the heroine's approach to life, relationships, and love seem inane especially when one considers she was a successful Manhattan divorce attorney. Still sub-genre fans will enjoy this lighthearted romp as you can take the Texan out of Texas, but cannot take the Texas out of the Texan as the moment Claire returns from that foreign land across the Hudson, she reacclimatizes amidst her friends, family, and Jake.

Harriet Klausner