Customer Reviews

Miss Understanding

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

 

 

While this novel stands alone, it can also be seen as a spin off of Lessing's successful first novel, She's Got Issues. Tales of two sisters: She's Got Issues follows shoe-obsessed fashionista Chloe Rose, while Miss Understanding follows slobby feminist Zoe Rose. Both books, each in their own way, also take a look into the underbelly of the fashion magazine world, focusing on the fictional Issues magazine.

Issues magazine is populated by a number of interesting characters: the ditzy "mental health editor" (read: advice columnist), the clueless fifty-year-old editor who dresses like she's twenty, and the classic evil-to-the-core boss, just to name a few. One of the country's premier women's magazines, Issues focuses on fashion, beauty, and all things superficial.

Owner and managing editor, Dan Princely brings Zoe Rose, formerly of The Radical Mind, on board as deputy editor because he knows the magazine is ready for a change. His staff, on the other hand, disagree.

Miss Understanding chronicles Zoe's quest to change the way women relate to each other--to, as she puts it, "raid the locker room of the female psyche and rip open the frilly facade of femininity once and for all" --using Issues (newly renamed Miss Understanding: A Girl's Guide to Girls) as her platform.

The clash between feminism and the desire to be feminine is at the heart of this zany novel. Through Zoe, Lessing asks a number of difficult questions about what it means to be a woman today and why exactly women fight among themselves instead of helping each other to reach the top. The novel, while entertaining, does little to provide solutions to those problems.

And, even more unfortunately, Zoe's over-the-top hypochondria and other neuroses take away both from her ability to affect solutions in that fictional world and from readers' ability to relate to her as a protagonist.

A magazine veteran, Stephanie Lessing worked as Copy Chief for Mademoiselle before becoming a freelancer for Bride's, Glamour, Self, Vanity Fair, and Vogue among others. Her first novel, She's Got Issues, was published in 2005.

Armchair Interviews says: Miss Understanding is a fun, quirky book, but don't expect too much from it.

A neurotic hypochondriac, Zoe Rose is her own woman. Ever since witnessing the cruelty of girls toward each other in kindergarten, she has studied behavior between girls and women. As an adult, she seizes an opportunity to spread her message of treating each other right. She believes women will make better strides in the world if they support rather than sabotage each other.

As a new editor at a popular women's magazine, Zoe shakes up the trendy crew with a new name for the publication, and a fresh perspective on content. Her brother-in-law's mother bands with longtime staffers to undermine the new efforts.

Zoe doesn't care what people think about her lack of style, sudden weight gain, or eating habits. In fact, an old friend is solidly on her side. What she does care about is that the wonderful medium of a best-selling magazine can do some good in the world, if it isn't irretrievably sabotaged. Why can't some people understand that she just wants to save the world's women from each other?

While the idea for this story an endearing premise, it falls far short of expectations. Zoe is a difficult character to enjoy. Between obsessing over germs, pregnancy tests, and trying to make women treat each other nice, she comes across as snarky, insensitive, and too full of herself. For being so smart, she is incredibly oblivious to the pregnancy that is obvious to everyone else, and her article/spread ideas are only mildly inspired. Rambling dialogue further slows the plot, threatening to loss the reader's interest. The multiple group discussions (magazine staff meetings) are difficult to follow at times, as well.

Although the author's message was well meaning, the read itself was something of a disappointment.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
10/20/2006

Publisher Dan Princely thinks highly of his sister-in-law's concept to renovate Issues magazine from its non cerebral past of shoes and shopping to focus on female empowerment. He hires his wife's sister sartorial-phobic Zoe Rose to revamp the magazine.

The under 5 foot under 100 pounds dynamo Zoe changes the name from Issues to MISS UNDERSTANDING, but fails to sell the staff with the concept of an unentertaining how to get ahead "technical" manual. The staff loathes the concept and detests the aggressive Naopleanette. Separately each vows to destroy Zoe and get royal Dan to fire the royal pain in the butt. Soon battle lines are drawn between the stylish staff and Dan's queen mother vs. the ranting anti frilly Zoe supported solely by her as righteous sibling Chloe.

Satirical though humorless, MISS UNDERSTANDING focuses on the war between the "always right morally correct" (in their minds) and "my way or the highway puerile" (sort of sounds like the political parties). As the attacks on Zoe rise, she turns even more obstinate and self indulgent claiming the moral high ground while her enemies become more vindictive, which embellishes the spiral as no one heard of compromise and consensus. Fans of out of control office war character studies will want to read Stephanie Lessing's sequel to SHE'S GOT ISSUES as this time the sister has the issues.

Harriet Klausner

Miss Understanding takes places in the offices of Issues Magazine, but this
time, Zoe, the sister of the main character in "She's Got Issues" is the main
focus of the book. Zoe is a feminist who wants to change the way women think.
Unfortunately, she can't quite make it happen at a place like Issues. There is
a lot of back-biting and competition among the editors and Zoe is determined to
keep going and try to give the magazine a more literary feel. Along the way,
she has issues with her sister's mother-in-law, the owner of the magazine. She
also has issues with every single one of the employees of the magazine. She
can't get along with her boyfriend either. She's also a hypochondriac and
there's something else wrong with her as well, but you'll have to read the book
to find out. In the end, Zoe doesn't quite fulfill her goals for the magazine
but she gets something even better for all her efforts. This is a much smarter
book than She's Got Issues with a much more complicated main character. The
same humor shines through but this time there is a lot more to think about.
Readers looking for airhead chick-lit won't find it here. Miss Understanding
deals with serious issues in a comedic way and I thoroughly enjoyed it and
recommend it to anyone looking for a fun book with a serious message about women
in the workplace.

I picked up Stephanie Lessing's Miss Understanding in an airport, hoping for a quick, light read. I chose it because the protagonist, Zoe Rose, was portrayed as a feminist on the back cover blurb. I enjoyed the movie version of "The Devil Wears Prada" and thought it would be fun to see how a feminist takes on a fashion magazine in an unapologetically chick-lit story.

Oh my God, did I feel defrauded. Zoe is not a feminist. Zoe describes her co-workers at the fashion magazine based largely on their looks. She speculates about the editor-in-chief's apparent revulsion towards an employee whose pants are too tight with this witticism: "He probably can't bear to see a vagina choking to death any more than the next guy." The big gag for chapter three is that Zoe, who is bra-less because she broke the clasp of her brassiere in a morning romp with her conservative boyfriend, winds up with a breast exposed during her first editorial meeting. Ha ha ha. Women's bodies are so funny. Reminds me of the underlying (undermining) message of the old Young Miss "Was My Face Red" column.

I put Miss Understanding down on my tray table at that point, preferring to listen to the screaming baby behind me rather than try to lose myself in such a mean and outdated book.

While MISS UNDERSTANDING is riotously funny at times (one chapter about her first day of school had me nearly in tears, I laughed so hard), the joke just plain got too complicated and too old. This is one of few books that I didn't bother to finish. It just stopped being funny, and I have a long list of books to move on to.

I'll give this book two stars, for being mildly entertaining and an easy read to pass the time. However, overall- I think it was kind of disappointing.

After reading the overview on the back of the book, it seemed like a good idea and a great story- The feminist who remembers how painful it was to be made fun of as a child over her appearance (and her childhood friend being laughed at for wearing the same dress every day) goes to work at a fashion magazine with a message to women to stop tearing each other down, and placing so much of our value on the way we look.

Unfortunately, the characters just seemed way over the top, and not believable at all. I found Zoe, the main character kind of hard to believe with her hypochondria, and the descriptions of what she wore to work (ok, I know she doesn't care about how she looks, but long underwear, sweat socks with ballet slippers, and the way she was dressed in the salon were a bit ridiculous.) Not to mention the pregnancy she supposedly wasn't aware of. Her being so deathly afraid of pregnancy while doing nothing at all to prevent it? Not buying it. The hardcore feminist paired up with a die-hard Republican boyfriend being a match made in heaven was pretty hard to buy, too.

Her sister's character, Chloe was also over the top and sounded pretty dumb and ditzy. Her co-workers at the magazine seemed like a real motley crew, or something out of a bad sit-com. And some of the titles for articles she came up with, "Why Some Women Eat Their Makeup"? Please. I understand trying to poke fun at the fashion industry, as well as how silly some fashion magazine articles are, but C'mon!

Even the office cattiness, attempts to sabotage Zoe, and how quickly they found out were hard to believe.

I think so much more could have been done with this concept, but this book came across as just silly.

Zoe Rose isn't a typical girl. Ever since the little girls in kindergarten tormented her for not sharing her "Annie" wig (it was her own hair), she has been fascinated with girl behavior. She's spent her life trying to understand what makes a normal girl and why they're cruel to the girls who don't understand the rules. And who exactly sets those rules? Now she's been hired as the editor of Issues magazine, a bastion of all that is girly and fashionista and she's made it her crusade to reform women, starting with the readers of this notorious magazine. Can Zoe help Issues readers stop being girls who behave badly toward other girls, and turn them into a strong, united force of women that succeed in the male-dominated world? And will she finally understand what it means to be a girl?

Starting with the question "What would happen if a left-wing, radical feminist was suddenly appointed deputy editor of an ultra-girly fashion magazine," Stephanie Lessing's Miss Understanding looks at the world of fashion from a slightly different angle. It's a refreshing break from mainstream chick lit, although the bitchiness factor is very high between the staff at Issues.

The conflict within Miss Understanding comes from the tension between fashion and feminism, representing the fight many women feel played out within their daily lives. Does Miss Understanding answer the questions Lessing raises? The short answer is no. The long answer is that she raises some important questions and she may help some readers start some inner reflection. This reader found Zoe's psychosomatic illnesses detracted from Lessing's key messages but that does not undermine the pure enjoyment factor of Miss Understanding.

Stephanie Lessing is a former Copy Chief at Mademoiselle, and has freelanced for Mademoiselle, Vogue, Glamour, Vanity Fair, Conde Nast Traveler, and Self. Miss Understanding is her second novel.

It's often said that "clothes make the man (or woman)." But Zoe, the lead character in this funny and powerful novel, has a different take on the issue than most of us are used to encountering. She's the sister of Chloe, the main character in Lessing's last novel, She's Got Issues, and Zoe is definitely the opposite of her shoe-obsessed sibling. For Zoe's about to unleash a feminine revolution!

Her ideas pivot around debunking society's devastating effect on girls who don't look or dress pretty. How will she do it? She'll empower these traumatized girls into owning the fact that dressing (and acting as well as thinking) differently from everyone else is a statement of individuality that can plummet them into success in whatever relationship or situation that arises!

Zoe is weird, spunky, incredibly funny, and not afraid to confront any brick wall that threatens to obstruct her visionary goals. But what she hasn't counted on occurring are the opposition of her own sister and the nasty behavior of a jealous and angry co-worker, not to mention the antagonism of her boss's mother (who just happens to be Chloe's mother-in-law, ahem!).

The antics start out seemingly silly but then flesh out into a full-fledged war that first degenerates and then turns into a most unlikely soft touch that transforms everyone involved. Ah, what could it be? You won't want to make plans for evenings while you're reading this novel. Yet you will be both sad that the story's over and yet so happy about the unexpected ending you meet as you turn the last page.

Chick lit is changing! It's got plenty of light, fun-hearted laughs still but is beginning to get some meat over it's plot-driven bones! Congratulations, Stephanie Lessing - you're helping the genre acquire some definite, sophisticated class!

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on January 12, 2007

Reviewed by A.J. Cooper for Reader Views (11/06)

"Miss Understanding" is about two sisters, one trying to make it in main stream fashion writing as a deputy editor for a major magazine, and the second already a writer for the same major fashion magazine. Zoe, the writer trying to make it in main stream fashion writing, is trying to write about real women and their real problems. She is quirky and has her own unique style that does not conform to any fashion trend except her own. Her sister Chloe, who already writes for a major magazine and is married to the editor, is working hard to get her sister to be fashionable and wear the appropriate clothes for her first day as the new deputy editor for the magazine. Chloe goes to Zoe's house and goes through all of her clothes to try and find something for Zoe to wear. She ends up wearing a men's shirt on her first day that she rips and also does not wear a bra and ends up exposing herself to the staff of the magazine. A little too much going on that doesn't really seem plausible.

"Miss Understanding" reminds me so much of other books, a television show and a major movie. Parts of the ideas for the book are inventive and sometimes funny. I did not find the book believable when Zoe is pregnant and does not realize that fact. I found most of the book to be expected and no great surprises. I think if you are looking for a quick read to pass the time it may be of some interest. It probably gives a view of how fashion magazines are run and the competition to get ahead or predict the current trends. Chloe the writing sister decides she wants to take a break from the magazine and starts going on crazy trips and trying crazy things that she would never have considered before. It shows how two sisters can be so different yet are still concerned about how each lives and careers proceed forward. It was a very quick read for me and I would definitely not read it again.

Received book free of charge.