Customer Reviews

A Model Summer

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a must read! You cannot put it down! If you have ever wondered what really happens in the modelling world, then you must pick this up! Paulina Porizkova is honest, witty, clever and a compelling storyteller! Great read!

I read an article on Poritzkova a few months ago where she was talking up the release of this book, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. So when I saw it on Amazon, I ordered it right away. After finishing it in 2 days, I have to say it was 'candy for the senses'-- and great at that-- but the ending left me with too many questions, and a kind of 'Is this it?!' feeling; so many loose ends. With that said, the writing style was gratefully more than your standard chick lit. However, one can only read about so many alcohol-infused evenings and partner-switches before the book becomes a little boring.

"A Model Summer" follows Jirina, an insecure, vulnerable fifteen-year old thrown into a very adult world that she doesn't know how to handle. And yes, Paulina is a super famous model writing about that world, but there's a lot more to this book.

What I loved were the fast pace - from the moment she gets off the plane in Paris she is thrown into one situation after another, the interesting and well-drawn secondary characters, and above all, Jirina.
Most of us don't become models when we're fifteen or grow up so suddenly, but we remember (or still feel) the alienation, the helplessness of being in love, and the insecurities that Jirina faces.
She's so richly developed as a character that her humiliations and her rare moments of triumph become your own.

This book was an incredible read. It was gritty, raw and uncomfortably honest. Porizkova definitely has a way with words. Her style is blunt and vulnerable, confident and romantic.

I couldn't help but become fully submerged in the world she created. A world where I fell in love with her muse, Jirina, a model stumbling through the streets of Paris. Once an innocent 15 year old girl, Jirina is forced to remold herself into a street wise woman for survival and success in the cruel modeling world.

Cheers to Porizkova. What an impressive literary debut.

A great, fictionalized behind-the-scenes look at the modeling industry and the effect it can have on a young, pretty girl thrust into a very adult world. Porizkova does a great job of taking the reader through the experiences of an awkward young woman trying to find herself as she is picked apart and struggling to survive on her own in Paris in the 80s. The voice is authentic, very introspective and filled with emotion and angst. The heroine's journey is at turns exhilarating and anguishing, and you'll be eager to turn the page to find out what happens next. A fantastic read!

While I think the book is nicely written and well-paced, I think it lacked when it came to Jirina and the ending. I liked Jirina because she seemed like a smart and interesting character. However, as the book goes on, she does things that simply do not match her in the beginning. There are too many contradictions with her, as much as I like her. That brings me to the ending. There are too many questions left unanswered? Did she keep the baby (because towards the end of the book it just mentions her future trips, smoking while pregnant, etc.)? Is she getting back with Rob? Why bring up Emmanuel's sickness when it did not have any significance in the plot? Did she learn anything from the loss of Hugo, besides grief? I was hoping she would stop doing drugs, stop being promiscuous and straighten up a bit, but there was no clear indication that she would. Despite the ending and character development, I did very much enjoy the novel, especially since it's Porizkova's first attempt. I hope she does another novel with Jirina, hopefully to see her doing well. It's a good read despite it's shortcomings, all in all.

I remember being fascinated by Paulina in her model heyday--when she was on the cover of every magazine, was witty on talk shows, and gave a good performance in a movie (Anna). It seemed incredible that someone could be so beautiful and talented and glamorous and still seem likable and down to earth. So I must admit that I read this book looking for an inside peek into her real life. Whether or not it's all fiction or shows some glimpses into her real life experiences it's still a quick and entertaining read. I'm not surprised that she turned out to be a talented writer too.

First novels are hard; the common wisdom is that an author needs to burn through a million words of fiction before they are considered a professional. Novels written in the first person are harder; the constraints this perspective puts on the thoughts and emotions displayed are daunting to even the most seasoned authors. And novels where the main character is a teenager are some of the hardest to write; could you adequately convey the turmoil of your teenage years, let alone someone else's? Paulina Porizkova attacks all three of these with A Model Summer and, unfortunately, falls short.

In what is presumably a partially autobiographical work, A Model Summer follows fifteen year old Jirina Radovanovicova on her first summer in Paris working as a novice supermodel. While there, she encounters insecurity, selfishness, love, loss, indecision, and that cocaine cannot be added to water to create a tasty beverage. The scenes depicting the model shoots are well written, providing the reader with a realistic look at what goes into the creation of all that populates high fashion. Drawing upon her years of supermodel experience, Porizkova shines when writing about a topic she knows intimately. Unfortunately, she falls into the novice writer's trap of failing to convey her main character's faults. Jirina, despite her elucidated flaws, still comes across as too perfect. Readers are grabbed by moments of adversity or even terror, but no lasting impression is left on them or on the main character. Jirina's late-night encounter with a drunken Italian is scary, but is resolved with a simple, "The door held," and she comes out of it unchanged. The scene of her losing her virginity powerfully communicates the expected awkwardness and confusion, but then it's over. When Jirina is kicked out of her apartment because of her roommate's betrayal of trust against the family they live with, she lands on her feet with nary a consequence. Even when she must deal with profound events of life and death, Jirina comes across as oblivious to the lasting effects such episodes have had on her. The Jirina presented at the end of the novel is the same Jirina introduced at the beginning, only with a larger portfolio and bank account, a habit for some predictable vices, and a plot twist that other reviewers here have spoiled, but which I will not. Porizkova would have been better off writing a straight memoir, taking the modeling scenes and building a breezy narrative solely around them instead of tackling such an ambitious endeavor as a first person novel about a fifteen year old.

Paulina Porizkova is, however, clearly passionate about writing, which can only work to her benefit. All of the weaknesses in A Model Summer are easily correctable with practice and some constructive introspection. Technical problems like inconsistent similes will disappear over time, especially if she avoids the first person view for a while. Practice will eventually eliminate flowery scenes like Jirina's romantic encounter with Rob, which reads like a page from a stereotypical romance novel. And sooner or later, Porizkova will climb out of the novice writer's trap of making excuses for her characters and give them some real, lasting flaws.

I truly hope Paulina Porizkova continues honing her writing, and I look forward to reading many more future novels from her.

An extremely well-written book about an innocent girl named Jirina thrust into an uncaring, precarious industry. Having modeled in the 1980's, I was struck by the accuracy, the ability to describe the fashion world, and its effect on young girl's life in only one summer. Concise, moving, and really funny--I highly recommend this book to mothers considering a modeling career for the young daughters and to ALL teenager girls. Riveted, I could not put it down.

Very unusual. Would put girls off modelling forever, which is a good thing
I found it a little depressing, but enjoyed it. I did learn a lot about taking drugs, or NOT! However, at my age other things give me more pleasure. I would certainly not let any daughter of mine loose on Paris at 15!