The Parker Grey Show [Mass Market Paperback]

Kristen Buckley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

Tune into the premiere of one of the funniest novels of the season. Kristen Buckley takes readers into the little-watched-but soon-to-be prime time-life of TV junkie Parker Grey...with no commercial interruptions.

When she isn't waiting tables, Parker Grey doesn't have much to do except watch reruns of her favorite medical drama and fantasize about its star. In fact, sometimes she feels like her life is one big TV show-one she'd channel-surf right past. But now Parker's roommate, Lil, has disappeared. Knowing she's a lot better at watching drama than creating it, Parker turns to TV for help. Inspired by the sexy star of "La Femme Nikita," she takes to the streets of Manhattan. To find Lil. And to start writing a whole new script for her life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this zany debut novel by the Hollywood screenwriter who wrote the script for How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, fey, totally clueless free spirit Parker Grey is a burned-out, disenchanted young classical guitar virtuoso lately rather ignominiously employed as a waitress in a New York City saloon long renowned as the watering hole of assorted legendary glitterati. Destitute and on the rebound from an abusive four-year-long relationship with a loser addicted to prescription drugs, Parker is taken in by her best friend, Lil, who lives in a 4,000-square-foot loft in Tribeca owned by Lil's father. Romantically adrift, Parker watches tapes of a hospital soap opera and fantasizes romance with the star, a hunk named M. Lil is the mistress of a well-known billionaire whom she refers to anonymously as Mr. Smith. Mistaken for Smith's daughter, Lil is kidnapped and held for ransom. Smith-afraid his wife will divorce him and take his money if she discovers he has a mistress-asks Parker to act as go-between with the kidnappers. The ensuing comedy of errors becomes even more complicated when Parker's boss discovers her musical talents and dreamboat M starts hanging around the bar where she works. Then, out of the blue, the producer of the movie M is making decides to use Lil's loft for a scene in the film on the afternoon Parker has to deliver the ransom money. Snappy, savvy and fast-moving, this is addictive beach reading for the Sex in the City set.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Brilliant! Hilarious! Irreverent! Parker Grey is the mouth-piece for the Anti-'It Girl' establishment." -- Simon Doonan, author of Confessions of a Window Dresser

Funny, feisty, and full of life - this charming novel will reaffirm your belief that 'happy ever after' is actually possible. -- Jillian Medoff, author of Good Girls Gone Bad

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade; 1ST edition (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425191095
• ISBN-13: 978-0425191095
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,629,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kristen Buckley...

- Grows up on the mean streets of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Oldest of four siblings, the younger three all adopted from Korea (incidentally all three terrible at math thus debunking the 'brilliant Asian' stereotype). Other siblings include an older step-sister, Stacie and Becky The Runaway who sought refuge after nearly being sexually assaulted by the chimpanzee Mr. Jiggs, from whom she was renting a room.

- At 12, develops a nasty case of Plantar Warts on the soles of her feet. Unable to attend Karate class; begins playing guitar. Takes lessons from step-mother's cousin, John Pizzarelli.

- Spends entire adolescence playing guitar and running amok with her siblings. Activities include: Nightly raids of local fruit orchards, 'borrowing' parents car (sans license) to procure liquor with step-sister's driver's license; Cutting school on a weekly basis (to home study); Holding large parties in the basement while trying to convince her mother that the noise that woke her was actually the tv.

- Relationship with Pizzarelli sours when he threatens to 'call the cops' over a misunderstanding involving a crappy old borrowed amplifier.

- Avoids jail by returning amplifier.

- Allegedly attends High School in Jersey, but cuts out daily to crash afternoon theory and improv classes at LaGuardia School of Music and Art in NYC. Takes private lessons with Sal Salvador (legend to all who knew him). Also attends Manhattan School of Music Pre-College on weekends.

- Moves to NYC at 18. Rents a room in the horrific Hotel Greystone. Neighbors include a woman who fries fish at all hours of the night and several devout Buddhists whose repetitive 'nameyorengeyo' chant causes her walls to vibrate.

-Attends Manhattan School of Music and after a year, promptly drops out.

-Ekes out an existence as a musician, playing local bars, etc. Works as a waitress at the White Horse Tavern to make ends meet.

-Unable to embrace the starving musician lifestyle, quits playing and returns to school. Attends Hunter College. Plans to graduate in three years and attend Law School (mother overjoyed).

-Is fired from White Horse Tavern for napping on the job.

-Manages only to attend Professor Leoff's Romantic Poetry Class. Takes her cue from Romantics; quits school and begins writing. Concerned mother plans intervention.

-With no degree, and no marketable skills to speak of, manages to find work in the film business. Begins as an intern, moves up the ranks (an epic story for another day) until she sells first screenplay (mother delights as procurement of health benefits).

-Co-writes How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days and 102 Dalmatians.

-Desperate for more control over her writing, writes The Parker Grey Show.

-Three years later Tramps Like Us: A Suburban Confession emerges.

-Currently lives in Los Angeles where she continues screenwriting while working on her next book.

-

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing entry to Chic Lit, January 15, 2004

By 

"kish1998" (Jacksonville, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Parker Grey Show (Mass Market Paperback)

Finally a book that isn't cookie cutter Chic Lit. Don't get me wrong, when I discovered the genre, I bought every book I could get my hands on. My book shelves are brimming over... Some are keepers and the others...well, I wish I could get my money back.

I decided to give Chic Lit another try and The Parker Grey Show was a pleasant suprise. Yes, she is a woman recovering from a bad relationship, but there is so much more. This book is more philosophical and has a deeper message. I personally connected with Parker's frustration regarding the direction of her life. Her words also allowed me to envision the colorful mural created in the loft. If my walls were bare, I might try something similar!

It was nice not read a predictable ending... I borrowed the book from the library, but I'm definitely going to buy a copy to add to my collection.

My recommendations for enjoyable Chic Lit authors are:
Marian Keyes, Wendy Holden, Jane Green (Jemima J is the best), Adele Lang, Sophie Kinsella (Just the first two in the series) and of course Helen Fielding. If you want something different, I have also ventured into mystery. One funny series about an "Erin Brockovich" type of slueth is Sarah Strothmeyer's "Bubbles" series.

Happy Reading!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Fabulous--A Must Read!!, July 5, 2003

By 

"lizeeee" (Chestnut Hill, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Parker Grey Show (Mass Market Paperback)

For anyone who loves a happy ending, needs a good laugh or has daydreamed of a television-fabulous life, The Parker Grey Show is a must read! Parker and her small group of friends are smart, cheeky, quirky and hysterical, as they yearn for excitement and drama in their everyday lives. Parker's inner monologue, her daydreams (and day-nightmares) are tongue in cheek, real and refreshing. Her escapades, as she struggles to make decisions on the path of rediscovery, are strange, wild and fun. She reminds us all to let our hair down, have fun...and get what we want!

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't Change the Channel, October 25, 2007

By 

Eric A. Klee "eak321" (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Parker Grey Show (Mass Market Paperback)

Although "The Parker Grey Show" is probably dubbed as "chick lit," it's really just a light, easy read into the life of a young New York City woman trying to make it on her own. She doesn't know what to do with her life, is bored with trying to make ends meet as a musician, and lives for her favorite TV show, MEDS, which stars a man, M, whom she can't get out of her mind.

The author of the novel, Kristen Buckley, has a knack for setting the mood of every scene. And her observations are witty and dead-on: "Kinko's is a strange place, populated by odd people obsessed with collation, paper grade, and copier imaging. Strange as they are, I admire their commitment to the process." The characters feel so fleshed out that I can definitely see this as a possible network TV sitcom one day. Parker herself is a true waitress; her thoughts, her feelings, her actions, and her apathy. I found Parker, the character, very likable in that she's not a bad person. She says so herself: "If the tip sucks, I'll be forced to steal from the bar, and I really hate to do that because basically, deep down, I'm an honest person." It's a thought that goes through the minds of all young servers, whether they care to admit it or not. It's evident that Ms. Buckley has been a server in her own time, as she truly captures the spirit of being a waiter/waitress, much like the movies Waitress (Widescreen) and Waiting... (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition).

The novel is a tale of finding oneself and, thankfully, by novel's end, Parker does. Everything is wrapped up in a neat little package, complete with bow. Maybe a bit too neat and complete for "real" life, as the moment that defines her and changes her outlook seems a bit over-the-top and silly (her roommate is kidnapped and she must save her), but the story is lighthearted and enjoyable nonetheless.

Lastly, without giving away too much, as the novel came to a close, I appreciated the multiple meanings of the title. It was a nice touch, and something unexpected. This is definitely a "beach read" book or something to pick up your spirits on a rainy day. And, hopefully, one day...a sitcom. There's a lot to be enjoyed watching The Parker Grey Show.