Patty Jane's House of Curl [Import] [Paperback]

Lorna Landvik (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Virago Press Ltd; New Ed edition (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1860491561
• ISBN-13: 978-1860491566
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (138 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Lorna Landvik is also the author of the bestselling Your Oasis on Flame Lake and Patty Jane's House of Curl. She has worked as an actor, a comedian, and a speed typist in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. She lives with her husband, two daughters, and their dog, Petunia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful, Heartwarming Story, July 16, 2000

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patty Jane's House of Curl (Mass Market Paperback)

Patty Jane's House of Curl is the story of two Minnesota sisters, Patty Jane and Harriet and their struggles with love, loss and adversity in the 1950's and 60's. The story begins as Patty Jane marries the best looking man in town, Thor Rolvaag. Within the year, Thor disappears leaving Patty Jane pregnant, miserable and penniless. With the help of her sister, Harriet, Patty Jane goes to beauty school and opens the House of Curl, an amazing beauty parlor with live harp music, Norwegian pastries and the love and support of good friends and clients. This is a novel that draws you into the lives of remarkable people and keeps you rooting for them to the very last page. Ms Landvik's writing is crisp and witty with a wonderful ear for dialogue and her scenes vivid and true to life. A novel about life at its best and worst, written with insight, wisdom and humor, Patty Jane's House of Curl will make you laugh and cry and appreciate the strong bonds of family and friends.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am happy my friend recommended this book!, March 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Patty Jane's House of Curl (Mass Market Paperback)

I love books about quirky women and this book told funny anecdotes and sad stories about 2 sisters and their circle of friends. It reminded me of sitting in Truvy's Beauty Shop in Steel Magnolias. I would like to meet her characters and eat some of the Norwegian pastries that Patty Jane's served. I ordered her next book today and can not wait to read it.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Folksy antidote to Bridget Jones-dom, March 20, 2000

By 

Carol S. (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Patty Jane's House of Curl (Ballantine Reader's Circle) (Paperback)

What is it about novels set in the midwest, with mostly women characters, that makes me want to use words like "folksy" and "homespun"? This novel is the story of 2 sisters who live in Minnesota - their lives, loves and losses. And boy, do they have plenty of losses! The overall feel of the book is bittersweet; just when a character manages to achieve some level of happiness, WHAM! Fate intervenes and knocks them down. Depending on your attitude toward life, you may find this either incredibly depressing or very true-to-life. I must admit I was a little misty by the last chapter of the book. If you like female bonding, small-town America, nostalgia, and are ready for a change of pace from single-young-woman, urban, obsessed-with-one's-weight-and-lovelife Bridget Jonesdom, this book will provide an affecting, earnest, sometimes touching antidote. Just don't expect a totally happy ending; this book certainly isn't depressing enough to qualify as an Oprah selection, but a healthy dose of heartbreak is administered along with the Toni perms.