Customer Reviews

Rescue from House Gorgeous

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
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I almost never write reviews, and I am even less in the habit of giving anything five stars, but this book deserves both. It is a refreshing, lone voice in the midst of a media that encourages us to believe that our homes are somehow reflections of ourselves. If you regularly read shelter magazines, make pilgrimages to your local Pottery Barn, and spend time looking for things to do with your glue gun, yet somehow never seem to measure up to domestic perfection, you need to read this. Dan Ho has written a book that challenges us to remember that a house is a place in which we care for ourselves and our loved ones, not a place where we care for the house. Read it, laugh, and question.

Rescue from House Gorgeous:

1) Deeply personal, brutally honest memoir
2) So funny your sides ache
3) Inspiring
4) Real
5) Genius

What are you spending your time, energy, and money on?

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you actually had time to have one outside of work?

When was the last time you spent free time having fun instead of maintaining your home, your garden, or your own appearance?

You don't have to have a near-death experience in order to radically re-prioritize life over style. All you have to do is read this book.

RESCUE FROM HOUSE GORGEOUS is a daring, improbable book that would probably have failed had it not been so brilliantly written by Dan Ho. It's screamingly funny AND poignant PLUS it has some of the best household self-help that has been written in twenty- five years. On one hand it could easily be two books - a Sedarisque jaunt and a do-it-yourself - but it is, thankfully, one fantastic read. Ho's storytelling is disarmingly casual - he literally talks to you - it is an intimate read. His observations and suggestions on how "lifestyle trappings" are so keen, they will change how you look at things and how you live your life. Bravo. Truly spectacular reading. Plus - thank God for a meaningful, intellectual survey of all the "crap" in house, garden & cuisine.

I'm a jaded New Yorker, prone to agree with the New York Times book reviews. They are out to lunch as far as I'm concerned if they don't mention Rescue from House Gorgeous. A "4-Step Rescue" inside of a narrative that rivals the best literary non-fiction recently published, Dan Ho's deceptively naieve venture is a triumph of social commentary on a widespread identity crisis that has been covered up (not so well, I might mention) by decor and cuisine. I imagine that this was NOT an easy book to write! But Ho did it. I do hope his book gets the adulation it deserves from the scribes that be.

I had read Dan's other book and couldnt wait to get my hands on this one. I laughed my head off. I didnt want the book to end and savored every minute of reading it.

To me, the star of this book is the author Dan Ho, even though "the rescue" is admirable. I've read a few blurbs here and there comparing Ho to David Sedaris - but there's no comparison really. Ho's strength (one that he lauds over Sedaris) is that he is completely - and I mean completely - accessible. A capable scribe, Ho is able to craft the moment even when rhythm could be "better?"--I guess what I mean by that is that his work literally has an audible quality, therefore it has a speaking cadence that underpins its literary qualities. Ho can write - there's no doubt about that.

Now, as far as why the subject of this book works: It's timely, and timeless. It's also extremely useful.

A final word on DH vs DS. Ho's interestING because he's interestED in his reader. His storytelling doesn't demand the not-so-witty-anymore-helpless-cynicism that assists a DS read.