Customer Reviews

Slightly Single (Red Dress Ink paperback}

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Yes, it's typical. Slightly Single's heroine is a twentysomething single girl living in the City who is miserable with her entry-level ad position (or glorified secretary -- take your pick), overweight, and in love with a man who is commitment-phobic and just plain not-very-nice. There is nothing new here in this novel that I haven't read before. However, Wendy Markham's version of the City girl plight is fun to read, a perfect weekend or beach book, and her characters have just the right qualities for readers to either love them or hate them.

Our heroine, Tracey Spadolini, has finally made a life for herself in the Big City. Granted, it comes in the form of a crappy job and part-time boyfriend; however, Tracey is convinced it's all about to change for the better. Once Will, the actor-slash-boyfriend, returns from his summer job doing theatre in upstate New York, Tracey is certain he will be ready to commit and move in together. And while their summer apart definitely holds change in store, Tracey adds epiphanies into the bargain: about her relationship, her position in life and the woman she strives to be.

What I have come to expect from a Red Dress Ink novel is epitomized in Slightly Single. A very easy read; increasingly enjoyable with each turning page; and despite its predictability, its appeal kept me reading. No great frills in the writing style -- it's kept more conversational and relaxing -- and the plot does not punch and pop, but Wendy Markham has created a very relateable character, very human, with warts and all. And in her effort, has also created a fan in me.

Tracey is a single woman stuck in the hot city during the summer her actor boyfriend, Will, is in summer stock. What is a woman going to do while her boyfriend is gone? What ensues is a hilarious uptake on a single life in NYC. It is at best a light-hearted read ~~ perfect to take to the beach or the waiting room in a hospital ~~ and you'll relate to Tracey's dilemmas.

Tracey does what every woman does when the man she loves leaves ~~ lose weight, goes shopping and rediscover herself in the meantime. At least she didn't stay home all the time and wait for her man to call ~~ she went out. And when she discovered that her man isn't really her man after all, she goes over to her new guy friend's house and cries on his shoulders.

This is a really cute book ~~ I enjoyed the reading immensely though it's not made of "sterner" stuff ~~ who cares? It's a fun read and something to take along to the beach. I would read more of Markham's books!!

5-20-02

Slightly Single is great :) I enjoyed every page of this book! Like some of the other reviewers of Slightly Single have stated, I really related to this book's main character and the emotional baggage she carries around from a hideous boyfriend. Every woman, at some point in their lives, has had one. The man they thought the sun and moon rose & set over, who didn't care what happened to her as long as she still adored him. Other than just relating to the novel though, it's just a darn good read! I was amused at the shenanigans the main character Tracey kept getting herself into, and also I love that the novel doesn't end with a sappy fairytale ending where everyone is happy and blissful and fake (don't worry, I'm not giving anything away here!!) So if you're a 20 or 30 something woman looking for an entertaining novel to pass the time on a bus, train, vacation, or whatever, you'll like this book. It's a quick read that's funny. What more could you ask for?

Twenty-four years old Tracey Spedolini lives in a crummy New York efficiency. She works as a secretary in a crummy ad agency where her boss takes advantage of her. She is fifty pounds overweight and in love with a drop dead gorgeous wannabe actor.

After three years with Will, Tracey retains true, but Will rejects any commitment to her. He is doing summer stock in a small town, but refuses to allow Tracey to accompany him there. She is hurt but turns mortified when she finds herself attracted to Buckley, someone she met at a party. Tracey plans to have that confrontation discussion with Will and perhaps step out with the new man in her life.

SLIGHTLY SINGLE is a fascinating mainstream novel about a woman starving for love who lies to herself about her boyfriend. Readers will feel the doubts, denial, and discomfort that Tracey suffers from in her relationships with men. Wendy Markham provides an insightful tale about a nice person unable to stand up for herself when the male of the species is unkind to her.

Harriet Klausner

Too many authors lately are taking the plunge into writing 'chick lit' and coming up short since the hysterical book 'The Bridget Jones Diary' hit the screen. Not many have captured that witty, funny and touching dialog that made Bridget so popular, but alas, this one has.
Full of funny scenes enough to make you smirk and outright laugh with enough of a balance in it to make you ponder her problems seriously and hope for the best.
The 'perfect' chick lit to me is a funny yet touching account of a woman's life while she is in the middle of some sort of crossroads. Throw in a guy that she doesn't think is interested in her and another that she swoons over but lacks any potential and leave open for a happy or satisfying ending and I am a happy camper. 'Slightly Single' more than meets this mark...

~A horrible heat wave has struck Manhattan and Tracey Spadolini, a 24-year-old New York transplant is trying to get through the summer without her 'slightly significant other'. By that she means, her 'boyfriend' of 3 long years, but not officially.
Will is doing summer stock upstate and will return in September and they can pick up where they left off, or will he?
See, the problem is, Will, a struggling actor, with looks to kill and a body to drool over doesn't seem to see things the same way Tracey does. Vowing to change her life while he is gone and therefore entice Will and keep him hooked, Tracey tackles her un-airconditioned East Village apartment(barely East Village...closer to Jersey in fact), her deadend job, her nasty boss and her weight. With some help from her best friends(all very funny secondary characters)and a very attentive guy she practically ignores, she tackles becoming a new woman...all she has to do now is find out why Will hasn't called.

Tracy Talley~@

I wanted to like Slightly Single, really. However, Markham has not created a novel worth recommending, and Slightly Single adds nothing to the already deluged chick-lit genre -- and I really enjoy this genre. The main character, Tracey, spends the whole novel mooning over her absentee 'boyfriend', and basically engages in a 280 page whine-fest. Yes, I understand it's hard being away from the person you care about, but come on -- this genre is meant to offer escape and hope, not a detailing of a single girl's worst qualities. In addition, you don't receive any depth of detail about anything other than Tracey's broken heart. Character development through her job? Character development through her personal motivations on her self-improvement kick? Character development through her family? Character development in general? Sadly, no no no and no. Is Tracey really meant to be this superficial, in that her whole life revolves around an arrogant, unworthy guy? Perhaps. However, if that's the case, then even that angle is not properly developed.

There are so many chick-lit books out there, and nearly all of them are better than this. Read this if you must, but you'd be better off reading a book like Good in Bed or Milkrun. Those are both good examples of how chick-lit should be written.

What a fantastic choice of author and book to launch this new line of books for Red Dress Ink! This wonderfully refreshing novel was so realistic and fun to read, I was upset when I finished the book! Wendy has already proved she has so much talent with her suspense novels. This is a different type of novel altogether and it was equally as good and enjoyable. Tracy, the main character, is so REAL, I think there are many women out there who could probably identify with her trials and tribulations. Nothing is going her way, her so-called boyfriend leaves town for the summer, and Tracy decides to improve her life for the better. She looses weight, dumps her boyfriend and even quits her job! This book grabbed me from the very first page and wouldn't let me go. I can now hope that Wendy Markham will write a sequel to this fun and refreshing book, because I think all readers out there want to hear more about Tracy! Don't miss this book, it was wonderful!

Most women will be able to relate to Tracey, the main character in this book. She has everything going for her...an apartment in NYC, a decent job, friends, and the overly gorgeous boyfriend. But wait...appearances can be deceiving.

Tracey begins to analyze her life, her job, and most importantly, her relationship with Will, her actor boyfried. The book is a comical journey through a summer of personal, emotional, and physical discovery with Tracey.

While this book has a very 'Bridget Jones' feel, the story holds its own as a good book. It is easy and enjoyable to read, and Tracey is easy to connect with as a character. You will find yourself relating to her in more ways that you dare admit. I recommend reading this book if you have ever been in one of those relationships where you feel...Slightly Single.

This book is hilarious! If anyone has ever been around this group of people, you will know that Tracy's story of her relationship with the wannabee actor rings absolutely true. The secondary characters are people you know from your own life and a look into the behavior of big city advertising agency people should be treasured. ..I can't believe anyone will be disappointed with this story.

If you've ever had your heart-broken, been more into your relationship then your boyfriend is, wanted to lose weight, get your life organized or all of the above, then I think you will identify with Slightly Single. There are a lot of books out there about young twenty somethings, trying to make their way in the dating world and Wendy Markham does it with success. This novel is full of up-to-date anecdotes about today's popular icons as well as time old dilemmas that girls of every generation continue to face. How far will a girl go to keep her man and what is the price she'll pay with her dignity and self-respect? You'll learn about this and more in Slightly Single and have fun too.