Customer Reviews

The Slippery Year

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I actually expected more from this book because it sounded like it would be a very humorous and poignant look at midlife. Perhaps I set expectations too high because in actuality, it really wasn't that funny and not at all poignant. It's not that it isn't well written or entertaining, it's just that while reading it, I felt like I was having a light conversation over lunch with my most self-centered, neurotic girlfriend who leads a charmed life, but who incessantly uses sarcasm to complain about her issues, which don't rank as issues in most people's lives at all (like having her husband write her romantic texts every morning that she never responds to and instantly deletes). After finishing, I just wanted to go hug some puppies or something just to wash away her negative vibe. I'm sure that Gideon is probably a much better, deeper person than she lets on to be in this book, but in her attempts to be witty and self-deprecating, all she does is erode any chance for a real, honest connection with the reader. If you want funny, read David Sedaris or Erma Bombeck. If you want a good midlife memoir, read The Gift of an Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison. This one is forgettable.

This book shows very little about the author's marriage. Instead, it shows how self-indulgent, neurotic, & codependent the author is. She gets to her son's school a hour early to be first in the pickup lane so that her son doesn't think he's been abandoned. She freaks out after sending him to soccer camp and spends most of her time sniffing his clothes in his room because she doesn't know what else to do without her child. She doesn't even have a midlife crisis. She just tags along on her husband's crisis.

This book wasn't amusing or heart-warming as it is being described on talk shows & in other reviews. Avoid it and read something really worthwhile this year.

This book is a fast read that one could easily tackle in a lazy afternoon. I did just that, and on some level, I feel like I wasted a perfectly good afternoon. I believe the title perfectly suits this book. We see an account of a year in the life of the author and the nicest thing I can think of saying is it seems like she wasted an entire year of her life. This book is certainly not one that will lift the sprits and warm the heart.

As I read this book I kept going back and forth about how I felt about the author. More often than not, I was annoyed with her. She seems to have a very negative outlook on life. I'm not sure what exactly she is hoping to get out of life by detaching herself from her friends and family. Maybe that's why this book is "a meditation on happily ever after". Is she wondering where her happily ever after is? Sadly, I don't think Melanie Gideon is aware of that. When I wasn't annoyed with how she's frittering away her life, I felt pity for her. I can't help but think that this woman has essentially checked out of life and has decided to watch from the sidelines.

The book does have a small handful of humorous moments, but I feel that they are too few and far between. I suspect that I may have laughed out loud one or twice, but certainly not more than that. The sparse humor in this book is not enough to counter the negativity.

I do not see myself recommending anyone to buy this book. There's something about reading a book that oozes negativity and to some degree apathy that would make me not want to bother. Life is too short to fritter it away, and I'm afraid reading this book would be doing just that.

Gideon is a good writer. Having had to wade through some badly written books lately, I was thankful for Gideon's writing ability. It was refreshing. And I thoroughly enjoyed the first chapter. After that first chapter, there are bright spots here and there, but my attention began to wane. What makes the first chapter so enjoyable is that she discusses her relationship with her husband, indicating that he is suffering from a mid-life crisis just as she is. This led me to expect that the rest of the book would document them coming to terms with their mid-life crisis together. I thought this relationship would be interesting. But the husband isn't that present in the rest of the book, and I found this disappointing. Also, I find it unusual to read the author lament her loss of looks at middle age, meanwhile in the picture on the dust jacket she is beautiful. I wondered what she was talking about. Funny in places, but a bit of a let down.

There is some kind of campaign designed to promote this book as poignant and hilariously funny. It isn't. If you have kids, if you have empathy, if you possess any commitment to examining your life, you will see immediately that this is the work of a shallow, self-involved person with too much time and disposable income on her hands. The book is trying very hard to be pitched to ordinary folks--"my life is just like your life, dear reader"--but it's just one false moment after another. You can't help feeling you are watching one of those sit-coms that is scheduled for Saturday night, with a laugh track roaring at the dumbest, lamest remarks. Just like watching that sort of show, you wind up feeling depressed and like you've wasted time--in the case of this book, you've also wasted some money.

By the way, it looks like most of the positive comments were written before the book's release. Are these the author's friends? Or customers that got free copies to say something nice? I wonder.

Unless you find humor in other people's negativism, avoid this book! Ack, really, she is the type of person I try to avoid, the downer/glass always half empty...so why did I spend my precious reading hours with her?! Unless this is your type of humor/personality, I really recommend you pass on this one. She just really think she's got it rough (I don't care about how long it takes to have her hair straightened and how her son makes fun of it), but c'mon, life isn't THAT bad. She needs a hobby or greater cause in my opinion.
Also, this book's description was a little misleading, there's very little focus on her marriage and she seems fairly content and accepting of her husband's quirks. I found the book boring too. It's almost as if she assumes you know her...like you should be concerned about her mundane (and not funny) thoughts. It's not even good blog material, it's just plain boring.
If you're trying to decide between this and another book, get the other book!

I must have been convinced to buy this book by the positive reviews- I really cant remember although its only been a few days. IT IS A TERRIBLE, POINTLESS BOOK. I have just read the negative reviews and think that even THEY are generous. This woman is very, very unsympathetic. What is truly SAD, Unbelievable is that she got a publisher. Who would be interested in HER and what is going on in her life. Does she say anything really nice about her husband-- what about gratitude for this Saint who has to put up with her. I kept looking forward to finding some redeaming traits in her personality but none. WHO IS THE PERSON THAT GREEN LIGHTED THIS BOOK. I am an attorney, almost finished a Ph.D in French Lit and am widely read-- however I like good "trash" also. This book and this woman is (are) unbelievable bad and dull. The only reason that I give it one star is that it seems that I have to or my review wont be posted.

Melanie Gideon is like the girlfriend you want on speed-dial -- the one who always has a funny tale about the ins and outs of motherhood and life. She shares many of these stories, poignant and humorous alike, in "The Slippery Year: A Meditation on Happily Ever After."

While I certainly related to Gideon's stories of life in middle-age, this book isn't at all what I expected. I think the publisher has done a disservice to the author by trying to market it as something it is not.

While she does tackle some of the big questions about life, I never felt that she came to any answers or to a new place in her thinking, or that the year she is writing about moved her to a new level of understanding or experience. Instead, it was more a series of entertaining blog-ish essays and stories.

The whole "year" thing didn't work for me, either. It felt like an external structure that was forced on these somewhat disjointed stories.

Gideon's writing was a bit convoluted and hard to follow at times (like that phone call with a friend!), but overall I enjoyed her style. But I felt like I was reading a book in the wrong book jacket.

I thought this was a great read -- thoroughly enjoyed the romp through a year of the author's life. Entertaining, thought-provoking, and unlike any other memoir or collection of essays about mid-life, mothering or marriage.

The voice is fresh and the details are both hilarious and poignant.

Being of similar age to the author, I could relate to her musings and adventures, her thoughts and feelings, her angst and concerns. I felt I learned something, too. But I really don't think you need to be a mid-life married mother to enjoy this book. It should resonate with anyone who wants to live life more fully.

An introspective voice and one I'd love to read more from -- I hope there's more coming from this author!

Lots of words, severely lacking in substance. A collection of feeble attempts at comedy, achieving pathetic degree of slapstick humour. The recurring thought during reading was: "And your point is?" as well as "Should I continue?" I can understand you might wish to buy a copy if you are the author's friend or family but if you are neither, there is absolutely no reason to buy this book. I've received my copy as a gift & am sorry to have wasted time reading some of it. I rather think trees could be put to better use than having these pages printed.