Customer Reviews

A Slipping Down Life

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I read this book when I was a teenager. I have reread it since along with almost everything that Tyler has ever written. It is a good book. It is not a happy book. It is about life, sometimes life is not happy.

I became a Tyler fan as an adult and something reminded me of a book I'd read long ago as a teenager. Could that have been the same book? It was 'A Slipping-Down Life.'

Rereading it as an adult I could feel the emotions of Evie. That is a good book. When you can feel like an obsessed teen making stupid decisions when you are in your thirties, that is writing!

I found this book fascinating. Direct and perceptive, it examines the consequences for a lonely, fat teenage girl who slashes the name of a would-be rock star onto her forehead with a pair of nail scissors. What is so interesting is that Evie, the mutilated teenager, never once regrets her action. She only wishes she had taken control of her fate earlier, while Drum, object of her unvoiced obsession and owner of the slipping-down life of the title, lets himself be drawn in by her startling course of action.
Every other character in this book, from Evie's sad, widower father to her best (and indeed
only) friend Violet, seems drifting and unaware next to efficent, decisive Evie. I can throughly recommend this book to anyone. Not a word is wasted or misplaced by the author and the result is a startlingly vivid novel

Is there a better author alive today? Nope, I still can't think of one. I read this in a single sitting.

I gave the lady a short review last week, and I'm going to do it again now. I started with her first published book and am happily working my way forward through a career that the rest of us can only dream about. Not because of any financial rewards, but just because she knows she gave us this, an amazing body of literature that will always be there.

This book and IF MORNING EVER COMES have a special charm for me because they bring back memories of my own childhood. It's been said she moved her writing out of the South, but I don't think you can take the South out of the writer. I'll find out.

I went to used bookstores, but you can probably go to the local library. Do what I'm doing. Get all her books, start with the oldest, work your way to the newest, and just marvel and enjoy.

I found this book fascinating. Direct and perceptive,it examines the consequences for a lonely, fat teenage girl who slashes the name of a would-be rock star onto her forehead with a pair of nail scissors. What is so interesting is that Evie, the mutilated teenager, never once regrets her action. She only wishes she had taken control of her fate earlier, while Drum, object of her unvoiced obsession and owner of the slipping-down life of the title, lets himself be drawn in by her startling course of action.
Every other character in the book, from Evie's sad , widower father to her best (and indeed only) friend Violet, seems drifting and unaware next to efficent and decisive Evie. I can thoroughly recommend this book to anyone. Not a word is wasted or misplaced by the author and the result is a startlingly vivid novel

Anne Tyler's "A Slipping-Down Life" is the story of Evie Decker, a shy, plump teenager who always feels out of step with everything. She has no social life to speak of and spends her evenings listening to the radio. This habit is what sets the plot into motion when she hears an interview on a local radio show hosted by an elderly DJ named Herbert:

One evening in February there was a guest on the program. He came right after the "News of the Hour."

"I have here a Mr. Bertram Casey," said Herbert. "Better known as, known as Drumstrings." He coughed and shuffled some papers. "It's an honor to have you with us, Mr. Casey." No one answered. Evie was sitting on the bed, twisting her hair into scratchy little pincurls. When the silence grew noticeable she took a bobby pin from her mouth and looked at the radio. All she heard was static. Finally Herbert said, "Well. This is the beginning of a new feature on 'Sweetheart Time': interviews. May I ask if you are a native North Carolinian, Mr. Casey?"

Someone said, "Not for long I won't be." His voice was cool and motionless, like a stone plunked into a pool. Herbert coughed again.

"Whereabouts in North Carolina?" he asked.

"Farinia."

"Farinia, yes. Off of Highway--"

"But I'm leaving there," said Drumstrings Casey.

"All right. Where is it you're going?"

"A city, some city. It ain't quite clear yet. I aim to cut records and play night clubs, and if I once wiggle out of here I'm never coming back again, not even for Christmas. If my family gets to missing me they can come to where I'm at, I'll buy them a house with white telephones and a swimming pool."

Evie is transfixed by this young man and shortly afterwards sees him perform live. Wanting something--anything--to make her life exciting, she ends up carving his name onto her forehead with nail scissors. This gets her the attention she wants, with very unlikely results.

Drum and Evie's relationship forms the core of the book, and it's a penetrating look at the way two people can be together and even love each other without ever really knowing or understanding what the other person is all about. The ending is somewhat unsatisfying--it felt abrupt and hurried to me, as though Tyler had suddenly tired of writing the novel--but the book as a whole is a delight and every word rings true.

I found this book to be lacking. In character development, plot, etc. It just never really went anywhere - not that it needed to but it just didn't grab me as her other novels have. I found it to be very underdeveloped. Perhaps, as one other reviewer wrote, this was before she hit her stride? That's what I think.

A young teenage girl feels like an outcast in her own life. She is being brought up by her father who was widowed at the girl's birth. The girl has only one friend. For some reason, she becomes obsessed with a singer she hears on the radio and feels like he will be the love of her life. She machinates a way to hear him perform live but does not know how to get his attention. She has an epiphany. By carving the letters of his name on her forehead, he will pay attention to her! Unfortunately, she carves the letters in mirror image, backward. What happens next? You will have to read this wonderful novel to find out. It is definitely worth the short time it will take to read it.

This book from Anne Tyler's earlier works, kicks off her greater novels to come. The story of a teenager's fascination with a rockstar-wannabee "Drumsticks Casey" in her North Carolina hometown has a nice flow. Evie Decker is the 17 year-old protagonist and she's just as bright and flawed as all the quirky characters we've come to know through Tyler's writing. I wondered where this story was going plot-wise all throughout the book and for me that's great reading entertainment. This is a good one!

You may find yourself reminiscing about your own childhood as you read this novel. Put your feet up and enjoy!

I read this book after being enchanted by the Accidental Tourist and other of Anne Tyler's books. This book deals with the life of a depressed teenage girl and unless that kind of thing interest you, I would not recommend reading it. On the up side, it's really short so you can get through it rather quickly. I was hoping to read a good book, but only felt worse after finishing this one.