Customer Reviews

Spur Of The Moment

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I was a teenager, I had this fantasy that my group of friends would somehow all end up living on the same block (or in some great brownstone apartment) when we grew up. Romance would come and go, but the friends would last forever. A lot of people must have had that fantasy, which helped make TV shows like FRIENDS or MELROSE PLACE popular.

The fantasy is much more satisfying in print, where readers can get inside friends' heads (and, free of TV censors, their bedrooms), and this is what Theresa Alan delivers. Her group of friends--male, female, straight, gay--mostly do live in the same house, as well as work together in their night job as an improv troupe.

SPUR OF THE MOMENT is an enjoyable read about friends in their post-college stage and has all the things you'd expect from twenty-somethings. Missteps with career and romance, money problems, learning to deal with the families they were born into and accepting them for what they are, good and bad, and moving on, all with the sustaining comfort of friends. As one reviewer notes, it's hard to translate visual comedy to the printed page, but a sitcom script doesn't read funny either, Even when the lines are good, it's the actors and producer who bring them to life.

I'm a sucker for a good book about diverse friends...Armisted Maupin's TALES OF THE CITY series and THE DEAL by Lambert & Cochrane come to mind, so I greatly enjoyed this one.

This book is such a fun read, revolving around the lives of six improv comedians who work at Spur of the Moment. The main main character is Ana, but we actually see the perspective of everyone else, Chelsea, Marin, Jason, Scott and Ramiro. It was such a fun read that I started yesterday night and finished it this morning. It is definately a fun, beach read.

Ana, who has always had a crush on Jason, talks about how she wants to be someone in life and not just do improv part time and her office job during the day. She has always aspired to do stand-up, but she is too scared. Jason is a teacher, environmentalist, and a vegetarian, BUT has been in "love" with Marin for a long time, yet she only sleeps with him here and there. Marin is a beautiful, funny, Britney look-a-like who hates her day job, loves her job at Spur of the Moment, has rich parents who never go and see her, and is always searching for more. She gets the opportunity to go to LA and do a pilot for a WB upcoming series. There she meets Jay, whom she falls for, while Jason is at home, brooding over her. Ramiro is latino and gay (and thats why his father won't speak to him). He writes novels, yet doesn't publish them or try to get them to be published. Ana, being the great friend that she is, reads one of them and loves it. She sends his book to a few publishers and hopes that he gets something out of it. Chelsea actually does not live with them (the other five do) but is a personal trainer by day. She meets Rob, whom she falls for, yet, she hates his job as a firefighter. And last but not least, Scott. Scott has always had this thing for Ana, but since she has always been crushing over Jason, he doesn't do anything. They actually make out and one day she realizes, that hey, maybe something between them can happen.

I don't want to give out more from the book, but that is just some of the problems that the group encounters. It was funny, romantic, sad and all around great. As a previous reviewer said, it reminds me of Sex in the City, since we see everyone's perspective, but there still is sort of a main character. The difference is, we see guys' perspectives, which adds a little more sizzle to this already enchanting and funny book. ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!

What a Great Book! I'm going to have to read Alan's first book "Who You Know" next. It has a great message about how you have to be a cheerleader for yourself as well as your friends. Women too often support everyone else in their lives but don't nurture their own dreams. The story is inspirational, all about going for ones dreams and the challenges of how everyday life also has to be lived. Great Job to Ms. Alan.

I would love to see this one on the big screen. Thank You!

I picked up this book after a friend gave me a copy of Theresa's first book (Who You Know, which I also loved). For me, what made this book great was the characters - these are women (and men) striving to make it in a world few people ever get to see (show biz), and it was really refreshing to read something that wasn't just run of the mill. I thought it was funny and different and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for something new and interesting.

In Denver, twenty-something, Ana belongs to a six person improvisation group, the Iron Pyrits. Ana likes her fellow troupe members and in many ways nurtures the others. She especially suffers from the unrequitedly love of Jason of who she met six years ago in college, but also considers Scott as a possible suitor. Ana worries about her best friend and all around nice gal Maren, who gets herself into too many abusive relationships. She encourages Chelsey (the only member not a roommate) that an interracial relationship is fine if love is the common denominator. Finally, there is Ramiro who has dad troubles so he needs a little mothering without his knowing it. This is her family, but each has decisions to make involving their future that could break up the troupe and end their friendships.

Though the story is told mostly from the perspective of Ana, the other five key players come across as real people also (not and easy chore to achieve - kudos to Theresa Alan for accomplishing this feat). The sensitivities of Ana and the uniqueness of each member of the troupe as she perceives them make for a solid character study with overtones of a family drama and chick lit tale. Though some grunge seems unnecessary, readers will appreciate this SPUR OF THE MOMENT insightful look at six fine protagonists through the eyes of awesome Ana.

Harriet Klausner

I hate to write any sort of spoiler in the review -
After having voraciously devoured WHO YOU KNOW by Theresa Allan, I was intrigued to see more of her writing. Though the styles and technical approaches in telling a first and third POV story are different, she has pulled it off incredibly well. Ms Allan has successfully negotiated the reader into the very essence of her character's lives. By all means, this is very much a character driven story, but that is what makes it compelling and worth the read! Well done.

I really LOVED Theresa Alan's first novel, Who You Know. Parts of it were literally fall-off-the-couch with laughter funny, and other parts were heart-wrenching. Theresa's second novel proves that her first wasn't a fluke. She can really spin a good story. There were many, many funny bits in the book, but in a way it's actually a more serious look at how tough it is to deal with jealousy over professional success, money, the usual stuff. Theresa does a great job of drawing complex characters whose motivations for success become more clear the deeper you get to know them. If you are looking for a story that is just plain fun and well written, I don't think you'll be disappointed with Spur of the Moment.

This is a makes you laugh, makes you cry adventure of several friends struggling to make it as performers and comedians. There are glimpses of Hollywood success and failures as well as success and failures at a smaller local level. But the heart of the book is about romance and friendship and the struggle to stay sane at your day job when you have dreams that go well behind making copies for your boss. This book explores a world you don't get to hear much about. It's a very fun summer read.

I picked up this book to take on vacation with me and finished most of it on the plane trip down and the first night in my hotel. It is witty, sentimental and just plain funny at the same time. It is a great coming of age story for 5 friends who work together in improv theatre. I love chick-lit and Theresa Alan is another author I will read.

This is the most real book I've read in long time! The way the characters interact with one another is so true to life you feel as if you're in the story yourself. The only thing I did not like was the ending. While the message was well received, I found it to be quite abrupt. But other than that, this was a great book and a definite must read!