Ten Men [Paperback]

Alexandra Gray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2006

A best seller in the UK, this witty and endearing novel about a woman's mission to discover what will make her truly happy introduces ten extraordinarily different men but none, it seems, that entirely fits our heroine's needs. Among them are The Virgin, who has charm but can't spell experience, The Lord, whose stiff upper lip makes for a stiff upper life, and The Billionaire, a walking bankroll with a bankrupt heart. So when The Actor has been dumped, The Lawyer's BMW consolation prize sold, and The Schoolmaster left behind, there's only so much she can give to The Lover, who's out of her head when he's out of her bed, Mr. Cerebral, a late-night brilliant idea always gone by morning, or The Director, who can't say Cut to his own wife. After journeying across several continents in search of the perfect man, our smart and stylish protagonist finally realizes that not one of these men has made her feel complete — on the road to fulfillment the first person she must learn to satisfy is herself.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gray introduces an intelligent if sometimes misguided heroine who learns about life and love with real grit and spirit. Desperate to escape her mother's stifling Catholic home, our heroine marries a schoolmaster at a men's boarding school on a French island but quickly discovers that island life and a workaholic husband don't fulfill her need for pleasure and adventure. She soon leaves him to pursue love as a single girl. True to the book's title, she describes 10 of her conquests, from the Virgin, a snobbish 40-year-old, through the Lord, a Brit more than twice her age, and on to the Billionaire, a sugar daddy who finances her American acting education. But these relationships really only leave our heroine with the same shallow notion about relationships that plague many men--the notion that love amounts only to the thrill of the chase. Reminiscent of Lucinda Rosenfeld's What She Saw (2000), Gray's debut brings warm, bracing insight to the classic chic-lit story of a young woman in transition. Misha Stone
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'Funny and incisive, Ten Men captures the heartache and humour in choosing the wrong men. As our heroine travels the globe in her quest to find the right one, we root for her to discover what we already know she's smart, stylish, and one of a kind.' Author of Sex and the City Candace Bushnell --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (May 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802142524
• ISBN-13: 978-0802142528
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,128,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, July 2, 2005

By 

A reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ten Men (Hardcover)

I checked this book out of the library based on the promise of the first sentence, in a Chapter entitled "The Virgin": "It is one of the wonders of the twenty-first century that a beautiful, brilliant and broad-shouldered man could reach almost forty without someone, somewhere convincing him it was time to drop his guard -- or his underpants." Shades of Jane Austen, I thought, could be amusing. Unfortunately, not very amusing after all. The narrator cutely names all her lovers, The Virgin, The Schoolmaster, The Lawyer, The Lover, The Lord, The Billionaire, The Actor... and recounts in excruciating detail her pathetic encounters. Seems to be a thinly-fictionalized memoir, and really, who cares? The only ones who were any good were quickly dropped, and she unaccountably and boringly chases after the cads. Waste of time, and waste of a good premise.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Darker than I thought it would be; but a beautiful writing style, August 6, 2005

By 

Danielle (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 10 Men (Hardcover)

I picked up this book thinking it was an interesting premise. I thought it would be a somewhat light summer read. But was I in for a surprise! It's more dark than fun, more eerie than uplifting. At times, I had trouble imagining the events of the book occuring in the 21st century. Or maybe it's just my lack of experience with British aristocracy, ie the Lord and the Billionaire (2 of the 10 men).

It's different .... if you want some darkness and eerieness in a novel, read this. Also, the writing style was quite beautiful. I'd recommend it for the writing style and the poetry of the words in itself. It's just not a story that will leave you exhilarated.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What were the publishers thinking?, October 17, 2005

By 

vera "com" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ten Men (Hardcover)

In assessing this book as chick-lit? It's really a very well defined genre right now, and just because the protagonist sleeps with ten men, doesn't make it chick-lit. The novel is dark and dreary (really); the main protagonist comes across not as courageous but as immesurably whiny.

I'm surprised at the reviews and reviewers also, one of whom dubbed this a true successor to Bridget Jones--there is no way Gray can measure up to Fielding's witty style.

The book has very few redeeming features. The writing is leaden, weighs you down (where was her editor?) and add to that the darkness of the book, it's suffocating.

There's a blurb at the back from some Suzanne Finnamore who felt "inadequate as a writer more than once" upon reading this book. Well. All I can say is if THIS book makes you feel inadequate, perhaps you shouldn't quit your day job.