Traveling with an Eggplant [Paperback]

Alycia Ripley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2006

Alycia Ripley’s debut novel, Traveling With An Eggplant, is a unique and deceptive re-imagining of Alice In Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz: a surreal world of music, magic, ghosts, and the state of modern romance. Music journalist Alison Olson finds herself wandering the college campus she attended years earlier. As her memories resurface and she remembers a cryptic comment from her favorite singer, Elvis Costello, she begins a story of three hardships: her rise through the ranks of a music magazine, a strange friendship with Seymour, an emotionally unavailable neuroscientist, and the fact that her mind is a “receiver”- one allowing songs and voices to broadcast inside her head. The complicated relationship between Alison and Seymour examines whether we can change our true natures and forces Alison to confront a childhood monster in order to avoid a horrible tragedy. What exactly happened? Where do dreams end and a parallel universe begin? The narrative explores a world where anything is possible and the implausible is the norm. Surrounded by a constant 1980’s pop soundtrack, it is mediation on wish fulfillment, destiny, and heroism while proving the age-old adage that you sometimes have to lose yourself before you can find anything.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

An only child, Alycia Ripley was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. She is a graduate of Syracuse University and received her M.F.A in Creative Writing from New York University. While studying at both NYU and the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute she completed Traveling With An Eggplant, her first novel. She has written several stories and essays and still remembers the days when MTV played good videos. When not writing she enjoys worrying about things she cannot change, being a patron of the (free) arts, and contemplating her upcoming move to Hawaii. She is the owner of two turtles, Alison and Seymour, named after the main characters in this novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing (July 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1412067723
• ISBN-13: 978-1412067720
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,702,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not your average "Love" story, June 13, 2009

By 

Erin Vanderbosch "remyfisher" (new york) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Traveling with an Eggplant (Paperback)

I have never read a book that I felt so connected to.

I have a thing for quoting: be it books, movies, lyrics, and on almost every page of this book I found a quote that could express exactly what I was feeling or what I had felt at one time. I have a million post-it notes sticking out of the edges, marking specific quotes that stuck out to me as well as certain lines written all over my lecture notes and folders.

The relationship between Seymour and Alison was so realistic and honest that I knew exactly what Alison was feeling when Seymour was a jerk or when Seymour recited the lyrics to her and she knew, contrary to what she had believed, that he knew exactly who and what she was.

I can honestly say that Traveling with an Eggplant is my favorite book of all time. I carry it with me everywhere, to each of my classes, doctor appointments, etc. and will flip to any page and begin reading. The prose is strong and almost poetic and the images are brilliant.

Everyone should read this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, January 4, 2006

By 

Gibbonsgirl (Tampa, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Traveling with an Eggplant (Paperback)

My favorite thing about this book is its great dialogue. With many books the dialogue just sort of reads and you accept it because you have to but in this book, the dialogue is really alive and once it was done, I wanted the characters back. The main character, Alison, is a music journalist with a problem- she's thirty something and doesn't know why she's wandering her college campus and hanging out near her old college apartment. She has a strange relationship with a guy named Seymour who in college once cautioned her about an on coming storm and from then on, the book takes off to her career in New York, writing for a Rolling Stone type magazine and the difficulties in breaking into the business as a woman and as a 'rock encyclopedia' who desperately wants to achieve her goals. Her relationship/friendship with Seymour, now a neuroscientist, veers from charming and sweet to frustrating and maddening! To top it off, she starts hearing voices and songs in her head and being assaulted by a ghost version of someone she knew long ago....Her best friend becomes sick, Alison begins hallucinating (or not) and all this is happening as she deals with becoming a bit of a celebrity. I loved this book- the ending was such a surprise and the dialogue is realistic, hilarious, and engaging. The character of Seymour has to be experienced to be believed! I really enjoyed this book and recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Child of the 80's!!, December 30, 2005

By 

MichaelManus - See all my reviews

This review is from: Traveling with an Eggplant (Paperback)

I read a friend's copy and decided to get my own for the 2nd read through. I'm not going to say this book isn't strange, because it is. There were pages I had to read two or three times to make sure I got everything but that's a plus, not a minus. About maybe not even halfway through, this book enters the Trippy catagory where real and magical happen alongside each other and dreams and real life intersect constantly. Great story, great characters, and an ending that I really didn't see coming. The grandmother character was awesome and I never thought I'd hear myself say that. This book was definitely written by a child of the 80s!!!!!! I loved the scene where the main character predicts the rise of MTV. Awesome!