Customer Reviews

The Waitress

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having read all of Melissa Nathan's novels, I can say that she is just as pithy and delightful as ever. Nathan's books have an energy and verve which move the pace along quickly, making the reader not want to put down the book until they are finished with it. Reading one of her books is like curling up to watch one of your favorite comedies unfold.

Nathan's latest novel, "The Waitress", tells the story of twenty-four year old Katie Simmonds, an Oxford graduate who works as a waitress while she is 'waiting' to find the perfect job. The perfect job seems to come along each week when Katie's mind alights on something she thinks she'd like to do, but isn't brave enough to risk a commitment to. And lack of commitment is a problem in her personal life as well. She's just walked out on a date with the only man she's liked, only to discover that he's her new boss, and he's already dating someone else. But that doesn't seem to stop him from showing interest in her, or is she just mistaken?

"The Waitress" is Melissa Nathan's latest "chick-lit" offering, a genre that I tend to ignore. Yet Nathan manages to rise above most of the other fodder this genre offers by making her characters believeable and intelligent. While the stories are predictable - yes, we know that the girl will find the right guy and they'll live happily ever after - the in-between time is peppered with wit, frustration, and amusing subplots that keep the reader interested even when they know how it will all turn out.

Katie Simmonds got her degree from Oxford, then froze, unable to decide what to do with her life. Or rather, she decides what to do--for a day or two. Her roommate has helped her write sixty resumes, for the dream of the moment. In the meantime, she and her actor-best friend Sukie work as waitresses in a cheap cafe. When Katie finally meets her dream man, she is torn with indecision, unable to talk to him at all, and bolts halfway through their dinner date. She doesn't dream that Dan the dream man is about to come the new owner of the cafe--and her new boss.

Katie wrestles with her growing attraction for Dan, and with her self-doubts and concerns for her future. In the meantime, Sukie tries to get acting jobs, Matt the dishwasher falls for beautiful and perfect Jennifer, and brainless waitress Patsy flirts with equally brainless (but talented) chef Nik. Adding to Katie's problems, though, Dan has gone back to his old girlfriend--and that girlfriend quickly makes the right noises to move from girlfriend to fiancee.

Author Melissa Nathan keeps the laughs coming as Katie and Sukie turn being super-rude waitresses into something that appeals to the crowds, as Katie wards off advances from drunk ex-boyfriend Hugh, and as Matt wrestles with overgrown pimples that erupt just as he is about to enter into the perfect date with beautiful Jennifer.

Too often, it seems like the world expects the twenty-something to know what to do. But school, even a degree from Oxford, can offer precious little practical direction--and it is easy to become trapped in a job. Of course, sometimes that job-trap can actually become something more.

Fans of humorous England-set chick-lit will definitely want to add this one to their must-read list.

I gave this book three stars since the writting was good and I did laugh a bit, but the romance was not good, and since this was not a romance book I guess that means I should take everything into acount. But honestly I wanted to like this book, and I just couldn't. The main idea is that Dan and his friend buy aresturant and the it follows the lives of each of the employees and Jon who is the flatmate. I wasn't expecting so many stories so this was a little agrivating to. Anyway Dan had a horrible date with one of his new emplyees, and even though besides the date and one party he still felt stronly enogh about her to freak out and get back together with his witchy ex because she was such a bad date. He kisses and longs for his new employee even as he is engaged to another women, he admits that he doesn't love his fiancee but has no real intentions of breaking it off because he is to scard to be single. Basicly he is a gutless losser and on that alone not worth much. The book is well written and you will laugh but don't expect to fall in love with Dan he is just not worth it.

I loved Nathan's first book, Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field: A Novel (a modern take-off on P&P), and I thought The Waitress was just as good. The romance is kind of blah, but it was a well-written comedy with three-dimensional characters and some really clever lines. The dialogue is "Gilmore Girls" quick - blink and you'll miss something - and Nathan is great at situational comedy.

Katie Simmonds waits tables at a London commuter café in an "up and coming" part of London. She's been doing this for years, so it's beginning to look like this is her long-term career. But that's fine with Katie - she's happy at the café, insulting the commuters and mastering the art of snarkiness with her fellow servers. Her days at the café look numbered, though, when Dan Crichton. Katie and Dan haven't seen each other since a disastrous date a few months back. Now he's in her life every day, as is his truly horrid girlfriend.

My main issue with The Waitress: Dan is kind of a wuss. Now, I have no problem with a manfully shed tear or two - to think that men never cry is silly and insulting. This guy doesn't cry though, he weeps. Frequently. And he's an emotional doormat - how he let himself get tangled up with his awful girlfriend is beyond me. He has a few charming moments, but not enough to warrant his hero status.

So why did I like this book? It's very funny and the characters are very likable. One of the hallmarks of chick lit is that the comedy is just as important as the romance. In fact, according to Nathan's husband, she preferred the term comedy romance since she thought laughter was most important and love was a sweet bonus. Sadly, Nathan passed away from breast cancer a few years at the age of 37 so the five books she finished are all we'll get from her.

Gotta love true Brit chick lit. Always a best pal or two that all seem to find what they are looking for in the end. Characters usually quirky with extended or no family members involved. Always makes for an amusing read and a good ending. Really liked this book!

I had read this book before, but the re-read was just as good with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments! The book arrived well, in good condition, which was helpful as who wants to hold a nasty looking book!

i LOVED this book! it was funny, charming, addicting, and had a happy ending. The ending is deifinately hilarious! if you are a fan of chick-lit u must buy this! even if u arent!

Melissa Nathan's characters are developed and I could relate to them. I like the character of Katie and her interactions with her friends (i.e. Suki), coworkers (Matt), family, love interests (Dan) and non-love-but-love-interests (Hugh) -- the storylines were believable and fun.

The only beef I had was had it went on for quite a while and I started to think, get to the point! She covers not just Katie, but all of the people in Katie's life, in detail.

I loved how Melissa Nathan built up the characters and plot - there's plenty of witty and really smart comedy through out. I felt that the ending was remarkedly rushed considering she used over four hundred pages building up to a climax that just sort of fizzled. While some of the interactions between Katie and Dan were packed with sexual tension, there just didn't seem to be enough quantity to make the whole ending believable. I loved the book while I was reading it but was majorly disappointed in the end.

It took me about 100 pages to get into this book. Once I did, I was hooked. This reminded me a little bit of "Amanda's Wedding" but it was much better. It is a story about Katie. Katie is a waitress and is trying to figure out what to do with her life. This book was had adjacent stories and expressions of feelings from the other characters. It made the book more interesting and unique. Although the main character was Katie, the author was very deliberate in detailing the lives of some of the other characters and what they were feeling about certain aspects of their lives and how it related to the main plot. Nathan did a very good job with this. As a reader, I didn't feel like these tributaries were unnecessary. They added to the enjoyment of the book. I am definitely interested in reading more books by this author. Well done!