Customer Reviews

Wanderlust

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

 

 

I would recommend this book wholeheartedly, if you want a carefree, fun, sexy read. It's one of the funnniest books I've read in a long time, with lots of unexpected plot twists, interesting characters and hilarious mix-ups. Kate, the heroine, may not be living the realistic life of a twentysome-year-old, but boy is she having a good time. Flying off to romantic places, smooching handsome men, having her gambling-addicted mother betting on her love life, drinking wine on the roof of her manhattan apartment -- where can I sign up?? This is the first book I've read by Chris Dyer, but I can't wait for her next one!!

About six pages into this book, it hits you that this is one of those rare and precious trips that you need to slow down and savour. If you are smart you will take my advice and do just that. If you are like me, you will have a lovely afternoon followed immediatley by a Sopranos-off-season-like-depression. One can only hope that Chris Dyer has just scratched the surface of the globe-trotting Kate Bogart (and her many admirers) and is busy NOW scratching out more.

The other reviewers are right...this is a fun little book! As long as you don't expect to gain great insights into life, travel or anything "heavy" like that, you'll have a good time reading "Wanderlust."

Written mostly in the form of email correspondence between characters, you'll be turning the pages quickly and actually looking forward to what happens next.

I finished half the book on an out-bound flight, and the other half on my return flight. So, I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for something quick and fun to read while traveling or at the beach. Perhaps you'll even be inspired to write about your own wanderlust :-) .

PS - I gave this book 4 stars since there wasn't an option for 3.5 stars.

This book is witty, cheeky, entertaining, and really, really smart for something obviously conceived as fluff. I especially liked Kate - the most unapolgetic hedonist since Samantha Jones. Don't object to her "selfishness" as some of the other reviewers do, since it is self acknowledged and fairly harmless. For me, it was refreshing to see a woman so fiercely attached to her freedom - sexual and professional - and her sheer enjoyment of life, the kind of behavior fictional male characters get away with all the time. I thought the characters had very distinct voices too. Broad but amusing. And I especially liked the mutually bratty co-dependent dynamic between Kate and her best friend Violet. Thought it was funny and rang true for two people who've been friends since childhood. The locales are great too, and would love to see this as a movie. My only problem? The email format always seems to limit storytelling, but the story that gets told here is far more original and inventive than The Boy Next Door, and it's better handled than all the others I've come across so I'd recommend this if you're looking for a light, smart, breezy comedy. I can't wait to read Chris Dyer's new book.

"Wanderlust" by Chris Dyer is billed as "A Novel of Sex and Sensibility". I'm not sure it lives up to that great height --- but it's on the right track.

The story of young NYC travel column writer Kate Bogart is a fun and fast journey around the world via email. This new "email" format seems to be taking over and I still haven't completely made up my mind about it --- but, in this book it seems to work. I wonder if it lets an author off the hook and the books aren't expected to as good as traditional books, but I think it might even be harder to keep a readers attention when they have to work at reading a book in email format. When it's done right (as in Wanderlust) it's fun and fresh. When it's done poorly, it's a total failure. That's why I think the risk is greater.

Kate's correspondence with the "outside" world moves this book along and her travels provide for endless adventures. It's a wonderfully witty and fresh book from promising new writer. I would love to see a "real" book about Kate and her travels ---- my jealousy over her ability to travel alone (scares me to death) is really palpable. A fast and fun read - perfect for summer months.

Cheers!

I loved this book! Entertaining, witty, sexy, and unlike a lot of other chicklit, an actual page-turner. For a change, the heroine isn't worried about her weight, her nasty boss, or finding the right man. Instead, she's got too many lovers and her life is almost too much fun. Glamorous problems, but the author has great fun with them. You will too, if you don't take it too seriously. The characters seem to be inspired by old movies more than Bridget Jones wannabes, and the comedy is broad, but it's also laugh out loud funny. A great book for the beach, or the pool, or that overbooked flight.

Kate, the heroine of this novel, is apparently the most exciting
and desirable woman in the world. She is, in fact, breathtakingly selfish, loathsome, and immature. I was hoping that the two men would dump her and she would get her comeuppance. Then Jack and Miles could run away together to an ashram and Odette could kidnap Kate and dump that shallow brat into a war zone. Miles, the whiny walking disaster, is annoying with his frequent use of "do," as in "do tell me" and "do let me know." That plus "shan't" make him sound about
eighty years old. I don't think Brits sound like that! Jack is too good for Kate (but he and Miles are hot together) and Odette is a much more interesting character than Kate. We know that all Kate cares about is a four-star hotel lifestyle, so the
ending is fairly predictable.

To read about a truly fearless, independent, and adventurous female writer, find a book about Nellie Bly. To read a better written and funny book in the e-mail format, read "e" by Matthew Beaumont, and don't waste your precious time and money on this book.

This book is fun. You're not going too think much about it. You're not going to have much compassion for any of the characters. And you're probably not going to remember it afterwards. But, so what? The email exchanges that make up the book are very witty and occasionally a little sexy. It's a great book to bring along to the pool this summer, and you'll finish it in no time at all. And, hey, if nothing else, it may inspire you to be a little more creative in your own email correspondence.

Kate Bogart writes a travel column for a NY newspaper and loves the adventure of it all. She has a good relationship with her ex-husband Jack and her editor introduces her to Miles Maxwell, a British soldier turned writer. Things start spinning out of control as Jack and Miles both vie for her affection, her mother begins dating her editor and her best friend Violet goes on tour with her (Violet's) husband's band, leaving Kate scrambling for a care-taker for her beloved cat, Truman 9as in Capote). Kate must now decide between the two men!!

The book is totally done in e-mail messages back and forth between Kate and the various players. The concept (at the time this was done) is unique and well-edited so that the reader is not bored or getting duplicate information. It also allows a sense of insight into each character that would be missing in a narrative. The twist with Miles and his ex is predictable, but not the other twist with the ex and Jack. Vi and her husband were not used well enough and kind of a throw-in, but I still love the book!

I can really relate to her experience so that's why my rating is high for her. It entertained me while I was at jury duty and only took me a couple of more hours at home to finish.