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Welcome to My Planet: Where English Is Sometimes Spoken Paperback – June 1, 2001

by Shannon Olson (Author)

3.6 80 ratings

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Life just isn't The Love Boat for nearly-thirty Shannon, the tongue-in-cheek heroine of Welcome to My Planet. Credit cards don't pay themselves, no obvious mate has appeared with her name pinned to his collar, and a job doing new-product research for a fledgling software company doesn't quite make ends meet in the meaning-of-life department. Then there's the loser boyfriend, another boyfriend, her therapist, and unforgettably, Shannon's mom, Flo, with her unrecognizable leftover casseroles and quirky advice for her daughter. In a fit of debt and with a bruised heart, Shannon moves back home to witness the day-to-day tremors of her parents' own marriage. This is a dark-and-light tale-freshly witty and poignant-told by a young woman with a universal touch.

Review

Olson's tongue-in-cheek humor makes Planet as quirky and clever as its main character. —People

A funny, feeling novel...you'll find Olson's coming-of-age chronicle winning and uniquely real. —Glamour

Witty, warm and delightfully topical. —Chicago Tribune

One of the best mother-daughter acts of all time. I stopped reading it only to laugh my head off, quote passages to my friends, and to make it last. —Melissa Bank, author of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing

About the Author

Shannon Olson, author of Welcome to My Planet, has taught creative writing and literature at the University of Minnesota.

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Books
Publication date

June 1, 2001
Dimensions

5.08 x 0.69 x 7.75 inches
ISBN-10

0141001771
ISBN-13

978-0141001777
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Reissue edition (June 1, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0141001771
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0141001777
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.08 x 0.69 x 7.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,951,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,603 in Humorous American Literature
- #28,917 in Humorous Fiction

Customer Reviews:
3.6 80 ratings

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3.6 out of 5

80 global ratings

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Joselle M. Palacios

Just like being with a friend.

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2002

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I loved this book. Shannon, the character, is like so many of my friends and I. I can't imagine reading this book and not laughing or gasping with utter recognition. As the reviews above illustrate, this book has been too easily lumped in with the "chick-lit" phenomenon that has taken hold over the past few years (a genre I am unashamedly a fan of) but Welcome to My Planet is heads and tails above many of those novels. Olson is a smart, gifted writer who turns the mundane details of daily life into insightful revelations and crafts an engaging narrative. Every few pages, you discover something new about Shannon and the people in her life, something that makes them more flawed, loveable and fascinating. I was sad when the very last revealtion came and I had to put away a character who felt so much like a friend.

2 people found this helpful

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A. Maxham

A realistic, relatable, and funny character

Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2000

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The reviews I had read of this book, both in People magazine, here on Amazon, and elsewhere had led me to believe that this book was a laugh a minute- sorta like Bridget Jones. Well, it is, but it isn't. The Bridget Jones books are cartoons, really- exaggerations of life.
This book is really more realistic and less extreme. Shannon (the main character here) doesn't obsesses and worry about her body every second, but those worries about her thighs and breasts do exist and are a part of her character.
She is 30, she is single, hates her job, dates a loser who treats her like crap and tries to have sex with her while she's asleep, her younger sister does get married out from under her, she is depressed, she does love Target (I hear ya, sister)- but those are the superficial elements of the story.
The way I see it, this story is best exemplified by this: her mom is sick, and needs surgery. Her mom says to Shannon, "Sickness is a part of life. I look at this as an adventure, an opportunity to learn." And Shannon replies, "I hate learning. I wish we could all be dumb and happy." Really, this book is about Shannon's recognition that you can't just stay dumb and happy- that you have to learn and stop making the same mistakes with men and career because otherwise, you'll have the same unhappiness over and over again.
This book is about growing up and realizing that life isn't fair, and people aren't fair, and you have to quit expecting fairness and trying to control things that you have no control over. And it's about recognizing how you got those expectations. Her mom (Flo), asks Shannon, "Did your father and I do this to you? Is it something we didn't do?" And Shannon replies, "Women's magazines did this to me. Watching Love Boat did this. I did this to myself."
I really liked this book- it's quiet and normal- Bridget is chaotic and drunk and smoking and I laughed my way all the way through Bridget. But I could relate to Shannon because she was real, in a way very much like the character in The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing (except not placed in ubiquitous New York).
This does NOT mean that this book isn't funny- it's hilarious. Shannon's sense of humor is extremely dry, and she is really a great writer. I can't wait for her next book.
I really see this book and "Getting Over It" as sort of the next evolution in what could best be described as the Single/30 literature.

28 people found this helpful

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A Mixed Up Book

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2000

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I had such mixed feelings about this book after finishing it that I read earlier reviews to see if others shared my ambivalence. Unfortunately, most people didn't seem to have my mixed feelings. It seemed that the reviews were either in the "loved it" or "hated it" category. To be honest, I can understand both points of view.
On the positive side, I thought the book had a strong flow and powerful emotional content. Even if it's not a literal autobiographical work, it's apparent that Olson has a clear understanding of the emotions which underpin the book's situations. I also enjoyed the fact that the book doesn't have a tidy ending. Because it's a snapshot of a period in the protagonist's life, it felt appropriate to not have a clean ending to the book. The ambiguous ending conveyed the feeling that life would continue with the hope of things becoming better. I felt that implied promise was more satisfying than paring the protagonist off with a boyfriend/husband.
On the other hand, there were elements that detracted from the book's overall power. For instance, I really didn't connect with any of the characters other than the protagonist. I thought that they were surprisingly shallow, especially the boyfriends. I also didn't care for the book's tone, which was slightly too serious for its subject. It seemed that the book wasn't quite as funny as others in the "neurotic female" genre. While I am the first to admit that some of the situations in the Bridget Jones books are outlandish, they do serve the purpose of adding an "over-the-top" levity to an otherwise dreary topic. Unfortunately, Olsen seemed to gravitate more toward the serious, which left me feeling that most of the characters were too whiny. As a result, the book is a lot like dealing with an individual (either male or female) of that temperament: they're fun at first, but they get annoying after a while.
So, where does that leave me? Well, it leaves me where I started. Welcome to My Planet is not a bad book. The writing is sharp and the pacing is very good. However, I don't think it has anything new to say about a topic that has been (almost) over-exposed in today's media. A reader can do worse than Welcome to My Planet. But, there are better books on the same subject.

4 people found this helpful

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Joslin

neurotic

Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2012

Sheesh. I feel sorry for Flo the most. Shanny, you need to go volunteer somewhere and get some perspective. This book is ridiculous.

Helpful

Terrence S. Gannon

Great Autobiographical Fiction

Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2006

Shannon Olson's autobiographical novel is a sided-splitting yet tender story of a Gen X daughter who, a supposedly mature 30-year-old, returns home to live with mom and dad because she can't handle her finances, her job, her relationships, in fact most of her life, and who wants others "to take care of her" while she hides from life by living through the "Love Boat" or engaging in other distractions. Her relationship with her mother Flo is beautifully crafted, and reflects a dominating narcissistic mother figure who the daughter "Shanny" attempts to emulate, but usually fails. The book, broken into bite-sized snippets from Shanny's life, is a must-read for every Gen Xer, every parent of a Gen Xer or those who just want a very funny, very real story about human life, love and frailty.

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Welcome to My Planet: Where English Is Sometimes Spoken Paperback – June 1, 2001

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