chicks review:
Local Girls

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Local Girls Alice Hoffman PB list price $12.95 May 2000 ISBN: 0425174344 208 pages Other editions: HB average review: Reviews: This gets: a from eryka: A departure from her usual style. This is an extremely depressing collection of short stories that is focused on a particular dysfunctional family. Part of the problem is that I don't particularly care for short stories, and the other part is that she seems relatively unfamiliar with this new style. I like her earlier work better, although these weren't bad. From the back cover: The New York Times Book Review has noted, "Alice Hoffman writes quite wonderfully about the magic in our lives," and now she casts her spell over a Long Island neighborhood filled with dreamers and dreams. In a dazzling series of family portraits, Hoffman evokes the world of the Samuelsons, a family torn apart by tragedy and divorce in a world of bad judgment and fierce attachments, disappointments, and devotion. With rich, pure prose Hoffman charts the always unexpected progress of Gretel Samuelson from the time Gretel is a young girl already acquainted with betrayal and grief, until she finally leaves home. Gretel's sly, funny, knowing perspective is at the heart of this collection as she navigates through loyalty and loss with the help of an unforgettable trio of women: her best friend, Jill, her romance-addicted cousin Margot, and her mother, Franny, whose spiritual journey affects them all. Told in alternating voices, these stories work wonders. Funny and lyrical, disturbing and healing, each is a lesson of survival, a reminder of the ties of blood and the power of friendship. Jane Smiley has said that "a reader is in good hands with Alice Hoffman," and once again in her expert hands, everyday life has been transformed into magic. eryka.com scale: So good you just can't stand it. Almost that good. Sort of good. Generally a waste of time. Destined for the recycler. If you'd like to review this book, or another, click here Similar books by category: women writers | american fiction | short stories Go home | Go to reviews home © 2002 eryka.com. All rights reserved.