| Title |
shopgirl |
| Author |
Steve Martin |
| Theme/Genre |
Fiction |
| Synopsis |
Mirabelle is a woman who spends her days idly ‘working’ the
glove booth at a Rodeo Drive Neiman Marcus, a job that requires almost no
mental effort and even less social interaction. Selling fancy gloves suites
Mirabelle just fine—that is, when she’s properly medicated. Mirabelle has a
host of problems, not the least of which is her inability to have a healthy
relationship with others. Shopgirl tells the story of how Mirabelle navigates
the volatile waters of two relationships while learning that her dreams and
aspirations are intimately tied to this course as much as is finding love.
Martin’s Mirabelle manages to encompass many sad traits of ‘modern big city
girls’ without falling into caricatures or clichés. Martin uses the 130
pages efficiently enough to tell the tale of Mirabelle’s meeting two men who
are at least present to affect change in Mirabelle’s life. She first meets
Jeremy, a meandering post-adolescent, who becomes a default boyfriend. Her
first real romance later comes along, Ray Porter, who is a successful and
very wealthy computer programmer who himself is on the frayed edges of
romantic competence.
|
| Characters |
- Mirabelle
- Shopgirl
- Jeremy
- Mirabelle's love interest
- Ray Porter
- Mirabelle's love interest
- Lisa
- Mirabelle's would-be nemesis
|
| Personal Notes |
Though this book has a somewhat 'hollywood' ending
(that's not to say however that the book is predictable), I still found it to be
a very enjoyable read-- some of it rising to the level of 'insightful' and 'sublime'. |
| Publisher |
Theia |
| Date of Publication |
2001 |
| Sample Quotes |
"'...just remember, darling, it is pain that changes our lives.'
Mirabelle cannot fathom the meaning of this sentence, as she has been
in pain her whole life, and yet it remains unchanged." |
| Rating |
5 STARS |