The man can write.

I really liked this book. The descriptions and dialogue are short but you fully understand and can picture the characters and who they are.

The description of the tension and attraction between Mirabelle and Ray are great. I adored how their first date was portrayed.

This is a very real story; it easily could be true. ( )

I am generally leery of any book written by an actor or singer. Actually, I am leery of any medium made by an artist that usually does something else. I admit that I saw the movie first. I didn't think that I would like it, but the synopsis seemed interesting and I had recently realized that I liked Steve Martin and I love most of what Claire Danes does. I loved the movie, and I was blown away that Steve Martin could write such a gem.

I didn't rush out and by the book despite my appreciation for the movie . Whenever I was at a bookstore, I would pick it up and look at. I would flip through it and then put it down. Books seem to get more expensive, so I tend to be more selective of what I buy, and I didn't think that Shopgirl would be a wise investment. It's a short book, only 144 pages or so. I can rip through that many pages in a couple of hours. Eventually, I gave into the urge and picked it up and took it home. I didn't regret the purchase, like countless others that I have made in the heat of the moment.

Steve Martin can write. I grew to love all the characters in a matter of a few pages. Mirabelle is lonely and depressed and spends her days at Neiman Marcus selling gloves. She does little more than lean against the glass counter all day. She understands that she should be doing more in life, but she seems to have accepted a life where she is merely a bystander. She spends her nights drawing dead things and talking to her cats as she waits for her life to start. She dates Jeremy, who at first glance is the epitome of a loser, and then Ray Porter, a successful man who wants to possess her with no strings attached. Each interaction between the characters adds layers of dimension to all of them and at the end of the book, you are left with three very real people. Steve Martin truly has a talent with characterization, and his word choice and phrasing is wonderful. With such insight, it makes you want to crawl into Steve Martin's head and live in there for a while. The end of the book comes much too soon, but the ending leaves you "mostly" content with the future that seems to be laid out for the characters. It is a beautiful and well written little book. It's like a small bite of something delicious. It's worth it. ( )

I didn't enjoy this one as much as 'The Pleasure of My Company,' but it was still good.

Martin’s writing style is deceptively simplistic. He uses simple phrases, very little dialogue, etc. but the topics he explores are very deep, so this novella does not come off as sounding childish or simplistic. I actually really enjoyed that he did not waste pages and pages on dialogue but rather boiled conversations down to their most important take-away points. I also enjoyed that the book looked more at the inner lives of the characters rather than just their exterior actions. However, like with the movie of the same title, I felt like there were many unanswered questions. In addition, the ending was a bit abrupt, even if it did attempt to sum up all the various threads neatly. And, finally, there is definitely some vulgar language and passages in this book, which I’m sure is not everyone’s cup of tea. ( )

This book was slim but amazing. I had no idea Steve Martin could write, and particularly, not like this. (Of course then I read the author bio in the back and saw that he had won Emmys for his writing.) Every sentence in this novella is beautifully and delicately constructed and packs a punch. I wanted there to be 500 more pages! A very simple story of Mirabelle, the glove girl at Neiman's, and the men who fall into her orbit - it is just a wonder of writing. I loved how everything was arranged and the words were perfect. I WANT MORE! ( )