Jessica Fox

Jessica Fox was living in Hollywood, an ambitious 26-year-old film-maker with a high-stress job at NASA. Working late one night, craving another life, she was seized by a moment of inspiration and tapped “second hand bookshop Scotland” into Google. She clicked the first link she saw.

A month later, she arrived 2,000 miles across the Atlantic in Wigtown, on the west coast of Scotland, and knocked on the door of the bookshop she would be living in for the next month

This book had me from the show more above back cover copy. Could it be because I spent time in Scotland during college and have never fully recovered from it’s enchantment or a certain young Scotsman? Nonetheless, this memoir is a fun, escapist read…and you’ve got to admire a writer who dares bring such a title to a publisher.

It takes awhile for the story to take off (i.e. going to Scotland), but the background of LA, NASA, and film writing was interesting.
Her melt-down and eventual lay off were nicely developed. But I was finally glued to the book once Jessica is actually in Scotland, working at the bookstore and experiencing much of what I did – understanding the accents, dealing with “American” stereotypical reactions, experiencing the countryside and getting to know and understand the hard to get to know and understand people.

Jessica’s voice starts out a bit youngish – after all she is in her twenties, but at times she seemed adolescent in her actions and thoughts. Her boyfriend Euan is a whiny, wimpy – dare I say nutso boyfriend, whom I would have dumped – fast. But Jessica forges ahead with trying to make the relationship work – despite his passive-aggressive behavior. I found myself rooting for her while also secretly hoping she tells him off and slams the door behind her. It’s a slow delight, to watch her mature during her time in Scotland, her reactions to things, her voice, her moods all grow and enlarge as the book progresses. That’s a real challenge in memoir writing – to realistically reflect back on one’s own voice expanding and growing.

I underlined some great sentences: ” Grant’s house was something he was constantly working at but never quite completing — like Sisyphus attempting DIY”; “You’re so American, always wanting to talk about feelings”; “(Outings) reminded me of childhood where outings, no matter where or with whom, were filled with possibility and opportunity for excitement.”.

A small joy — each chapter starts with a quote from a book and its location in the Wigtown bookstore – (aptly named “The Bookshop”).

In the end nothing is totally resolved – except she is staying in Scotland. An enjoyable memoir whose storyline interested me on many levels – her NASA career, adapting to Scotland, the used bookstore, the town, and of course the story of her relationships with not only her crazy boyfriend but also the quiet, hard-working locals. I also enjoyed the very realistic glimpse into rural Scotland and the used book business in Wigtown. show less

The first half of the book was considerably more enjoyable for me. Jessica's inability to see that Euan was a poor match for her expectation in a relationship became very tiresome. She appears to have a remarkable talent in film making but this career seemed less important to her than a relationship with 'the one'. This is real life but unsatisfying to read: with no insights on going forward except a hang fire status as a resident in the UK, her angst ends up unresolved by the end of the book.

26-year-old Jessica Fox was living in Hollywood and living a stressful life when wishful thinking led her to Google “second hand bookshop Scotland”. A month later, she travelled 2,000 miles and arrived in Wigtown, Scotland, where she stayed in a second-hand bookshop for a month. She develops a connection to the owner of the bookshop, returns home, then travels back to Wigtown to be with him. Discovering he is a 'ditherer' she seems to constantly be analysing their relationship. I have show more already read 'The Diary of a Bookseller' by Shaun Bythell, but I feel that I should have read this one first and then his story as it seems to follow hers. Interesting read. show less

An British Indian woman goes to India for a huge family wedding, managing to combine the trip with work on a documentary about a nearby spiritual retreat with a new-found reputation for miracles. I quite enjoyed it but felt a bit uncomfortable at the very stereotypical Indian family dynamics and characteristics, which feel worse coming from (I assume) a white British author.

The book touches only briefly on Priya's reaction to being in India - a scene in which we are told, rather than shown, show more her feelings of being a foreigner in her "homeland". Far more internal dialogue is spent on the various men in her life and her mother's nagging, because after all this is first and foremost a romance. The plot is very larger-than-life Bollywood (even Priya notices this, in between angsting over men and her career) and I think every character is slightly exaggerated and stereotypical. Perhaps it's just a stylistic choice.

http://rmc28.dreamwidth.org/424490.html show less