Alison Larkin

Pippa Dunn, having been adopted by a Bristish couple in her infancy, feels deeply the ways in which she differs from family and friends. Ultimately locating her birth parents, she discovers she is actually an Georgian redneck with a British accent. Underlying issues of identity, nurtue vs. nature, and nationality are hadnled with a light, deft touch, humor and humanity. There is a set piece at a funeral which had me absolutely in stitches. This book came out of Larkin's show more semi-autobrtiographical one-woman comefy sketch. I had the pleasure of attending a readingh at the Berkshire Wordfest this past fall. My friend bought the audiobook, which she thought was hilarious. Perhaps because I could hear Larkin's voice in my head, I found it equally so. Print or audio, I don't think you can go wrong. show less

As someone who loves British culture, and also has a crazy southern family, I loved the English American. The book captures life in both America and in Britain from the perspective of both an outsider and an insider, with a delightfully funny heroine, Pippa, at the center.

When I first started the book I wasn't sure what to expect--a stand up comedian writing a book based on her stage act?--how is that going to work? But Larkin does a great job getting inside Pippa's head and using her voice show more to take the reader along on her journey. Pippa's honesty throughout her journey is enjoyable to read and funny, and is the thing that makes her so lovable.

And while this book is a little chick lit-ish, I really think its more of a coming of age story than the traditional chick lit, which is much more focused on chasing guys and dishing to friends. The book is really about Pippa finding herself, she just happens to find a guy or two along the way too. I would recommend this book for anyone who wants a fun, makes you smile as you drink your earl grey, read. show less

I read this on the assumption that it was a fluffy romance. It is not. It is an easy read, to be sure, but it is also a very rich one. The CiP data make it sound like it's about adoption, and while that's certainly the organizing premise of the story, there's far more to it than that. It touches on topics such as identity, nationality, nature vs. nurture, self / other, public / private, and probably a couple of other things. To me it seemed often to be threatening some disastrous turn of show more events; and if the ending was a bit trite, well, that's not uncommon. I thought it read noticeably more literarily than the things I've been reading lately. Its tone reminded me of Isak Dinesen's short stories. show less

I am about halfway through this book, and will be very sorry to see it end. It's a real eye opener with respect to an adoption of an infant in America by a British family. The contrasts between American and British customs, attitudes, and typical life are pretty amazing. While this is an adoption story, it is also a pretty good into the differences between being American, and being English. Some of the nuances revealed are amazing!

Alison Larkin is Amazing!