This One Is Mine

Violet used to be something. She wrote for T.V. greats and made her snobbishly intellectual family proud. When she married mega music producer David Parry, she found herself slowly slipping away. She quit her job to raise their daughter who now spends all day with a nanny while Violet roams the canyons of Southern California. David, himself is too absorbed in the industry, to really get to the bottom of the troubles in his life, his wife’s or his younger sister, Sally’s.

Sally, a middle-aged diabetic dancer, has inevitable troubles of her own. She’s still looking for “that someone” and she doesn’t mean romance. She wants a diamond, preferably attached to rising star and future ESPN personality Jeremy White. Scheming is what show more Sally does well and hijinks, as well as tragedy, ensue.

While the reader doesn’t have to be terribly well-versed in the Russian epic-dramas, if you’ve read Anna Karenina, you’re in for a fun surprise. Many of the scenes and events are linked to Tolstoy’s tragedy, especially Violet’s despondent, self-centered outlook on her life.

The other item of note is the approach Semple took in creating her characters. If the book is not understood as a microcosm for various sects of L.A., it will be fairly unlikable. For anyone who has ever run screaming from the town, or even for a high number of those who have stayed, the dark, albeit hilarious, parody will ring true enough for laughs and tears. The characters are not “likeable” but I find myself time and time again wondering why that is criteria for enjoying a book.

I don’t read books to read about Miss Suzy Sunshine and her perfect life. I want people to echo the ideas we all have but never speak or act on. Pristine, self-less thoughts rarely make good reading material, at least not funny reading material. Dark, questioning, self-conscious ideas people never say aloud, do.

The writing is crisp and snazzy, the images both true and absurd. Semple’s talent translates well from t.v. screen to her first novel debut. This is a must read for the L.A. crowd, or maybe, rather for the recovering-from-L.A. crowd. show less

This well-written novel was surprisingly engaging, especially given that I didn't much like the characters when I started reading. As the story unfolded however, the motivations behind their actions became more clear, and I found myself reacting to them with much more empathy. Parts of the book were tragic while others were tragically funny; only in a book about Hollywood could entire plotline not seem a bit contrived.

Though I never fully understood Violet's attraction to Teddy, I could understand her frustration with her marriage and the life she found herself living. Sally initially appeared cold-hearted and calculating, but revelations about her health and the profound impact that had on her outlook on life gave her character show more unexpected depth. The revelation about her insurance, so life-altering to her and so unimportant to David, struck me as the most poignant moment in the book- I almost cried for Sally.

Semple has the voice and flavor of Hollywood life down pat, and this first novel tells a wonderful yet cautionary tale about the teeming depths beneath the surface lives of these characters. A strong 4 stars, I hope this novel is not the last we see from Semple. show less

At first I wasn't sure about this -- I'd heard it wasn't nearly as good as Where'd You Go, Bernadette? and the two narrators were both pretty unlikable. I also have an immense distaste for stories about infidelity. Yet Maria Semple is such a good writer that when I was done reading, I knew I loved it. Some of the prose drove me to tears. She's that good.

Reading This One Is Mine was an unexpected pleasure. The book tackles some painfully messy situations that come up in family relationships with a light humor that keeps the book from becoming depressing. Every character is unhappy. Each is desperate to find one thing they believe will cure all of their problems.

Violet finds herself obsessively infatuated with Teddy, a recovering drug addict. He's clearly not good for her and she's willing to throw her family and all of her money away to be with him. This was the one aspect of the book I didn't find realistic. Not that a woman would give everything up in an unhappy relationship to get the affection she craves, but that she would chose someone so very unattractive. He's missing a tooth show more and kind of dirty. It can be thrilling to be involved with someone from "the other side of the tracks," but Teddy is more disgusting than edgy.

Every other aspect of this novel felt authentic, from Violet's unhappiness in her marriage, to David's longing for the woman she used to be, to Sally's desperation to be married. Each of the characters deal with heart-breaking emotional situations that make you see past their flaws and eventually root for them.

Maria Semple shows the ugly side of relationships and does it with a highly enjoyable mix of lightheartedness and gritty reality. This One Is Mine is a fresh debut novel marking Semple as an author is keep your eye on. show less

Marie Semple has created a spot on, delicious send up of all things Los Angeles in This One Is Mine. With a delightful cast of some of the shallowest people ever to grace the printed page, this is a story of New Age absurdity, conniving, greed, wealth, social climbing, adultery and so much more. These characters are so real, they could live next door. But thank goodness they don’t!

Once started, I could not put this book down. The writing is fluid and the characters fully developed. I enjoyed every last page of this dark comedy.

Yes, these characters are unlikeable, but as you read through the book and the walls they have up drop, you start to feel for them. This is Maria Semple's best book. But damn Maria, 160lbs isn't fat. Chill

For me the book started off a little slow, and it took me a bit to really get into it. But once I got past all that, I couldn't put it down. I figured things out about Jeremy before Sally did, I laughed and fell in love with Teddy. Violet, oh I connected with her in so many ways. My heart stopped when Dot fell and I wanted to hurt Kurt right along with David.
I fell hard for David, even though he can be an a** at times.
I cried at the end of the book, but would read it again and again just to see the love blossom between them all and know that in the end, everyone was ok with were they are in life.