The Big Love

This was an unexpected joy. Witty and well written and it only cost me a $1 at a library book sale! I felt a connection with Alison, her religious hang ups, and her revelations almost instantly. I hesitate to call this book a light read as it certainly resonated with me much deeper than any fluff-ish book I've picked up, I so enjoyed reading it and it was such a smooth read that it felt light. This one I'll be keeping. I know I'll be reading it again.

There was a lot to like and dislike about this book. I really enjoyed the chatty-Cathy voice it was written in. I think while it did get a little annoying and boring at times like the other reviews have stated, it was refreshing. It was a great representation of that type of character or woman - the one that will spill her guts the moment after you stop shaking her hand.

However, I think what steered this away from a Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich) type of feel was that the chattiness of the character made the book spend way too much time on backstory. There was so much telling, that nothing really happened in the book. And when something in the present would happen, it would happen really fast to give way to the character venting her show more feelings. I feel like there could have been more of a balance.

Likewise, I didn't enjoy the religious aspects of the book. At one point, the book states that Judaism doesn't believe in an afterlife which is completely false. I also felt that the gay characters were used as tokens rather than actual friends.

Overall, it was a nice, easy-breezy traveling read. Served me well on my trip. show less

Last word first: I liked it. But it wasn't the Big Love for me.

Description: Alison Hopkins sends her live-in boyfriend, Tom, out for mustard in the middle of a dinner party. Instead of returning, he calls and tells her he's in love with someone else and he's not coming back. Needless to say, Alison needs to reevaluate a few things about her life.

My thoughts: I liked the sound of this story. After all, anything as awful as having your significant other break up with you by phone call in the middle of a dinner party should make for a good story, right? But the book didn't quite live up to expectations.

My biggest problem with the story is the amount of time Alison spends griping about her evangelical Christian upbringing. I agree, show more evangelical Christians can make great griping material (even though I am one), and it was pretty funny at first, but the griping went on and on and on to the point where I was kind of bored with it. You could argue that I didn't like it because I felt insulting by it subconsciously, but I really don't think that's it. She just whines a lot.

On the plus side, I really did like Alison the rest of the time. She's exactly the type of quirkily entertaining character that I always find myself rooting for. And I loved the way the story was wrapped up, but I won't give anything away about it.

The Big Love reminded me of another book I read recently, The Prairie Bridesmaid. Both books deal with women in their thirties who are emerging from bad relationships and trying to figure out how to deal with their new single identities... finding it much more difficult when everyone they know is in a relationship. They are both funny books with sad themes, and if you enjoyed one, I recommend the other one for you. show less

There was a lot to like and dislike about this book. I really enjoyed the chatty-Cathy voice it was written in. I think while it did get a little annoying and boring at times like the other reviews have stated, it was refreshing. It was a great representation of that type of character or woman - the one that will spill her guts the moment after you stop shaking her hand.

However, I think what steered this away from a Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich) type of feel was that the chattiness of the character made the book spend way too much time on backstory. There was so much telling, that nothing really happened in the book. And when something in the present would happen, it would happen really fast to give way to the character venting her show more feelings. I feel like there could have been more of a balance.

Likewise, I didn't enjoy the religious aspects of the book. At one point, the book states that Judaism doesn't believe in an afterlife which is completely false. I also felt that the gay characters were used as tokens rather than actual friends.

Overall, it was a nice, easy-breezy traveling read. Served me well on my trip. show less

So good. Hilarious and adorable. I may be a little partial too because I found it incredibly easy to relate. Girl has not much experience and is going through her first big break up..also has the same evangelical upbringing which she lightheartedly makes fun of throughout. She's extremely quirky and confused and I couldn't help but think...hey, this girl is me.

Even if you can't relate...it's a cute, fun and fast read.

better than average chick lit. I liked the fact that the protagonist was a fallen away evangelical christian - it was a new voice for me.

I thought the story was good though fairly predictable. I liked Alison (the narrator) though - and that counts for alot in my book!

I was pleased with this book. I really liked the author's conversational tone, and I could understand exactly why she thought the things she did, sometimes. And I even wanted to scream at her at times and cheer for her at others, much like her friends did. It was a quick read (I essentially read it in a day), but that's sort of what I'm into right now ... short attention span theater.