Pug Hill

Started kind of slow & wasn't grabbing me; I thought it was a New Yorker trying to be Bridget Jones. But then Hope starts Overcoming Presentation Anxiety classes and hilarity ensued. The dog stuff? Meh. The class stuff? Laugh out loud.

I really liked this book and I think (hope?) when I start writing my style might come out similar to this. I noticed Pace uses a lot of commas, a tendency I share. Funnily, one of her recent blog entries is about how she's been told she uses a lot of commas.

This book is conversational. Instead of using a device such as letters or e-mails so that the narrator can address someone personally, the author bypasses that method in favour of having her narrator speak directly to the readers. So the narrator will be giving her take on something, like for example, speculating on what would have become of Jan Brady ("I hope she'd be fine and all, but part of me also thinks that maybe she'd be lighting up in a crack den somewhere, and if not that, show more at the very least, she'd be spending a tremendous amount of time in a therapist's office.")and she'll go on to address the reader -- "And you might think that sounds a bit rash, and you might think that maybe I'm getting a little carried away. I might be, I'll give you that much, but I think what's more likely, I think what makes so much more sens, is that it's just really hard to understand what it does to you, growing up with a sister who is the new Marcia Brady. It really gets to you. Really, so much more than you'd think."

I liked this style. I thought it was effective at setting a casual tone and having the reader relate all the much more to the narrator-heroine.

Pace chooses to use chapter titles, which I also like. The first chapter is titled "The End" (of course as soon as I saw that I had to confirm that the last chapter is indeed titled "The Beginning"). I thought, therefore, that the first chapter would be the last event and that starting in the second chapter we would flashback to see how it all came to be. Instead The End that takes place in the first chapter is the first step to a new beginning. And I don't want to go into spoiler mode so I won't go into specifics but I will say this: this isn't the end/the beginning of a romantic relationship but more the end/the beginning of facing a fear and beginning a new adult life better equipped at facing fears. It's very much an arch about personal growth for the character. So that was something else that stood out in the book for me as something that worked well.

One aspect I didn't like as much was that the book felt a little disjointed in a few places, where I might have liked it to be divided into parts rather than just going on to a new chapter. For example, Hope's, the narrator-heroine's, relationship with her family is a theme that takes on greater and lesser degrees of importance in different portions of the book. When she visits her parents' home, I felt like that should have been a different part of the book, even though it was foreshadowed properly. So there are ways in which I think this novel could have been made even stronger but it works quite well as is. show less

3.5 stars

Hope is a paintings restorer. She has a boyfriend, but also a crush on a coworker. Her parents' wedding anniversary is coming up and her dad has asked her to give a speech at the celebration. Hope is terrified of public speaking, but she can't say no to her parents with a request like this.

It was quick and enjoyable. Definitely a light summer read. Probably my favourite chapter was the one that focused on her parents' dogs. I did like how it ended, as well.

A classic bumbling cute girl rom-com story where the main character, Hope, is dealing with your average everyday dilemmas in love, luck, and work. She has to give a speech at her parents' wedding anniversary and she's afraid of public speaking, she has issues in her relationship with her boyfriend who she probably shouldn't be dating [we've all been there], and has to act like an actual human and not some pile of mush in front of her crush. She spends blissful moments watching the Pugs roam around and have fun in the park {they are rather majestic creatures are they not? lol}

This was boring but not bad. I lost interest about 40% of the way in because it was like every other rom-com with no outstanding incidents to speak of. The major show more draw for me was the fact that it has pugs in it and as a human owned by a pug, that was the extent of the appeal. I suppose it is more of an everywoman kinda story but that isn't my jam.

Recommended for light romance readers & chick-lit readers, or anyone who wants a light summer pool read.

**All thoughts and opinions are my own.** show less

Really loved this book!
Found Allison's writing and sense of humor to be just wonderful and a delight!!
Hope MacNeill - Jewish/Catholic painting restorer at the Met is in her mid-30's and finding life hard in NYC. She has a crush on a co-worker, has a boyfriend she really doesn't like, and a sister, Darcy whose boyfriend C.P. may move to a commune.
She also decides to fight her fear of public speaking by taking a class at the New School. The diaglogue for this section is amazing!!
A thouroughly enjoyable read!

I thought this book would be a good "light" diversionary read form some nonfiction books I've been reading. Little did I suspect that some of what was in those books would turn up in this! I've been trying to build a practice of meditation and mindfulness, and at least two of the techniques for restorative breathing show up in Pug Hill as relaxation techniques, taught in Hope's public speaking class! Synchronicity, huh? Anyhow, the novel, which true to my original thoughts, was of the lighter variety, had some good expressions on the subjects of finding contentment, overcoming fears, and the love of a good dog.

Not being a New Yorker, I was curious to see if Pug Hill really existed. I came upon these two links which give some show more interesting information:
http://pughill.org/
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/01/nyregion/while-the-pugs-eat-the-caviar-owners-... show less

Pug Hill is a fun little Chick Lit book.

Hope McNeill is the main character. Hope is 31 & dealing with a lot of stress in her life. She is stuck in a bad relationship with a guy she can barely tolerate. She is crushing big time on her co-worker. And her parents have asked her to conquer her fear of public speaking & give a toast at their 40th wedding anniversary.

We all have our "happy" places. For some of us it is the book store, for others it is the mall. For Hope McNeill, her happy place is Pug Hill in Central Park. Hope is one of those people who measures her life in terms of the dogs that have been in it. And they are all her Parent's dogs. She loves Pug's, yet does not have one of her own.

Hope tries to conquer her fear of Public show more Speaking & takes a class. And she breaks up with her jerk of her boyfriend. Can she get to that place in her life, where she finally gets a Pug for herself? Maybe.

I really liked this book up until the last chapter. The character obviously undergoes some personal growth & it is fun to watch her grow. And then you get to the last chapter & EVERYTHING gets tied up in a neat little bow & it is Happily Ever After. All in one chapter.

Just for the record, not all books have to be "Happily Ever After". show less