*"h" for heroine, "H" for heroWhere have all the Good Men gone? That is the question we are faced with in The Trials of Tiffany Trott. And let me tell you, ladies, after reading the whole book, I JUST DON'T KNOW!!!!So this is basically a Brit Sex in the City. I'm not going to do the regular He/She/Conflict summary for this one because the "she" is a late-thirties Everywoman (good-hearted, attractive, smart, wonderful, been hurt by love before) and the "he", like Mr. Big, is more of a concept than an actual person and anyway the story is a Scheherazade's tale of multiple He's. And the conflict is that there are just no Good Men out there. Well-written, and sometimes rump-thumpingly hilarious. But you know, I was really exhausted about halfway in. It was just one bad date after another. Maybe the author was kind of representing the sheer desperation of the cause so that by the end of it we, like the h, wish she would just BLOODY FIND SOMEONE ALREADY. “Better single than badly accompanied,” someone declares in the book. And you wince, dear Skeptic, because you know she's only saying that to be brave. The h doesn't really believe that and it's just sad. The formula for these things is usually a variant of "the rule of threes" thing. One guy that's all wrong, one that's too "right" and one that seems wrong but is totally right. Maybe introduce another for some high jinks. But there must have been 15 in this one. And I can't tell from the kindle book, but is this book especially long? Also, could it be that I am just projecting? Was I emotionally too zapped by the thought of one of my deserving sisters out there looking and looking and just not finding that I put up walls? I will think carefully about the possibility.The book ends in an interesting way. But instead of being piqued and intrigued, I was thinking ye gods, not AGAIN. It was fun for what is was of course, but I often wonder about books and movies that show women as nothing more than almost-marrieds. It's as if she's just skirting through life waiting to get hitched. Surely there is a better way to live. Like if the h were to construct a life as if she were never going to get married, like she's the star of the show, and marriage becomes an awesome "bonus" and not her "entire life's purpose."http://theromanticalskeptic.blogspot....
After a string of failed relationships (including one with the philandering Philip and Laura-Ashley-wearing Alex), all Tiffany Trott wants to find is an "ok-looking-bordering-on-the-almost-acceptable" man who isn't afraid of commitment and doesn't play golf. Is that too much to ask? Well, yes, as Tiffany finds to her dismay. Despite the assitance of personal ads, singles events, Club Med vacations and introduction agencies, Tiffany can't seem to find men who aren't heartless, lecherous, stuck in adolescence or...worst of all...married! Thank God she has her friends' marital disasters and pregnancies to pull her attention away from her dismally single state and to help her avoid an entanglement with the one highly unsuitable man who has captured her fancy. Disappointed is the nicest word I can use to describe my feelings about this book. Isabel Wolff is a talented writer, as she's proven in her most recent works (A Vintage Affair and The Very Picture of You.) Those works showcase her clever humor and witty dialogue. Unfortunately, although this book, her first published, has rough glimpses of those traits, they are overshadowed by the meandering plot and suboptimal characters. These faults are slightly redeemed by Tiffany's hilarious internal commentary (especially the things she would say but doesn't) and her oblivion to her faults (including her obsession with a most undesirable suitor). Too, Ms. Wolff ably captures the life of a single girl on the hunt, full of an equal mix of optimism and despondency. Though I was quickly wearied by the story, I read on doggedly to the end, sure that it would make up for the majority of the book. When I got to the last page, however, I was so upset by the non-ending and completely regretted the time I spent on it. So, unless you just want a laugh, I'd recommend skipping this book and reading Ms. Wolff's much more delightful and absorbing A Vintage Affair!
