Stupid and Contagious - book review
Nov. 3rd, 2006 07:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
avreliaI haven't had this for a long while... the joy of buying a random book and loving it immediately... I haven't bought a book out of the blue for a long time. I did it in Russia, I did it in Vancouver – at library sales, where all books were $0.5-1, so the chance of not liking books didn't bother me that much. But to pay the full price was too serious matter – I would go by recommendations and reviews and a lot of walking around the book and thinking and thinking... And I would usually end up getting this book from the library, anyway.
(I am not talking here about textbooks and reference, and other literature I needed to buy for some reason, but about fiction and non-fiction books I read for pleasure.)
And here I am, in September, walking around after visit to my doctor. I was looking for a birthday present for a friend and naturally went to a bookstore. I didn't find a present there, but I decided to look at books I had read recently about. Among others I looked at Megan Crane and decided to wait for it at the library, and then I saw a book nearby – by Caprice Crane, Stupid and Contagious. I grabbed it, checked out the cover (there was no blurb, just quotes from the text itself), peeked into the several places throughout the book, and charged to the cash register. I left the store with the book, amazed at my own frivolity ($19 OMG!) and spent the whole evening reading it from the beginning till end. I still don't regret owning it. I think it was the arrow in the title on the cover that did me in. Here it is: This book is written for the generation of 25-35 people (me) who grew up in American culture (not me). I was reminded throughout the book just how clueless I am in the movies and music of the 80s-90s. I know if I could recognize the quotes scattered throughout the book I would probably enjoy it more – but why do I need to be greedy? I loved the book as it is.
The plot is as simple as it can be. A girl and a boy. They don't like each other, they like each other, they love each other. It's everything else that makes a book special: details, and dialogues, music and atmosphere and so on. The book is written from 3 rd person limited point of view – from both hero and heroine, which works very well in building interesting stereoscopic vision on the character, introspection and as a dialogue. We know what's going on in heroes' heads, and how their actions look from outside.
The characters are quirky and not too nice – which makes them real enough to care about their exploits. I've read a review on this book, where the reviewer criticizes these and similar characters for their unlimited quirkiness as main characteristic. I cannot say about all other, but with Heaven and Bradley –well, they would do stuff that would never occurred to me: for example, I can't open mail that is not addressed to me, like Heaven does, nor do I create a soundtrack for me life as does Bradley but I have no less quirks than Heaven and Bradley.
They are no more quirky and strange than you and I, it just our own quirks seem perfectly normal, as opposed to our neighbours' – and this is perfectly clear in the book as its characters are looking at each other rolling their eyes. Heh.
They both are very capable at what they love to do professionally – and though Heaven is the worst waitress ever, she has good PR skills, and though Bradley's business is not doing too well, he raises to challenge by the end of the book. I have to admit; I was slightly annoyed that after being fired from her PR company Heaven settled with a job she clearly hates, instead of looking for something more suitable. Then I looked in a mirror.
Another thing that unites the heroes in a more meaningful way and gives the story a very definite flavour is music. Bradley has a small recoding company, he creates a soundtrack to his life in his head and generally he just loves music – and for Heaven music adds a lot to her view on life, Universe and everything. The fact that the author was a writer for MTV really plays out well in it. In fact, I would be glad to have a soundtrack to this book myself. (I would have posted a list of songs here, but I lent to a friend – so another time.) Music adds sparkle and substance to the book, but not in a cheesy way, but as a part of creating more realistic character living in familiar Universe, just many other small touches.
The ending seemed a little bit rushed, and the resounding success Heaven and Bradley in all personal and professional spheres left me strangely dissatisfied – as if the story suddenly left my Universe for the Universe of Happily Endings. But really, it's a minor gripe and doesn't diminish the pleasure I had reading the whole story in any way.
I need that soundtrack.
(I am not talking here about textbooks and reference, and other literature I needed to buy for some reason, but about fiction and non-fiction books I read for pleasure.)
And here I am, in September, walking around after visit to my doctor. I was looking for a birthday present for a friend and naturally went to a bookstore. I didn't find a present there, but I decided to look at books I had read recently about. Among others I looked at Megan Crane and decided to wait for it at the library, and then I saw a book nearby – by Caprice Crane, Stupid and Contagious. I grabbed it, checked out the cover (there was no blurb, just quotes from the text itself), peeked into the several places throughout the book, and charged to the cash register. I left the store with the book, amazed at my own frivolity ($19 OMG!) and spent the whole evening reading it from the beginning till end. I still don't regret owning it. I think it was the arrow in the title on the cover that did me in. Here it is: This book is written for the generation of 25-35 people (me) who grew up in American culture (not me). I was reminded throughout the book just how clueless I am in the movies and music of the 80s-90s. I know if I could recognize the quotes scattered throughout the book I would probably enjoy it more – but why do I need to be greedy? I loved the book as it is.
The plot is as simple as it can be. A girl and a boy. They don't like each other, they like each other, they love each other. It's everything else that makes a book special: details, and dialogues, music and atmosphere and so on. The book is written from 3 rd person limited point of view – from both hero and heroine, which works very well in building interesting stereoscopic vision on the character, introspection and as a dialogue. We know what's going on in heroes' heads, and how their actions look from outside.
The characters are quirky and not too nice – which makes them real enough to care about their exploits. I've read a review on this book, where the reviewer criticizes these and similar characters for their unlimited quirkiness as main characteristic. I cannot say about all other, but with Heaven and Bradley –well, they would do stuff that would never occurred to me: for example, I can't open mail that is not addressed to me, like Heaven does, nor do I create a soundtrack for me life as does Bradley but I have no less quirks than Heaven and Bradley.
They are no more quirky and strange than you and I, it just our own quirks seem perfectly normal, as opposed to our neighbours' – and this is perfectly clear in the book as its characters are looking at each other rolling their eyes. Heh.
They both are very capable at what they love to do professionally – and though Heaven is the worst waitress ever, she has good PR skills, and though Bradley's business is not doing too well, he raises to challenge by the end of the book. I have to admit; I was slightly annoyed that after being fired from her PR company Heaven settled with a job she clearly hates, instead of looking for something more suitable. Then I looked in a mirror.
Another thing that unites the heroes in a more meaningful way and gives the story a very definite flavour is music. Bradley has a small recoding company, he creates a soundtrack to his life in his head and generally he just loves music – and for Heaven music adds a lot to her view on life, Universe and everything. The fact that the author was a writer for MTV really plays out well in it. In fact, I would be glad to have a soundtrack to this book myself. (I would have posted a list of songs here, but I lent to a friend – so another time.) Music adds sparkle and substance to the book, but not in a cheesy way, but as a part of creating more realistic character living in familiar Universe, just many other small touches.
The ending seemed a little bit rushed, and the resounding success Heaven and Bradley in all personal and professional spheres left me strangely dissatisfied – as if the story suddenly left my Universe for the Universe of Happily Endings. But really, it's a minor gripe and doesn't diminish the pleasure I had reading the whole story in any way.
I need that soundtrack.
| lj book reviews | |
 | |
| make your own book badge | read lj reviews of this book |
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}