tres 80's , 17 Feb 2007
this is a book that has the time it was written in stamped over all it. Tama Janowitz is a contemporary of Brett Easton Ellis,and was also part of Andy Warhol's inner circle . She writes stories that covered similar misadventures to Easton Ellis. This book is more like a set of short stories that cover a interesting variety of women trying to make an honest dollar and get on with there ambitions lives in New York as is often in big cities some of the women end up in less glamorous surroundings than they had hoped for. They are stories in which the protagonists hit hard reality regardless of there dreams. It is funny and sympathetic.

Amusing read, 27 Mar 1999
This was the first book I read by Ms. Janowitz and the story, for the most part, moves along at a nice pace. There are the various assortment of characters...some making numerous appearances, some only a solo appearance. I did appreciate her witty sense of humour.

tres 80's , 17 Feb 2007
this is a book that has the time it was written in stamped over all it. Tama Janowitz is a contemporary of Brett Easton Ellis,and was also part of Andy Warhol's inner circle . She writes stories that covered similar misadventures to Easton Ellis. This book is more like a set of short stories that cover a interesting variety of women trying to make an honest dollar and get on with there ambitions lives in New York as is often in big cities some of the women end up in less glamorous surroundings than they had hoped for. They are stories in which the protagonists hit hard reality regardless of there dreams. It is funny and sympathetic.

Amusing read, 27 Mar 1999
This was the first book I read by Ms. Janowitz and the story, for the most part, moves along at a nice pace. There are the various assortment of characters...some making numerous appearances, some only a solo appearance. I did appreciate her witty sense of humour.

V.Funny, 13 Nov 2002
A hilarious overview of Tama Janowitz's life in the Big Apple. She introduces us to extravert, funny and outrageous characters from her experiences. From travelling to China to adopt a baby then double dating with Andy Warhol we see how her hectic life revoloves around the way other people live their own lives. Swanky dinners and after-show parties are all in her stride, but she feels that somehow she does not quite fit in due to her 'individual' fashion sense.
Definatly a book that you will not be able to put down. 10/10.

tres 80's , 17 Feb 2007
this is a book that has the time it was written in stamped over all it. Tama Janowitz is a contemporary of Brett Easton Ellis,and was also part of Andy Warhol's inner circle . She writes stories that covered similar misadventures to Easton Ellis. This book is more like a set of short stories that cover a interesting variety of women trying to make an honest dollar and get on with there ambitions lives in New York as is often in big cities some of the women end up in less glamorous surroundings than they had hoped for. They are stories in which the protagonists hit hard reality regardless of there dreams. It is funny and sympathetic.

Amusing read, 27 Mar 1999
This was the first book I read by Ms. Janowitz and the story, for the most part, moves along at a nice pace. There are the various assortment of characters...some making numerous appearances, some only a solo appearance. I did appreciate her witty sense of humour.

V.Funny, 13 Nov 2002
A hilarious overview of Tama Janowitz's life in the Big Apple. She introduces us to extravert, funny and outrageous characters from her experiences. From travelling to China to adopt a baby then double dating with Andy Warhol we see how her hectic life revoloves around the way other people live their own lives. Swanky dinners and after-show parties are all in her stride, but she feels that somehow she does not quite fit in due to her 'individual' fashion sense.
Definatly a book that you will not be able to put down. 10/10.

tres 80's , 17 Feb 2007
this is a book that has the time it was written in stamped over all it. Tama Janowitz is a contemporary of Brett Easton Ellis,and was also part of Andy Warhol's inner circle . She writes stories that covered similar misadventures to Easton Ellis. This book is more like a set of short stories that cover a interesting variety of women trying to make an honest dollar and get on with there ambitions lives in New York as is often in big cities some of the women end up in less glamorous surroundings than they had hoped for. They are stories in which the protagonists hit hard reality regardless of there dreams. It is funny and sympathetic.

Amusing read, 27 Mar 1999
This was the first book I read by Ms. Janowitz and the story, for the most part, moves along at a nice pace. There are the various assortment of characters...some making numerous appearances, some only a solo appearance. I did appreciate her witty sense of humour.

Ever gone mad with a credit card? Wished you lived in New York? Craved upward-mobility? This tale of social climbing and compulsive spending, by the author of Slaves of New York, American Dad, A Cannibal in Manhatten and The Male Cross-Dresser Support Group, will cure you. For good.

Florence Collins is assistant director at a second-rate auction house. She doesn't earn enough to support her lifestyle, which requires the purchase of vast quantities of designer clothes and over-priced, pre-prepared foodstuffs. The cash she inherited from her mother is running out fast, she's 32--"A Certain Age" (or, according to NY society gossip columns, an "aging filly-about-town")--fully conscious of her own shallowness and lack of principles, and desperate for a husband. A rich husband. A very very very rich husband.

Janowitz's witty, nasty novel shows how Florence's crass attempts to capture this elusive creature draw her into a downward spiral through the superficial world of air-kissing, baby showers, fashionable art, infidelity and child-neglect, into her own personal hell. More self-destructive than Madame Bovary, like Bridget Jones with the nice bits amputated, in Florence Collins Tama Janowitz has created a tragi-comic anti-heroine who is just one big fatal flaw. Read it and shriek. --Lisa Gee

tres 80's , 17 Feb 2007
this is a book that has the time it was written in stamped over all it. Tama Janowitz is a contemporary of Brett Easton Ellis,and was also part of Andy Warhol's inner circle . She writes stories that covered similar misadventures to Easton Ellis. This book is more like a set of short stories that cover a interesting variety of women trying to make an honest dollar and get on with there ambitions lives in New York as is often in big cities some of the women end up in less glamorous surroundings than they had hoped for. They are stories in which the protagonists hit hard reality regardless of there dreams. It is funny and sympathetic.

Amusing read, 27 Mar 1999
This was the first book I read by Ms. Janowitz and the story, for the most part, moves along at a nice pace. There are the various assortment of characters...some making numerous appearances, some only a solo appearance. I did appreciate her witty sense of humour.

V.Funny, 13 Nov 2002
A hilarious overview of Tama Janowitz's life in the Big Apple. She introduces us to extravert, funny and outrageous characters from her experiences. From travelling to China to adopt a baby then double dating with Andy Warhol we see how her hectic life revoloves around the way other people live their own lives. Swanky dinners and after-show parties are all in her stride, but she feels that somehow she does not quite fit in due to her 'individual' fashion sense.
Definatly a book that you will not be able to put down. 10/10.

tres 80's , 17 Feb 2007
this is a book that has the time it was written in stamped over all it. Tama Janowitz is a contemporary of Brett Easton Ellis,and was also part of Andy Warhol's inner circle . She writes stories that covered similar misadventures to Easton Ellis. This book is more like a set of short stories that cover a interesting variety of women trying to make an honest dollar and get on with there ambitions lives in New York as is often in big cities some of the women end up in less glamorous surroundings than they had hoped for. They are stories in which the protagonists hit hard reality regardless of there dreams. It is funny and sympathetic.

Amusing read, 27 Mar 1999
This was the first book I read by Ms. Janowitz and the story, for the most part, moves along at a nice pace. There are the various assortment of characters...some making numerous appearances, some only a solo appearance. I did appreciate her witty sense of humour.

A TRAGIC TALE OF URBAN ANGST, 02 Sep 2003
The setting for this novel is the dog-eat-dog world of Manhattan during the closing years of the 20th Century. It is populated by the same type of soulless characters as can be found in the pages of Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire Of The Vanities". In such a milieu true friendship is almost non-existent; social contacts being made, kept and dropped solely to further self-enterest. This is a world of style over substance where no one is anyone unless he or she has wealth, power and influence.

Florence is a lonely woman with little in the way of family or real friends. Despite her surface sophistication she never seems to quite fit into the super-affluent world she craves to be a part of: she flounders at crucial moments, swimming against a current too strong for her and then getting out of her depth.

An interesting aspect of the novel is that Florence is well aware of her own shallowness and lack of humanity, however she does nothing about this and continues to follow her own directive. Her life as portrayed here is goal-orientated with little time for any real contentment or self-reflection. It is astounding how a woman of only thirty-two (the 'certain age' of the title)could endure such a joyless existence - her behaviour is hidebound; she is a slave to fashion and protocol with little self-esteem or personal freedom.

This is a captivating book: Janowitz's attention to the details of Manhattan life produces some fine social satire indeed. There is also an existential tone to the novel in that there is a question of whether Florence is victim or fool. Was she just lacking sufficient urban survival skills in a ruthless Darwinian world, or blinded by her own greed and selfishness was she doomed to a suffering entirely of her own making? Ultimately is Florence the kind of person who would notice if the sun rose in the West? You will have to read this funny but tragic book and see for yourself.

Compulsive shopping...compulsive reading!, 20 Jul 2001
This is a great read even though it's fairly lightweight. No woman can fail to see just a little of themselves in the main character despite the fact that she's quite unbearable! Is Janovitz providing entertaining fiction or cheap thearapy?

Want to be utterly depressed? Read this book!, 11 Sep 2000
The front cover of this book promises a hilarious read. I was expecting a sort of Sex in the City clone but now I've read the book I realise that it is both signally different to Candance Bushnell's efforts and far from a hilarious read. This is a desperately depressing book about a woman whose life gradually falls apart from page one, leaving her a destitute crack-addict at the end. How could anyone find this funny? I took it on holiday - what a mistake! The heroine is feeble, greedy, superficial. I didn't feel any sympathy for her plight at the end - she brought it all on herself.

Janowitz always entertains, 22 May 2000
I had looked forward to reading this new novel from one of my favourite writers and was not disappointed. If you want a fast-paced, entertaining, terse, sharp read about the so-called NY high-life then this is one for you. Does not have the quirky edge of previous Janowitz novels and this I did miss. Characterisation was scant, efficent and fun but I wanted to get to know a few of the players a little better. Florence delighted and annoyed me throughout. There were points where I really wanted her to do something nasty to herself, just to break the pattern of relationship fatigue and spending. And how come her credit card never got refused! The ending made me yowl with frustration - is there going to be a sequel or can we presume Florence saw the Statue of Liberty, walked into the sunset and found another day? I guess so.... Looking forward to the next novel no matter.

A modern-day Becky Sharp, 18 Nov 1999
I thought the book was great! The whole idea of Florence is that she is superficial and grasping; I neither liked nor disliked her but felt rather detached. The story isn't particularly strong, but I think the whole novel is more of a character study of Florence and the rich idiots whose company she favours - and as for the end, I thought it opened up all kinds of possibilities for our heroine!

tres 80's , 17 Feb 2007
this is a book that has the time it was written in stamped over all it. Tama Janowitz is a contemporary of Brett Easton Ellis,and was also part of Andy Warhol's inner circle . She writes stories that covered similar misadventures to Easton Ellis. This book is more like a set of short stories that cover a interesting variety of women trying to make an honest dollar and get on with there ambitions lives in New York as is often in big cities some of the women end up in less glamorous surroundings than they had hoped for. They are stories in which the protagonists hit hard reality regardless of there dreams. It is funny and sympathetic.

Amusing read, 27 Mar 1999
This was the first book I read by Ms. Janowitz and the story, for the most part, moves along at a nice pace. There are the various assortment of characters...some making numerous appearances, some only a solo appearance. I did appreciate her witty sense of humour.

V.Funny, 13 Nov 2002
A hilarious overview of Tama Janowitz's life in the Big Apple. She introduces us to extravert, funny and outrageous characters from her experiences. From travelling to China to adopt a baby then double dating with Andy Warhol we see how her hectic life revoloves around the way other people live their own lives. Swanky dinners and after-show parties are all in her stride, but she feels that somehow she does not quite fit in due to her 'individual' fashion sense.
Definatly a book that you will not be able to put down. 10/10.

tres 80's , 17 Feb 2007
this is a book that has the time it was written in stamped over all it. Tama Janowitz is a contemporary of Brett Easton Ellis,and was also part of Andy Warhol's inner circle . She writes stories that covered similar misadventures to Easton Ellis. This book is more like a set of short stories that cover a interesting variety of women trying to make an honest dollar and get on with there ambitions lives in New York as is often in big cities some of the women end up in less glamorous surroundings than they had hoped for. They are stories in which the protagonists hit hard reality regardless of there dreams. It is funny and sympathetic.

Amusing read, 27 Mar 1999
This was the first book I read by Ms. Janowitz and the story, for the most part, moves along at a nice pace. There are the various assortment of characters...some making numerous appearances, some only a solo appearance. I did appreciate her witty sense of humour.

A TRAGIC TALE OF URBAN ANGST, 02 Sep 2003
The setting for this novel is the dog-eat-dog world of Manhattan during the closing years of the 20th Century. It is populated by the same type of soulless characters as can be found in the pages of Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire Of The Vanities". In such a milieu true friendship is almost non-existent; social contacts being made, kept and dropped solely to further self-enterest. This is a world of style over substance where no one is anyone unless he or she has wealth, power and influence.

Florence is a lonely woman with little in the way of family or real friends. Despite her surface sophistication she never seems to quite fit into the super-affluent world she craves to be a part of: she flounders at crucial moments, swimming against a current too strong for her and then getting out of her depth.

An interesting aspect of the novel is that Florence is well aware of her own shallowness and lack of humanity, however she does nothing about this and continues to follow her own directive. Her life as portrayed here is goal-orientated with little time for any real contentment or self-reflection. It is astounding how a woman of only thirty-two (the 'certain age' of the title)could endure such a joyless existence - her behaviour is hidebound; she is a slave to fashion and protocol with little self-esteem or personal freedom.

This is a captivating book: Janowitz's attention to the details of Manhattan life produces some fine social satire indeed. There is also an existential tone to the novel in that there is a question of whether Florence is victim or fool. Was she just lacking sufficient urban survival skills in a ruthless Darwinian world, or blinded by her own greed and selfishness was she doomed to a suffering entirely of her own making? Ultimately is Florence the kind of person who would notice if the sun rose in the West? You will have to read this funny but tragic book and see for yourself.

Compulsive shopping...compulsive reading!, 20 Jul 2001
This is a great read even though it's fairly lightweight. No woman can fail to see just a little of themselves in the main character despite the fact that she's quite unbearable! Is Janovitz providing entertaining fiction or cheap thearapy?

Want to be utterly depressed? Read this book!, 11 Sep 2000
The front cover of this book promises a hilarious read. I was expecting a sort of Sex in the City clone but now I've read the book I realise that it is both signally different to Candance Bushnell's efforts and far from a hilarious read. This is a desperately depressing book about a woman whose life gradually falls apart from page one, leaving her a destitute crack-addict at the end. How could anyone find this funny? I took it on holiday - what a mistake! The heroine is feeble, greedy, superficial. I didn't feel any sympathy for her plight at the end - she brought it all on herself.

Janowitz always entertains, 22 May 2000
I had looked forward to reading this new novel from one of my favourite writers and was not disappointed. If you want a fast-paced, entertaining, terse, sharp read about the so-called NY high-life then this is one for you. Does not have the quirky edge of previous Janowitz novels and this I did miss. Characterisation was scant, efficent and fun but I wanted to get to know a few of the players a little better. Florence delighted and annoyed me throughout. There were points where I really wanted her to do something nasty to herself, just to break the pattern of relationship fatigue and spending. And how come her credit card never got refused! The ending made me yowl with frustration - is there going to be a sequel or can we presume Florence saw the Statue of Liberty, walked into the sunset and found another day? I guess so.... Looking forward to the next novel no matter.

A modern-day Becky Sharp, 18 Nov 1999
I thought the book was great! The whole idea of Florence is that she is superficial and grasping; I neither liked nor disliked her but felt rather detached. The story isn't particularly strong, but I think the whole novel is more of a character study of Florence and the rich idiots whose company she favours - and as for the end, I thought it opened up all kinds of possibilities for our heroine!

what has happened Tama?!, 15 Dec 2004
I was very shallow - when I first saw this book I was appalled by its cover. So although I considered Tama my favourite author, I didn't buy it. When I saw the US hardback cover I fell in love - how stylish, elegant, nostalgic! So I bought that...
I have to agree with the Berlin review and not the other one - I have loved loved loved Tama's books, but this is god awful depressing and doesn't have the lift, heart, wit of her past works. The decline starts with 'A Certain Age' for me - I ended that book thinking 'what the hell was that?' and this is so much worse. It is just nasty.
So the moral here - I should have gone with my first instincts and judged the UK version of the book by its heinous goth cover

sad, sad, sad, 21 Sep 2003
i've loved most of tama janowitz's books, even those trashed by the critics. "a certain age" and "the male crossdresser suppport group" are my favourites. "peyton" is a total disappointment. maybe janowitz felt like projecting the darkness and bitternes of the criticism she received for her former work into a novel. well, she succeeded. fay weldon considers this book funny and i really wonder about her sense of humour. the story is tragic, the heroine unsympathetic and what i miss most is what janowitz managed in all her other books: that though life may be more like hell than heaven, people find their way and triumph (in their own way)over it.
peyton just goes down down down and - opposed to a character like victor in easton ellis' "glamorama", who goes the same way, peyton's downward spiral left me cold.
it's sad that janowitz thinks that adding graphic (and extremely dull unerotic) sex-scenes and the mention of excrements on every second page will add a shock-element to the book's reception. that's repulsing withpout being intelligent. the single star is to express my hope that she will concentrate more on stories and less on boring shock-elements in the future.

Intense, Dark & Funny!, 05 Sep 2003
Amberg Peyton's heart is shaped liked a thorn! All the while its tearing up her inside... Tama Janowitz's latest offering is in many ways dark, sad and funny but ultimately a very bleak outlook on one person's very real pirsuit of happiness through love and relationships.

The book careers from one episode to the next, chopping and changing back and forth, almost as if each little sub-story is jostling for position. The book style is hard to follow, but in many ways this only added to the general sentiment left by the book. No detail is left unturned and you very much get the sense that we are delving into the persona of Peyton Amberg and looking outside on the world from within her.

Compared to any of the other books I have read by Janowitz, this leaves them all in the dust! This is an extremely intense book, one that left me with a lump in throat, mostly because it was soaked with such realism and emotion. Needless to say It was also easy to draw parallels between people in my own life and that of the characters in the book.

This is a very strong book and is very well written. I have read it several times and would recommend it to anyone. Each time it only gets better!

Intense, Dark & Funny!, 05 Sep 2003
Amberg Peyton's heart is shaped liked a thorn! All the while its tearing up her inside... Tama Janowitz's latest offering is in many ways dark, sad and funny but ultimately a very bleak outlook on one person's very real pirsuit of happiness through love and relationships.

The book careers from one episode to the next, chopping and changing back and forth, almost as if each little sub-story is jostling for position. The book style is hard to follow, but in many ways this only added to the general sentiment left by the book. No detail is left unturned and you very much get the sense that we are delving into the persona of Peyton Amberg and looking outside on the world from within her.

Compared to any of the other books I have read by Janowitz, this leaves them all in the dust! This is an extremely intense book, one that left me with a lump in throat, mostly because it was soaked with such realism and emotion. Needless to say It was also easy to draw parallels between people in my own life and that of the characters in the book.

This is a very strong book and is very well written. I have read it several times and would recommend it to anyone. Each time it only gets better!

tres 80's , 17 Feb 2007
this is a book that has the time it was written in stamped over all it. Tama Janowitz is a contemporary of Brett Easton Ellis,and was also part of Andy Warhol's inner circle . She writes stories that covered similar misadventures to Easton Ellis. This book is more like a set of short stories that cover a interesting variety of women trying to make an honest dollar and get on with there ambitions lives in New York as is often in big cities some of the women end up in less glamorous surroundings than they had hoped for. They are stories in which the protagonists hit hard reality regardless of there dreams. It is funny and sympathetic.

Amusing read, 27 Mar 1999
This was the first book I read by Ms. Janowitz and the story, for the most part, moves along at a nice pace. There are the various assortment of characters...some making numerous appearances, some only a solo appearance. I did appreciate her witty sense of humour.

V.Funny, 13 Nov 2002
A hilarious overview of Tama Janowitz's life in the Big Apple. She introduces us to extravert, funny and outrageous characters from her experiences. From travelling to China to adopt a baby then double dating with Andy Warhol we see how her hectic life revoloves around the way other people live their own lives. Swanky dinners and after-show parties are all in her stride, but she feels that somehow she does not quite fit in due to her 'individual' fashion sense.
Definatly a book that you will not be able to put down. 10/10.

tres 80's , 17 Feb 2007
this is a book that has the time it was written in stamped over all it. Tama Janowitz is a contemporary of Brett Easton Ellis,and was also part of Andy Warhol's inner circle . She writes stories that covered similar misadventures to Easton Ellis. This book is more like a set of short stories that cover a interesting variety of women trying to make an honest dollar and get on with there ambitions lives in New York as is often in big cities some of the women end up in less glamorous surroundings than they had hoped for. They are stories in which the protagonists hit hard reality regardless of there dreams. It is funny and sympathetic.

Amusing read, 27 Mar 1999
This was the first book I read by Ms. Janowitz and the story, for the most part, moves along at a nice pace. There are the various assortment of characters...some making numerous appearances, some only a solo appearance. I did appreciate her witty sense of humour.

A TRAGIC TALE OF URBAN ANGST, 02 Sep 2003
The setting for this novel is the dog-eat-dog world of Manhattan during the closing years of the 20th Century. It is populated by the same type of soulless characters as can be found in the pages of Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire Of The Vanities". In such a milieu true friendship is almost non-existent; social contacts being made, kept and dropped solely to further self-enterest. This is a world of style over substance where no one is anyone unless he or she has wealth, power and influence.

Florence is a lonely woman with little in the way of family or real friends. Despite her surface sophistication she never seems to quite fit into the super-affluent world she craves to be a part of: she flounders at crucial moments, swimming against a current too strong for her and then getting out of her depth.

An interesting aspect of the novel is that Florence is well aware of her own shallowness and lack of humanity, however she does nothing about this and continues to follow her own directive. Her life as portrayed here is goal-orientated with little time for any real contentment or self-reflection. It is astounding how a woman of only thirty-two (the 'certain age' of the title)could endure such a joyless existence - her behaviour is hidebound; she is a slave to fashion and protocol with little self-esteem or personal freedom.

This is a captivating book: Janowitz's attention to the details of Manhattan life produces some fine social satire indeed. There is also an existential tone to the novel in that there is a question of whether Florence is victim or fool. Was she just lacking sufficient urban survival skills in a ruthless Darwinian world, or blinded by her own greed and selfishness was she doomed to a suffering entirely of her own making? Ultimately is Florence the kind of person who would notice if the sun rose in the West? You will have to read this funny but tragic book and see for yourself.

Compulsive shopping...compulsive reading!, 20 Jul 2001
This is a great read even though it's fairly lightweight. No woman can fail to see just a little of themselves in the main character despite the fact that she's quite unbearable! Is Janovitz providing entertaining fiction or cheap thearapy?

Want to be utterly depressed? Read this book!, 11 Sep 2000
The front cover of this book promises a hilarious read. I was expecting a sort of Sex in the City clone but now I've read the book I realise that it is both signally different to Candance Bushnell's efforts and far from a hilarious read. This is a desperately depressing book about a woman whose life gradually falls apart from page one, leaving her a destitute crack-addict at the end. How could anyone find this funny? I took it on holiday - what a mistake! The heroine is feeble, greedy, superficial. I didn't feel any sympathy for her plight at the end - she brought it all on herself.

Janowitz always entertains, 22 May 2000
I had looked forward to reading this new novel from one of my favourite writers and was not disappointed. If you want a fast-paced, entertaining, terse, sharp read about the so-called NY high-life then this is one for you. Does not have the quirky edge of previous Janowitz novels and this I did miss. Characterisation was scant, efficent and fun but I wanted to get to know a few of the players a little better. Florence delighted and annoyed me throughout. There were points where I really wanted her to do something nasty to herself, just to break the pattern of relationship fatigue and spending. And how come her credit card never got refused! The ending made me yowl with frustration - is there going to be a sequel or can we presume Florence saw the Statue of Liberty, walked into the sunset and found another day? I guess so.... Looking forward to the next novel no matter.

A modern-day Becky Sharp, 18 Nov 1999
I thought the book was great! The whole idea of Florence is that she is superficial and grasping; I neither liked nor disliked her but felt rather detached. The story isn't particularly strong, but I think the whole novel is more of a character study of Florence and the rich idiots whose company she favours - and as for the end, I thought it opened up all kinds of possibilities for our heroine!

what has happened Tama?!, 15 Dec 2004
I was very shallow - when I first saw this book I was appalled by its cover. So although I considered Tama my favourite author, I didn't buy it. When I saw the US hardback cover I fell in love - how stylish, elegant, nostalgic! So I bought that...
I have to agree with the Berlin review and not the other one - I have loved loved loved Tama's books, but this is god awful depressing and doesn't have the lift, heart, wit of her past works. The decline starts with 'A Certain Age' for me - I ended that book thinking 'what the hell was that?' and this is so much worse. It is just nasty.
So the moral here - I should have gone with my first instincts and judged the UK version of the book by its heinous goth cover

sad, sad, sad, 21 Sep 2003
i've loved most of tama janowitz's books, even those trashed by the critics. "a certain age" and "the male crossdresser suppport group" are my favourites. "peyton" is a total disappointment. maybe janowitz felt like projecting the darkness and bitternes of the criticism she received for her former work into a novel. well, she succeeded. fay weldon considers this book funny and i really wonder about her sense of humour. the story is tragic, the heroine unsympathetic and what i miss most is what janowitz managed in all her other books: that though life may be more like hell than heaven, people find their way and triumph (in their own way)over it.
peyton just goes down down down and - opposed to a character like victor in easton ellis' "glamorama", who goes the same way, peyton's downward spiral left me cold.
it's sad that janowitz thinks that adding graphic (and extremely dull unerotic) sex-scenes and the mention of excrements on every second page will add a shock-element to the book's reception. that's repulsing withpout being intelligent. the single star is to express my hope that she will concentrate more on stories and less on boring shock-elements in the future.

Intense, Dark & Funny!, 05 Sep 2003
Amberg Peyton's heart is shaped liked a thorn! All the while its tearing up her inside... Tama Janowitz's latest offering is in many ways dark, sad and funny but ultimately a very bleak outlook on one person's very real pirsuit of happiness through love and relationships.

The book careers from one episode to the next, chopping and changing back and forth, almost as if each little sub-story is jostling for position. The book style is hard to follow, but in many ways this only added to the general sentiment left by the book. No detail is left unturned and you very much get the sense that we are delving into the persona of Peyton Amberg and looking outside on the world from within her.

Compared to any of the other books I have read by Janowitz, this leaves them all in the dust! This is an extremely intense book, one that left me with a lump in throat, mostly because it was soaked with such realism and emotion. Needless to say It was also easy to draw parallels between people in my own life and that of the characters in the book.

This is a very strong book and is very well written. I have read it several times and would recommend it to anyone. Each time it only gets better!

Intense, Dark & Funny!, 05 Sep 2003
Amberg Peyton's heart is shaped liked a thorn! All the while its tearing up her inside... Tama Janowitz's latest offering is in many ways dark, sad and funny but ultimately a very bleak outlook on one person's very real pirsuit of happiness through love and relationships.

The book careers from one episode to the next, chopping and changing back and forth, almost as if each little sub-story is jostling for position. The book style is hard to follow, but in many ways this only added to the general sentiment left by the book. No detail is left unturned and you very much get the sense that we are delving into the persona of Peyton Amberg and looking outside on the world from within her.

Compared to any of the other books I have read by Janowitz, this leaves them all in the dust! This is an extremely intense book, one that left me with a lump in throat, mostly because it was soaked with such realism and emotion. Needless to say It was also easy to draw parallels between people in my own life and that of the characters in the book.

This is a very strong book and is very well written. I have read it several times and would recommend it to anyone. Each time it only gets better!

what has happened Tama?!, 15 Dec 2004
I was very shallow - when I first saw this book I was appalled by its cover. So although I considered Tama my favourite author, I didn't buy it. When I saw the US hardback cover I fell in love - how stylish, elegant, nostalgic! So I bought that...
I have to agree with the Berlin review and not the other one - I have loved loved loved Tama's books, but this is god awful depressing and doesn't have the lift, heart, wit of her past works. The decline starts with 'A Certain Age' for me - I ended that book thinking 'what the hell was that?' and this is so much worse. It is just nasty.
So the moral here - I should have gone with my first instincts and judged the UK version of the book by its heinous goth cover

sad, sad, sad, 21 Sep 2003
i've loved most of tama janowitz's books, even those trashed by the critics. "a certain age" and "the male crossdresser suppport group" are my favourites. "peyton" is a total disappointment. maybe janowitz felt like projecting the darkness and bitternes of the criticism she received for her former work into a novel. well, she succeeded. fay weldon considers this book funny and i really wonder about her sense of humour. the story is tragic, the heroine unsympathetic and what i miss most is what janowitz managed in all her other books: that though life may be more like hell than heaven, people find their way and triumph (in their own way)over it.
peyton just goes down down down and - opposed to a character like victor in easton ellis' "glamorama", who goes the same way, peyton's downward spiral left me cold.
it's sad that janowitz thinks that adding graphic (and extremely dull unerotic) sex-scenes and the mention of excrements on every second page will add a shock-element to the book's reception. that's repulsing withpout being intelligent. the single star is to express my hope that she will concentrate more on stories and less on boring shock-elements in the future.

Intense, Dark & Funny!, 05 Sep 2003
Amberg Peyton's heart is shaped liked a thorn! All the while its tearing up her inside... Tama Janowitz's latest offering is in many ways dark, sad and funny but ultimately a very bleak outlook on one person's very real pirsuit of happiness through love and relationships.

The book careers from one episode to the next, chopping and changing back and forth, almost as if each little sub-story is jostling for position. The book style is hard to follow, but in many ways this only added to the general sentiment left by the book. No detail is left unturned and you very much get the sense that we are delving into the persona of Peyton Amberg and looking outside on the world from within her.

Compared to any of the other books I have read by Janowitz, this leaves them all in the dust! This is an extremely intense book, one that left me with a lump in throat, mostly because it was soaked with such realism and emotion. Needless to say It was also easy to draw parallels between people in my own life and that of the characters in the book.

This is a very strong book and is very well written. I have read it several times and would recommend it to anyone. Each time it only gets better!

Intense, Dark & Funny!, 05 Sep 2003
Amberg Peyton's heart is shaped liked a thorn! All the while its tearing up her inside... Tama Janowitz's latest offering is in many ways dark, sad and funny but ultimately a very bleak outlook on one person's very real pirsuit of happiness through love and relationships.

The book careers from one episode to the next, chopping and changing back and forth, almost as if each little sub-story is jostling for position. The book style is hard to follow, but in many ways this only added to the general sentiment left by the book. No detail is left unturned and you very much get the sense that we are delving into the persona of Peyton Amberg and looking outside on the world from within her.

Compared to any of the other books I have read by Janowitz, this leaves them all in the dust! This is an extremely intense book, one that left me with a lump in throat, mostly because it was soaked with such realism and emotion. Needless to say It was also easy to draw parallels between people in my own life and that of the characters in the book.

This is a very strong book and is very well written. I have read it several times and would recommend it to anyone. Each time it only gets better!