Author: Sonya Sones
ISBN: 978-0062024671
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: TLC Book Tours
Purchase Link: The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus
Follow the Tour: Tour Schedule
Synopsis from Book:
My name is Holly.
This story is about me—
a writer who's way behind
on her deadline.
But, honestly,
how can I concentrate on my work
when my fiftieth birthday's
rushing at me like a freight train,
my hormones are making me feel
like a Szechuan flambÉ,
and my eighty-year-old mother's
biting her nurses?
Not to mention the fact that my daughter's
just begun applying to colleges
(none of which are within
a thousand-mile radius of home),
and lately my husband's been
such an irritating, finger-pointing stinker
that I've found myself dreaming of ways
to spend his insurance money . . .
My name is Holly.
This book
tells my story—
a coming-of-middle-age story.
Review:
The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus is a novel about marriage, motherhood and the mayhem that comes along with being a woman.
Writing Style: The novel is written in verse, poem style writing, but does not rhyme. The writing style and formatting for this novel make it unique. It was very easy to read this fictional story yet hard to remember it was fiction.
Audience: Anyone who has been or is married, a mother or a woman will enjoy this novel. While I particularly think women over the age of forty will most likely enjoy this novel best, it can be read by any age group and still be enjoyed.
What I liked: This novel cracked me up. I laughed out loud on multiple occasions and even read parts of it out loud to my husband, making him the poor victim of a girl novel. I liked the setup of this novel though it took a little bit of getting used too. Each verse flows into the next creating the whole story, yet for me, it took a bit to read them together instead of reading them as separate verses.
Pace: I flew through parts of this novel and other parts felt slow. For me, this wasn’t due to any disconnection with the novel as I have been through more of what Holly goes through than someone of my age would normally. The pace seemed choppy due to these fast and slow alternations.
Content: The novel touches on marriage, which brought me many laughs and shared moments of understood frustration. It also touches on motherhood, the joys, anxieties, frustrations and trials. Though Holly is dealing with her daughters departure for college and her soon to be empty nest, I was able to connect to this partially. First, I have been on the side of daughter who leaves to go college. Second, I have a daughter who will be starting kindergarten in the fall. I am convinced this is God’s way of preparing us for those days to come when our children leave us for college. Lastly, the novel touches on all sorts of mayhem. Mayhem of being a woman, a daughter, a friend, a mother, a wife and for Holly, a writer.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel though it was slow at points. It is a very simple and quick read that will make you laugh, potentially cry, but mostly make you feel connected because you are a woman. Sorry male readers, I just can’t see why you would want to read this one, but feel free!
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Sonya was born in Boston and attended Hampshire College. She earned a degree—a B.A. in filmmaking and photography. She has taught at Harvard and worked in Hollywood as an animator, a production assistant, a still photographer and script supervisor and a film editor. Sonya is married and has two children who inspired her writing career. When she is not writing, speaking about writing, or teaching poetry writing workshops, she can be found riding her bicycle, dancing, reading, taking photos, and hunting for buried treasure in vintage clothing stores. She currently lives with her family near the beach in Southern California.
You can connect with Sonya via: Sonya's website and Facebook page.
"mostly make you feel connected because you are a woman" - I love it when books that have such broad appeal. Thanks for your review!
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