Finding Myself
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Product Description
Review
'What I'm going to be writing will, I hope, be just the best beach book in the world, ever: naughty, gossipy - with just the right ratio of title to tattle. (You know what I mean, darlings, don't pretend you don't.) Virginia Woolf's letters (here in the string bag) are all very well, but they don't exactly make one throb, do they? Unfair: they make one throb, but higher up rather than lower down. And when I'm basting nicely on Sun Mark 8, factoring in my Ambre S, I need something with a bit of oomph, something with a bit of pandering to the baser' From Victoria's 'Holiday Diary'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
Dear Friend,
How would you like to come - this August - and stay, completely free, in a lovely seaside house I've rented? Good food and plenty of alcohol will also be provided, gratis. But (you knew there'd be a but) afterwards you must allow me to write up the events of the month in a semi-fictionalized form. (In other word: you promise not to sue.) At the end of the book, you will have three full pages to say exactly what you like. If you think I've distorted things, told outright lies, etc., you can contradict me. I promise not to interfere editorially with your text in any way. Even if it is terribly libellous of me.
I am inviting ten other people along, as well. Some of them you know; some of them you don't. I do so hope you can come.
Love,
Victoria
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
This morning, after long discussions with my Agent, I sent Simona Princip, my Editor, the following: I can't write this in neat, organised sections - you know how I am. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
This morning, after long discussions with my Agent, I sent Simona Princip, my Editor, the following: I can't write this in neat, organised sections - you know how I am. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This definitely goes down as my worst read in a good few years. I struggle to see why it was published.
I was a big fan of Toby Litt's work prior to this - Dead Kid Songs was a fantastic read - so I splashed out and bought Finding Myself in hardback. I read through 424 pages waiting for something to happen but alas it never did and the style it was written in lacked any of the qualities I've enjoyed in his previous works. Just left me wondering why on earth this book was written.
Don't waste your money.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is an utterly awful book. I am a HUGE of Mr. Litt but cannot understand who he thought he was writing this book for. Certainly not for his readers. Why anyone would want to plod through 424 pages of this colossal mess is beyond me. I suffered through it waiting and hoping for it to finally kick in and become an intersting story, it never did. Very sad. Mr. Litt should have used the quirky blue line he uses to cross things out with in the book and crossed out the entire book. Back to the drawing board Mr. Litt. I think receiving the top British writers in Granta went right to your head. I hope this is the worst piece of writing you offer your readers.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I rather liked the idea that this was a draft with alterations by an editor, and the premise of a Big Brother set-up as a novel. However, the characters and their actions were unconvincing. The protagonist in particular just didn't ring true to me. I felt this might be because it was a female character written by a male author. Women in general, even confident ones, self-question a lot, considering their own actions and those of others. Victoria lacks introspection and is astonishingly dense about the motives of the friends/characters she has surrounded herself with. I have read other novels by Toby Litt which feature male characters with depth and nuanced personalities and a convincing inner voice, so maybe he just can't write girls? The plot, such as it is, is also silly and elements, such as the existence or otherwise of a ghost in the house, are introduced for no apparent reason.
Instead of this book I would recommend "I play the drums in a band called Okay" by the same author. This also does not have a dramatic story, but does have an engaging and believable central character and a more satisfying conclusion.
Instead of this book I would recommend "I play the drums in a band called Okay" by the same author. This also does not have a dramatic story, but does have an engaging and believable central character and a more satisfying conclusion.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good concept, but fatally flawed.
Like most of the previous reviewers, I am a big fan of Toby Litts work. But I was unable to finish this novel, and it languishes on my bookcase, three quarters read. Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2008 by Mr. A. C. Thorpe
Nothing happens yet a truly original and enjoyable read
I haven't read any of Toby Litt's other books so I can't compare it to the rest of his work but I was attracted to this book because the concept interested me. Read more
Published on 21 Nov 2004 by R. A. Collins
Nothing happens and yet still its good
I don't write reviews on Amazon - often I agree with the opinions of other reviewers. Yet having seen some of the slatings that this book has received, I thought I ought to quickly... Read more
Published on 6 May 2004 by "beatnik2"
Dreadful
This has to be the first book I have been unable to finish in years. The idea behind it was a good one, but the content totally lacked substance. Read more
Published on 5 Jan 2004 by K Wood
And now for something completely different
Although it's not perfect, this is an extremely clever novel without being too in love with its own cleverness to provide a good story. Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2003 by "vickibraggart"
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