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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't let the film put you off, 31 Dec 2006
There is a problem with seeing the film adaptation of a book before you have actually read the book, in that it gives you someone else's perception of the characters which it can be difficult to shake off.
The film of this book made me feel slightly uneasy; as is so often the case, however, the book is a more complex, multi-layered affair which adds up to a subtle black comedy satirising the aspirational middle classes of suburban America, with their obsession with appearance and tangible achievement and holding up their flaws to an unforgiving light.
There are times when the satire is a little heavy-handed; the passage towards the end of the novel, when Mary Ann's background is being filled in, is more than a little blunt and sits uneasily with the rest of the piece. I also fear that those of us who are not very familiar with America will miss out on some of the cultural references (the climactic American football match was more than a little opaque to me).
Ultimately, however, this book's ambit is not limited to a single nation; it is a witty, original take on life and love, desire and forgiveness which shows the unpleasantness, lies, deception and malice which often lurk just beneath the surface of eminent respectability.
I should not think Perrotta will be getting any voiceover work with Starbucks any time soon.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific: Here's Why, 27 Aug 2004
This time around, Perrotta takes satirical aim at the stifling confinement of suburban middle-class existence. To a man, his characters are lost, utterly bewildered as to how they've landed in their unremarkable lives, saddled with spouses and mortgages and children. Having drifted, almost involuntarily, into adulthood, they suddenly snap awake, and begin a dismayed accounting of their lives, all facing the same choice: do they resign themselves to the lifelong tedium of the roles outlined for them by society, or risk the censure of family and friends by abandoning the façade of responsible adulthood and striking out alone after individual happiness? Perrotta's characters are likable and, on a modest scale, tragic; from Sarah's halfhearted forays into being a strong-minded, independent feminist to Mary Ann's hard-won Martha Stewart perfection, their very natures are what will dictate the course of their lives and their inevitable discontent. Little Children is certainly a pleasure to read, with all of the sly humor and deft observation that Perrotta does so well. Whether it's the subtle jockeying for power among playground mothers, or the threadbare, joyless sexual relationship between long-married spouses, his prose is sparkling and clever. Surrounded by abundance and prosperity, free from any real hardship, the characters must invent reasons to be unhappy in order to give their lives dramatic shape; deliberating over which playground to take their children to, or which fruit juice is really the healthiest, only points up the futility and insignificance of their existence. There's plenty of inherent irony in the self-important, status-obsessed suburban lifestyle, and Perrotta mines it to the fullest - if you didn't know better, you might think the author himself had done time among backyard BBQs and afternoon play dates. This is a terrific read -- don't hesitate to pick up a copy! Also recommended: THE LOSERS CLUB by Richard Perez -- another Amazon quick-pick that I found entertaining.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfully Chic and Messy, 25 Jan 2005
By A Customer
An amazing little gem of angst and turbulence. All the characters are not just tied to their children, they are defined by their relationships with their children. From the stay-at-home Dad living out his past glory days as a high school jock as he refused to grow up and get on with his law career to the bisexual feminist and her Internet porn addicted other - it is multiple messes in full glory in the tradition of "My Fractured Life", "The Ninth Life of Louis Drax", and "Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction."
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