Local Girls: Amazon.co.uk: Alice Hoffman: Books

Amazon.co.uk Review

More than a collection of short stories, yet not quite a novel, Local Girls occupies an undefined territory between these two forms. The local girls in question are Gretel Samuelson, her best friend, Jill, her mother, Franny, and Franny's cousin Margot--four characters who weave in and out of each of the 15 related stories that chronicle the rocky years of Gretel's adolescence. That hers will be a tough row to hoe is immediately apparent in the first story, "Dear Diary", in which Alice Hoffman introduces the Samuelson family just as they are being swallowed up by the fissures that have cracked them apart. "Long before the plane touched down in Miami we could hear our parents arguing," Gretel tells us of a family vacation to Florida; "and at the hotel room they locked themselves in their room. If you ask me, working so hard at being married can backfire." It is the end of the marriage that has lasting ramifications, however, as we discover in later stories: Gretel's brilliant older brother, Jason, becomes a drug addict; their mother must battle cancer alone; and Gretel becomes involved in a destructive relationship with a drug dealer. All pretty depressing plot points, to be sure, yet Hoffman's luminous prose combined with Gretel's tart and funny perspective keeps the reader eagerly turning the pages until the very end.

In fact, Gretel and her family and friends are so compelling, so endearing, that the reader wishes Hoffman had chosen to give the Samuelsons a novel instead of this series of stories. In reading about Jason's descent from A student with an acceptance letter from Harvard to working in the produce section at the local supermarket and shooting heroin, for example, one can't help but feel that a lot of his motivations happen between stories; and Gretel's difficult relationship (or lack thereof) with her father and new stepmother functions mainly as a plot device, leaving the reader wanting so much more. And yet, if one is to judge the success of a book by the reader's reluctance to be done with it, then Local Girls is successful, for Hoffman has created a world so enticing that one is willing to overlook the minor flaws. At the end of the title story, as the now-grown Gretel and Jill discuss two teenage girls in the neighbourhood who recently committed suicide, Jill remarks: "They should have just waited. That's all they had to do. They would have grown up and everything would have been all right." The same might be said of reading Local Girls. -- Alix Wilber

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Elegant and poetic, yet there is so much unsaid 3 Oct 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

The only other Hoffman book I have read was 'At Risk' which practically broke my heart. The author proves once again that she has the knack of tapping into emotional depths, despite the slimness of this novella. This is the journey of Gretel Samuelson, her beautiful best friend, sick mother and fiesty cousin. Four women who square up bravely to the circumstances that everyday life decides to throw at them. The POV's change throughout which can be vaguely distracting, but this does not detract from the richness of the tale. Hoffman's gift is to immediately transport the reader into the heart of the family she is writing about. The characters, although not entirely sympathetic, are people who's fate and outcome I was interested in. Each chapter is a story within itself, so many of the untold tales are left to the imagination. Maybe it isn't a bad thing to be left wanting more, but I am fascinated to know what the adult Gretel did next.

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Not Hoffman's finest 17 July 2010

By madaboutbooks

I used to really like Alice Hoffman's books, but whether I'm just getting older (and more cynical) or Hoffman isn't writing so well anymore, Local Girls wasn't good. In fact it was quite depressing. Nothing much happens, but when it does, it's all about people dying (first Gretel's brother, then her mother). The whole story bounces around too much, and isn't consistant in tone - sometimes in the first person as Gretel, then in the third person to tell the story of other characters. Jason, Gretel's brother, is an empty, pointless character who always seems to be on the periphery of things. So it's no surprise when he dies of a drugs overdose and I just didn't feel any sympathy for him. Gretel's 'best friend' disappears completely half way through (presumably because she serves no purpose to the story) and only resurfaces at the end in order to wrap things up nice and neatly. I just felt this was perhaps two or three different stories that Hoffman had floating about, but with no real solidity to any of them, she decided to throw them altogether. And this is the result - a mixed up mess that doesn't really go anywhere. Disappointing.

Sad, poignant and very beautifully written 12 Oct 2006

By M. Cookson-carter

If you have ever come across one of my reviews before, you will know that I rave about Alice Hoffman. This book, again is no exception.

It is about two girls, following them through their teenage years through to adulthood - the pretty one and the clever one. How their lives are turned on their heads by a whole series of events.

I found this novel a quick read, nothing too heavy or intense but still full of her excellent metaphoric writing style .