- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: New American Library (Sep 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0451209710
- ISBN-13: 978-0451209719
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 13.2 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,340,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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First Sentence
Aleksi Kullio, the new conductor of the Philadelphia Philharmonic, strode onto the concert stage with quick, small steps, like a boy who hadn't learned to match his stride to the new length of his legs. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Aleksi Kullio, the new conductor of the Philadelphia Philharmonic, strode onto the concert stage with quick, small steps, like a boy who hadn't learned to match his stride to the new length of his legs. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
This book is actually a quite amusing variation on the "ugly duckling" theme. Prefaced by appropriate dewey numbers!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
32 reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
borrow from the library -- don't buy it
23 Aug 2005
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Yes, I'm a librarian, but I don't downgrade much for stereotypes and I'm totally willing to suspend disbelief, so the reaon I rated this only three stars is that the premise was not very plausible and the story was goofy.
Allison Sheffield, local librarian, has "long auburn hair and perfect skin" and "looks half her age of forty". Really? have you ever known ANYONE who was 40 but looked 20? Ten years younger I could believe, but twenty? And that was the problem with this book for me -- it is certainly not terrible, but it always goes just a bit too far in what it asks the reader to believe. Let's see, Ally's been celibate for 15 years, but suddenly she is in love with a married symphony conductor whom she's never met, and now she does any number of unusual things in order to get him. Ouch.
Characters were well developed, the ending was well done and it is a quick read, so this is not terrible, but I'd recommend you borrow it from your local library rather than purchase it.
if you're interested in a librarian protagonist, check out Larry Beinhart's The Librarian instead, a political thriller.
Allison Sheffield, local librarian, has "long auburn hair and perfect skin" and "looks half her age of forty". Really? have you ever known ANYONE who was 40 but looked 20? Ten years younger I could believe, but twenty? And that was the problem with this book for me -- it is certainly not terrible, but it always goes just a bit too far in what it asks the reader to believe. Let's see, Ally's been celibate for 15 years, but suddenly she is in love with a married symphony conductor whom she's never met, and now she does any number of unusual things in order to get him. Ouch.
Characters were well developed, the ending was well done and it is a quick read, so this is not terrible, but I'd recommend you borrow it from your local library rather than purchase it.
if you're interested in a librarian protagonist, check out Larry Beinhart's The Librarian instead, a political thriller.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
I wish I could give it 0 stars
26 Sep 2003
Format:Paperback
This has to be one of the worst books ever written. As a librarian myself, I was hoping to read a light romance about someone I could relate to. Even though Ms. Carr claims she admires and respects librarians, I really don't think she does. She portrays all the female librarians very stereotypically. Aren't we bored of this? I know I am. Every female librarian is portrayed as virginal, wearing high neck blouses and long skirts, hair in a bun and thick glasses. The conversations the main character and the other librarian have with the "womanizing" boss are bordering on sexual harassment. Example: the other librarian confesses her love for her boss in a letter and he writes back that he thinks she may be a lesbian! And then she suddenly agrees with him!
To add insult to injury, there's an interview with the author and discussion questions at the end of the book, as if this drivel is high class literature and should be used in book discussions.
Stay far far away from this book.
8 of 11 people found the following review helpful
"Chick lit" that's a great read for guys
9 Sep 2003
Format:Paperback
I've avoided "chick lit" -- the genre that has sprouted "Bridget Jones' Diary," "Le Divorce" and all those other books targeted at young women trying to find love in a bustling, confusing world -- for all the right reasons: I'm not a chick.
But a recent stroll through Barnes & Noble turned up this book, which had what has to be one of the worst titles ever.
So, in spite of that and the fact that its cover review blurbs were all done by women whose names I've never heard before, I sat with it and gave it a read. And I was quite surprized.
Told in the first person, this book has a wonderful, conversational style. And the dialog between characters is some of the best I've ever read; it's very natural, clever where it ought to be but within the realm of reason.
Ally, the protagonist, is a 40-year-old reference librarian in Philadelphia who winds up falling in love from afar with the new conductor of the philharmonic.
The book -- which you can easily read in a day -- follows her as she attempts to win over the conductor, in spite of her frumpy appearance and decidedly poor previous experiences with men.
I felt the ending of this book was a bit rushed and there are a couple of plot contrivances involved that are both frustrating and, in my estimation, unnecessary. I'm also not sure this story, while fun and funny, is worth the $12.95 cover price. (Yes, I know that most trade paperbacks fall in this range. So what?)
I'm also offended that the book includes a banal interview with the author and suggested book club discussion questions. This isn't high literature and it isn't being read in high school English classes, so both are unnecessary.
That's what's held me back from calling this a masterpiece. But overall, this book is a great read.
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