books:

	The Guy Not Taken: Stories Jennifer Weiner Washington Square Press, 2007 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 59 reviews view larger image
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We meet Marlie Davidow, home alone with her new baby late one night, when she wanders onto her ex's online wedding registry and wonders what if she had wound up with the guy not taken. We find Jessica Norton listing her beloved river-view apartment in the hope of winning her broker's heart. And we follow an unlikely friendship between two very different new mothers, and the choices that bring them together -- and pull them apart.

The Guy Not Taken demonstrates Weiner's amazing ability to create characters who "feel like they could be your best friend" (Janet Maslin) and to find hope and humor, longing and love in the hidden corners of our common experiences.

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EXCELLENT Seller!

Seller sent out quickly. Love the book - arrived in great condition. Just as described. Thank you!


Classic Jennifer Weiner in The Guy Not Taken

I greatly enjoyed this collection of short stories. Most of the tales revolve around the author's recurring themes of abandonment and self worth and allow the reader glimmers into ideas that obviously developed into her full length novels, and perhaps ones as yet unwritten.


Well-Written, But Lacking

While The Guy Not Taken is not Jennifer Weiner's best work, however, remember to take into account that she wrote these stories a while ago. That having been said, if you are looking for an okay book with okay short stories, then this is the book for you. It is not the best book I have ever read, however, it was a good beach read.
Some of the problems with the stories are that they end too abruptly. I understand the author maybe wanting to leave it to the imagination of the reader to decide what happens, however, it made the stories too vague. For example, "Travels with Nicki" started well enough, but just ended right when I thought the story should climax. It left me feeling like the author stuck an unfinished story in her book.
I loved "Swim." It follows a young woman, Ruthie, who yearns to be a writer. So, when she is asked to help write a sitcom, she jumps at the chance. However, she becomes romantically involved with her co-writer, which complicates her job. I liked the moral of the story; people are not always, how they appear to be.
I also liked "Dora on the Beach" because it shows how unpredictable events can make your life better. Dora is an elderly woman who lives by herself when she is held hostage by two sisters in their mid-twenties. The two sisters, Amber and Dawn, can't afford to stay at a hotel when they vacation near Dora's house. They force Dora to let them stay and show them around the city, take them to restraints, and nightclubs. It is a fascinating story because although bombarding into someone's home seems unjust, the girls bring Dora out of her boring lifestyle because she experiences things she would have otherwise missed.
I would recommend this book if you are looking for a fluffy beach read. It was refreshing to read a book of short stories, although some of them lacked a substantial plot.

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Need to find a new heroine who's not taken

This was not her best work. It WAS interesting to read a short story that was the basis of her book "Good in Bed," but in this collection of short stories all of the heroines melded together as one heroine template repeated over and over with different names. Most were Jewish, involved in writing, and somewhere on the 'unslim' side. The wit they employed in their stories was sharp, sarcastic, and downright funny, though. If the author had been as flexible in introducing unique characteristics to her 'gals' as she was their mates the collection of stories would have been much richer and more memorable.

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I expected more

This short story collection I could have lived without. Although, it was well written and funny, it wasn't a page turner. Many of the stories were not memorable. I expected more from this writer. I hope she will stick to what she does best. Write novels. And for the sake of her fans, leave short stories alone.


reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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