Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Ghost of Greenwich Village and GIVEAWAY

It's time for another book review, folks!
The Ghost of Greenwich Village by Lorna Graham
The Ghost of Greenwich Village: A Novel

For Eve Weldon, moving to Greenwich Village is a dream come true. She's following in the footsteps of her mother, who lived there during the sixties among a lively community of Beat artists and writers. But when Eve arrives, the only scribe she meets is a grumpy ghost named Donald, and the only writing she does is for chirpy segments on a morning news program. The hypercompetitive network environment is a far cry from the genteel camaraderie of her mother's literary scene, and Eve wonders if the world she seeks has faded from existence. As she struggles to balance her new job, demands from Donald to help him complete his life's work, a budding friendship with a legendary fashion designer, and a serach for clues to her mother's past, Eve begins to realize that community comes in many forms-and that the true magic of the Village is very much alive, though it may reveal itself in surprising ways.

Ok. I have to be honest. This isn't a book that I would think to recommend to people because I struggled through it. Here's the thing. I didn't like Eve. I don't like people like Eve. People like Eve are people who have a hard time adjusting to the real world. Now, never having lost a parent I can't say how I would feel if I lost my mom. But I will tell you- never would I feel the need to try to re-live my mother's life, which is very much what Eve is trying to do. It seems to me that it would be obvious that the times and life of an area would be very much different several generations apart... but Eve doesn't seem to get that.

I also didn't understand the whole Donald thing. Yes, he's a ghost. Yes, he wants Eve to write his book and she learns a lot about the generations and her new fashion designer friend because of Donald. But... the whole character and story line of Donald is just so.... off. I don't know. I had a hard time even wanting to read sections of the book where he's present because it didn't make sense. Why even have that as a character or part of the story line?

The parts of this book that I found fascinating was the hustle and bustle of her working on a morning show. Not only was it interesting to somewhat learn about that type of job, but it seemed more of a real life scenario that could happen to a single woman coming to the big city from the Midwest. THAT part of the story made absolute sense.

Often times I felt myself thinking Eve was kind of a dumb girl who, though she has real world experience and a great education, she is a person you'd pass up and assume she's just another idiot in the big city. I wouldn't feel sorry for her or her plight if she was one of my friends. Which sounds terrible...but it's true.

Now, if you enjoy a chick lit book, or if you like stories about women trying to empower themselves- this would be a good book for you. I just can't say that it would make it on a top 20 list of books I'd recommend. Check out Lorna's website HERE and the other tour stops HERE.

But the best part is that you have a chance to win a copy of this book just by commenting and letting me know you want to be entered into the drawing. (US/Canada only) Leave me a comment by Monday, July 18 and I'll draw a winner that evening!

*You must follow my blog via Google Friend Connect
*For extra entries you can share this post on your FB, Twitter or blog (each is a separate entry, leave a separate comment with a link)

Good luck and happy ready lambwhores!

7 comments:

Echo said...

I'd like to give it a try, and I already follow you :)

AP said...

Hmm.... Well I'd definitely give it a read if I won it ;) Otherwise not so sure?

Steff said...

I guess I'll give it a try! hehe

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry you didn't love this one - it sounds like an unusual and interesting story!

Thanks for being on the tour.

nfmgirl said...

I follow. Please count me in. Thank you!

nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com

nfmgirl said...

Blogged:
http://cerebralgirl.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-giveaways-in-blogworld-07-09-11.html

nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com

Literary Chanteuse said...

This sounds interesting! Please count me in for the giveaway! Thanks!

Margaret
singitm@hotmail.com