So I just finished listening to this, what I assumed was going to be a fluffy, fun, materialistic chick-lit read. But, I'm not really a shoe person. And I don't think the shoes featured on the cover are anything to lose sleep over *anyway*...I mean, I don't think even a shoe-crazy woman would think much of them (and don't get me started about the pink/red combo. Hello?). So I began this book thinking it would be maybe fun, maybe a fast read/listen, but knowing I might have to return it to the library before finishing it if I wasn't digging it. An unabridged book-on-cd is a long time commitment, ya'll.
It began with three separate story lines, featuring Sandra, an agoraphobic phone sex operator inexplicably in love with brand-name shoes; Helene, the senator's wife with a past she guards closely; and Lorna, a broke waitress thousands of dollars in debt, but who can't stop buying the designer shoes she loves. I wasn't a fan of the individual stories; I've never liked reading about political scandal (in Helene's case), and I couldn't figure out why Sandra kept flipping personalities (i.e., if she was so scared of even going to the grocery store, why would she go to some stranger's home to talk about shoes?). I don't think the book was very well written, or thought out, I guess.
But, its most redeeming qualities were the way the author wrote these womens' friendships. I have never been a fan of "chick flicks," which I regard as very different than chick LIT. I am not interested in 'girl power' or women's friendships or talking about feelings, at least in fictionalized stories. I like fun romances, sassy and brassy heroines, funny/mean characters, and authors who aren't afraid to talk sex (without getting too graphic as to be distracting). So when this book began to veer into the 'Woman Bonding' arena, I blanched.
For some reason, though...it worked. The author put her characters into situations where being catty and mean would have been so easy, and would have probably fit their personalities, but you could see each woman, in different situations, thinking better of it--and in the end, they all trusted each other with their secrets anyway, so any lies or embarrassments were revealed. I was surprised to find myself heartwarmed by the women's actions, and their choices not to be gossipy and snarky, when I wouldn't have thought twice about it.
I'm glad I listened to this one.
The last line, though. Oh, the last line!
"And they did."
This is one of my least favorite last lines ever. I've seen it many times before, generally in poorly written unsolicited manuscripts, and it just feels like the author threw in the towel. "Eh, no one cares about this epilogue-y chapter. And I just want to finish this damned thing. Let's just do something like 'The girls were so happy, they felt like singing. And so they did.' I don't even give a rat's anymore."
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