Rating: 
Summary: THIS should be titled "Pure Drivel"
Review: I will try to be kind, but after plodding through the 130 pages of this (which seemed like it took months) I do not know how successful at that I will be. The story is not that good, like a maudlin (bad) soap story. It is written more like an outline (for the film, where Mr. Martin will play the older gentleman?). I cannot say any very constructive except it was a waste of time and not very good! I did not pick this up looking for humor (which was good because this does not have much) but expected to find some hidden gem in the writing of this talented individual. Alas, no luck there. If not for the author being THE Steve Martin, I wonder if this would have been published. I feel sad for the unknown author whose decent work was turned down because the publisher wanted to go with this! The best two things about the story are the page and a half devoted to a mistaken identity situation and the attractive backside on the cover! All in all if you must read this, borrow a copy from another poor sap (or go to the library). Save a tree and yourself some money and buy something else!
Rating: 
Summary: Blunt but pleasing
Review: First off, let me start off by saying I never heard of Steve Martin as a writer, so I did go into the book full of curiosity. While reading the book, i found it very blunt and descriptive. Something a highschool student like myself is not used to. Despite some fowl language and the constent referal to sex, I thought the book was amazing. Steve Martin wrote a book that understands the way some women think. It is incredibly interesting to see both sides of the spectrum, how both man and women feel about love. Steve Martin was able to put a serious, sometimes boring subject of love into something interesting and incredibly readible. I loved it, I definitly think everyone should try it.
Rating:
Summary: You won't be able to put it down
Review: Steve Martin can really write. What's best about SHOPGIRL-better even than its crisp, literate prose and its witty, smart sensibility-is that it's a great story. It's the kind of book you just can't put down. Martin hooks you early on with his detailed, sympathetic rendering of complex yet simple characters. Martin's skillful attention to the subtleties of his characters' emotional journeys practically obligates you to care how they make it to the end of the day.
I've always enjoyed Steve Martin's performances, and this is one of his best. I eagerly look forward to watching him flesh out the role of Ray in the movie version.
Rating: 
Summary: Shop for something else....
Review: I was intrigued to see how Steve Martin would turn out as an author. The answer: not that great. Although this little novella does demonstrate Mr. Martin's grip on human nature, his narratives are long and boring. In fact the first 50 pages or so are all narrative. It takes almost half the book for the author to introduce his characters to the reader. That was a bit much for me. I applaud the author for his attempt to branch out & admittedly I've read worse by other so-called best-selling authors who write for a living. But I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who's an avid reader.
Rating:
Summary: Don't give up your day job, Steve
Review: Would this "book" have ever seen the light of day if its author's name weren't Steve Martin? I think not.
The tediously flat characters are mere coat hangers on which to hang slim apercus. But they are works of genius compared to the plot -- a nothing of an idea. There was, however, a truly disturbing element to the book: the author's unwitting cruelty about Mirabelle and his general lack of perception and insight made me wonder what kind of sadistic impulses and inner blankness Mr. Martin could possibly be suffering from.
I have nothing against Steve Martin as a comic. His middlebrow brand of humor harkens back to an older, simpler time. It's Ovaltine for the masses. But I do resent paying good money for this extremely pretentious, meritless novella.
Anyone who praised this book should try reading more frequently.
Rating:
Summary: interesting...
Review: While Martin's novella is engaging, I think it tries too hard to be...something. It seems that the characters are simply characters; not real people but merely suggestions of people. Jeremy, for example, is a "typical" slacker with his slouching, one-track mind and pitiful conversation, and dead-end job. His turnaround almost seems too much, too obvious. The same can be said for all of the characters. I think what really got to me was just that Martin spends a lot of time identifying everything, making sure we understand what he is trying to get at subtly. Near the end, we don't need him to tell us that Porter is Mirabelle's father figure. If Ray figured that out on himself, I think Martin could have had him reach that conclusion more delicately. Overall, I thought this was an entertaining read. I think that it is a good first venture into fiction for anyone, and that with more fiction writing Martin's work will become more assured.
Rating:
Summary: Great writer
Review: I bought this book at a shopping plaza book sale for only a dollar! I just finished it and I'm going back tomorrow to buy some copies for my friends. It's an extremely well written book and I was shocked and quietly amazed at his skill as a writer. I hope he continues to write more books such as this.
The only fault I could find was that the ending was kind of bland. But the entire book, paragraph after paragraph, contains extraordinary writing.
Rating:
Summary: Awed
Review: Someone gave me this book to read because I am a displaced Angeleno and thought I would like a book about L.A. I could make the comments that this book is funny and witty.....everything you would expect someone to say about a book written by Steve Martin...but I want to say something different; if Steve Martin weren't a famous actor, he'd be a famous, well-reknowned writer. Not only is this book a funny, witty and insightful book about a young girl learning about love, it is incredibly well-written in a style that is refreshing, creative and very engaging. I've read a lot of "serious" honored-for-their-craft writers and could not get through their books. Martin's, I could not put down. Buy the book and while you are reading it, forget it is written by Martin and see what you think.
Rating: 
Summary: Wit, style and intelligence
Review: Steve Martin is a man and a mind of many facets. It is entirely wrong to consider this his first writing, as some of the other reviewers have, since he has been writing in many media for many years and is highly skilled. Beyond his remarkable stand-up comedy, which must surely have been written in some form or other before he delivered the material, his NEW YORKER pieces are almost always fabulous, and his PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE is a masterful piece of playwriting and a magnificent play. Now that SHOP GIRL is on the way to becoming a film starring Martin himself (some sly wit suggested that Winona Ryder might be the shop girl), this book is well worth buying and considering in detail. The coming fascination will be to see the extent to which Martin's concept, execution and characters are retained in the film, or how much will be sacrificed to the God of Hollywood Format and Popularity. Who will, in the end, portray the shop girl, an understated role that will call for subtle power from the 'right' actress.
In SHOP GIRL Martin does not put a word wrong. If there is any criticism one might make, it would be that the prose is if anything a little spare, the mordant wit slightly too dry, the book a novella fleshed out with wide margins and few lines per page to produce some heft and justify the price tag. But these are mere nits being picked and should not deter the reader.
As it is, this is an entirely satisfying and delightful book. If the reader discovers--as I did--that it reads with remarkable fluidity and elegance, there is an explanation (given by Martin himself in a PBS interview) that should be helpful to many writers: he reads his text aloud to himself, and in the process can detect words sequences or juxtapositions that generate dissonance. There is no dissonance here.
Of course Martin has access to the media and to publication and screenplay adaptation based on his justifiably fine reputation. So, one asks, what will his next oeuvre be? If SHOP GIRL is any indication, it will be worth waiting for, indeed.
Rating:
Summary: Unusually Good
Review: This book is way out of what I normally read, but on someone's advice I picked up a copy to read. This book reads like a Steve Martin monologue, which is great. It is witty, funny, charming, and a great reminder of why I do not live in L.A. Thanks to Steve Martin for a book that is funny, alluring, and smart. Too many books out there try to be romantic and funny, but never come close, Steve Martin does both, and does it well. Good Reading! B+ Joseph Dworak
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