Me Times Three

Rating:
Summary: Better than most
Review: The plot is predictable, sure. And there seems to be an overabundance of characters whose only purpose is to fulfill a funny anecdote. And for such a key character, Bucky really does't have much depth. (Or is that the point?) Still, despite these shortcomings, it's still better written than the vast majority of "chick lit" books out there. (Which is a sad commentary on the state of the publishing industry.) I tore through this book in a day and a half, whereas I couldn't slog through other supposedly notable titles in the genre. So that says something for Witchell's delivery.

Rating:
Summary: The author must have connections
Review: On the back of "Me Times Three" there is a blurb from Joan Didion stating that this book is "witty and wise, an irresistible dissection of love in the city." For such a pedestrian tale of urban love to even be NOTICED by an esteemed author such as Ms. Didion, the author must know some important people. Otherwise, this book would be gathering dust on the heap of single-gal fiction.

I'm nearly to the end, and I'm quite sure I know what the outcome will be. However, Witchel has been a gifted enough author thus far to keep my interest, although it has beguan waning during the book's latter half.

The premise is a good one, but like many other reviewers, I felt more could've been done with it. But hey, what do I know? Sarah Jessica Parker liked it, after all.

Rating:
Summary: Good, easy read
Review: I liked this book very much. No, it's not deep and meaningful, but it is a fast, easy, interesting read. Give it a chance; I think the other reviews were very harsh.

Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable read
Review: The book, Me Times Three was the most enjoyable book I have read in a while. I found myself laughing out loud as well as yelling for the protagonist, Sandy. This book was entertaining and realistic, I felt like I was with Sandy through all of her triumphs and tribulations. This book was hysterical and I would recomend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Not impressed
Review: I am a sucker for the "single-girl-dealing-with-love-and-career-in-the-city" genre, so I snatched this one up. I should have been alerted by the blurbs in the back - one by Sarah Jessica Parker. I love "Sex and the City", but Ms. Parker is not exactly who pops in my mind as an authority on literary masterpieces. Given the reputation of the writer, I would have expected blurbs from other writers with much clout.

The forays into fairy tales were boring. I read the first couple, then outright skipped the rest. The rest of the story was extremely predictible. Once Alex bothered to introduce the character of Mark Lewis as someone who described Sandra as "cute", you knew they would end up together. Too bad you had to wait another 150 pages for it to happen. Her gay best friend contracted AIDs, which should have come to the surprise of exactly nobody. You have the stereotypical gay man in the 80s who uses lots of drugs and engages in promiscuous sex. I wish that Alex would have explored their relationship a little bit more or focused a little bit more on how Sandra would deal with the illness of her best friend rather than relying on the repetitive Paul went out and got laid and trashed scenarios.

But what irritated me more than anything was that Bucky was engaged to three women at the same time, and she just walks off and never talks to him! I didn't get the impression that Sandra was the sort of girl who would walk away without answers. How long did he think he'd pull it off? What was he planning on doing when his women all started pushing for wedding dates? How did he explain the whole situation to family and friends? Not everyone would have condoned it like his friends at the Met did. The whole incident seemed so contrived. I'm guessing that the author had written herself into a corner with this plotline, and didn't know the answer to any of these questions either. So the simple solution was to not address them.

In conclusion, it is a simple read, and it will hold your attention for a little while. I was really skimming the last 75 pages of this book. It had gotten too thick and dull. In the long run, there are much better "single-girl-dealing-with-love-and-career-in-the-city" to waste the day with that won't leave you feeling as if you had just read an incomplete story.

Rating:
Summary: Not worth it!
Review: "Me Times Three" was a big disappointment. I believed the hype I heard and read about it, and I enthusiastically bought the hardcover copy. It's a story full of cliches, so boring and so predictable. My only motivation to finish was the fact that I could sell it used and get most of my money back.

Rating:
Summary: Does this book ever end?
Review: I read this book because it seemed like it had so much potential to be a great story. However, that potential disappeared by the end of the first chapter.

Sandy is a New York Jewish girl still dating her high school WASP boyfriend. A week after they get engaged, she learns he's already engaged to TWO other women.

From then on, Sandy tries to put her life back together, but as the book continues, it seemed to me that she was never happy being with Bucky (the ex-fiancee and what kind of a name is that) in the first place. Then there's her gay friend, Paul, who lied to her during their entire friendship and she finds out while he is dying of AIDS. Then there's her job at Jolie!, a fashion magazine and the trials she endures there with her co-workers.

I think Alex tried to tell three stories in one book, which made the novel very confusing and didn't do justic to any of the stories. I kept reading the book because I thought it would get better, but it didn't.

Me Times Three should've really been titled Incomplete Stories Times Three.

Rating:
Summary: Now, let's talk about me...
Review: You may not know Alex Witchel (I don't) but you probably have an Alex Witchel somewhere in your life. When you first met your Alex, she seemed like a lot of fun--someone with whom you could exchange war stories, gossip, and hang out on slow Saturday nights.

So you made a date to meet near the Stairmasters at your women-only fitness club, hoping that you'd finally found your next best friend--someone as wild and witty as you. But after 30 minutes of vigorous exercise (because you were both into being intense) you realized that behind the facade of your would-be friend was a woman familiar with and interested in only one topic: herself.

I don't begrudge Witchel using her connections to get this book published. After all, she's not a 20-year-old wunderkind--she's paid her dues. Hey, her book could have been worse than this and it would still have gotten published. But really, after so many years in the industry did she really think that anyone (except perhaps for a few ex-boyfriends or ex-roommates) would be as fascinated as she is by reading a diary thinly disguised as fiction? Bridget Jones this is not. Instead, Witchel fixates on the serendipitously amusing moments that befall everyone now and then. The difference between her and us is that you and I would never dream of inflicting these ultimately tedious I-guess-you-had-to-be-there stories on anyone else.

Throughout the book, Sandy (Witchel's alter ego) describes situations in which she seems oblivious to the feelings of those around her. I suspect that Witchel herself suffers from the same inability to understand how her words affect others--hence, Me Times Three. I'm sure the material is there--and Witchel isn't a bad writer, just way too self-absorbed and self-important. In another person's hands, this could have been a terrific book. Instead, it's a terrific disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Wow this is bad
Review: This is a really, really bad book. The prose is so bloated one wonders whether Alex had any editing at all. Considering the clout that she and her husband wield, it's no surprise that she got this clunker published, but she definitely should have picked up Elements of Style and learned that less is indeed more. This woman uses enough adverbs to wear out both the reader and the 'l' and 'y' keys on a standard computer keyboard. Don't believe the comparisons to Bridget Jones etc. This is turgid, turgid stuff. The Anna Kournikova of fem. lit. If i were any of the other female writers out there struggling to put out my stuff, I don't know whether I would poo or go blind when I realized that this novel made it to the shelves.

Rating:
Summary: Boredom Times Three
Review: This book was so boring I stopped in the middle and flipped to the last chapter and still couldn't read the final paragraphs. Although the first chapters start out with promise, the storyline quickly unfolds to boredom. The characters lack depth and emotion. Withchel uses too much narrative rather than letting the characters speak for themselves. But when they do speak, it's uneventful. Pass this one up.