Rating: 
Summary: Hits Cool on the Nose
Review: Has that fact vs. fiction thing going on that can be so cool (ala Postcards from the Edge, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, My Fractured Life, and The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters) Way fun and way cool.
Rating:
Summary: The positive of the negative
Review: Hurrah for this author. The truth of her story rings clear for those who know whereof she speaks; having periodically spent weeks in bed with depression or spent the family retirement funds in six months in a manic episode. But that's not the remarkable thing. The remarkable thing is that in a culture where manic depression is encouraged by psychiatrists and pharmaceutical companies who have formed an unholy, if unwitting, alliance; here's some one who has escaped. Not unscathed, mind you. But free nevertheless. Some people, sadly, do not escape.This book makes the point that people get depressed not because they are crazy but because they are human. But when you plug drugs into the brain in an effort to cure what must be simply understood and managed behaviorally, bizarre neuronal connections can start arcing up on you. Ms. Fisher is on the right track with this very entertaining and provocative novel. Once you can observe your pain, you are no longer limited to it. Once you can laugh at your pain, it is no longer your enemy.
A. B. Curtiss, author of DEPRESSION IS A CHOICE:WINNING THE BATTLE WITHOUT DRUGS
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding and Fractured
Review: I am a big fan of The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters: A Novel by Elisabeth Robinson and My Fractured Life: A Novel by Rikki Lee Travolta. The Best Awful: A Novel by Carrie Fisher is of the same style and also very good. I sing it's praises.
Rating: 
Summary: Title fits
Review: I can't see how this crummy novel would have been published if Carrie Fisher wasn't the author. Yes, it's that bad, not even close to "Postcards" in terms of story depth and character development much less as an insider chronicle of the ups and downs of a Hollywood life of fame, fortune and problems, which was "Postcard"'s major strength. The prose itself is "best awful," sometimes funny, mostly way too dense,(where was the editor?) particularly the descriptions of the lead character's crackup in the end. The prose falls apart as well as the story, and not because its a disguised literary technique that only the likes of perhaps Faulkner or Fitzgerald could really get away with. Fisher obviously sets out to describe what its like to fall apart and fails miserably. Instead, this latter section, is simply incoherent and actually, boring, with a few funny bits thrown in through other characters. From what is publicly known about Carrie Fisher, this book seems to be, at best, thinly veiled autobiography, and frankly, neither the lead character or her situation - heartbreak, addiction, eventual mental breakdown, and somewhat recovery - are either that interesting or the story that insightful in terms of its humanity or even in more spare terms, how a character/person with every resource outside of stable biochemistry survives some of life's challenges in the glam world of Hollywood. Don't waste your time or money.
Rating: 
Summary: Humorous satire
Review: I enjoy Carrie Fisher and I appreciate her honesty. For those who like to delve below the surface exterior, she grabs your attention. If I could change one thing, I would edit it out the "characters" and put in "real" names.
She made it fact/fiction and that can be a little off-putting.
Rating:
Summary: The bi-polar world of "crazy"
Review: I found this lastest book by Fischer particularly enlightening. I was recently diagnosed with bi-polar II. After all of the medical information I've received, coupled with anecdotal stories, I found this to be an accurate and refreshingly funny insight into our world of "crazy". I truly understand "The Best Awful" as I reflect upon my life. This is also helpful for family members and friends who may have some trouble understanding or dealing with the diagnosis...they will see parts they can relate to, as the main character has frustrated friends trying to "piece" her back together! "Bravo" for Fischer and her courage with this subject.
Rating:
Summary: A poignant, funny look at bipolar disorder...very readable!
Review: I have read all four of Carrie Fisher's novels, and this one is my second favorite, after the charming, hilarious "Delusions of Grandma." This novel includes many colorful central and secondary characters, but none as vibrant as Suzanne Vale, the bipolar heroine. "The Best Awful" takes the reader on a roller-coster ride from the stability of everyday "sane" life through the perils of meltdown...and all the way to the loony bin and out again. Laced with Fisher's winning humor and alarming literacy, this novel is a winner from beginning to end. The ride will keep you laughing and leave you a little sad, but ultimately "The Best Awful" serves as a satifying read.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't come up with a title for my review - sorry
Review: I liked The Best Awful - a lot - but for some weird reason, when I like a book and set out trying to describe what I like about it, words fail me. (Whereas if I read a book I hate, I never seem to have any trouble articulating precisely what I hate about it.) So suffice it to say that, all in all, The Best Awful did not disappoint me. I've read all of Carrie Fisher's books and I really love her voice.
My one complaint (a minor complaint, mind you) is that one of of her real-life friends that she'd based a character on was instantly recognizable, which I found annoying. Now, I know Fisher's books are based on her own life, but for some reason, I never pictured Carrie Fisher when reading about Suzanne Vale in Postcards from the Edge. Although I knew it was an autobiography of sorts, I read it as a work of fiction. And that's how I read The Best Awful, too, until I got to the page where Suzanne's pregnant friend drops by. I didn't even know Fisher and Beverly D'Angelo were friends, nor did I feel that I needed to be informed of this. (And it's not like I recognized D'Angelo because I know a lot about her - the only reason I even know her name and what she looks like is because the press wrote about her and Al Pacino for a while - but Fisher's description of her was so painstakingly accurate that I immediately recognized her anyway.) I was, like, "What's Beverly D'Angelo doing in Suzanne's bedroom?". I'm sure there are people who bought the book to play spot-the-celebrity, but I'm not one of those people, so for me, as I said, that part was just annoying, not to mention distracting.
Actually, I have one more complaint, but it will seem bafflingly irrelevant to anyone except the people who will be publishing the paperback (and maybe even to them), so for anyone else reading this review: please skip this part, or you'll end up wishing you had.
OK, here goes: The cover art is unfortunate. Not in and of itself - it wouldn't bother me at all if the picture was limited to the front cover of the dust jacket, but it covers the spine of the dust jacket as well, which means the book is now languishing in a desk drawer next to other books I for various reason don't want to display on my bookshelves (Seven Secrets of Slim People, anyone?) instead of hanging out with its friends Postcards From the Edge, Surrender the Pink and Delusions of Grandma on my bookshelf, because the way it looked standing on the shelf kind of freaked me out. (If you own the book, try slinding it inbetween the other books on your shelf, and take a step back - you'll see what I mean.) I know, I know, I could just remove the dust jacket, but then I'd just end up losing it, which would be inconvenient for when I want to read the book again or lend it to someone.
Rating:
Summary: Wacky World of Hollywood
Review: I loved it. Haven't read Postcards, but will. It is kind of like My Fractured Life so I like that. It was wacky in a fun way. There was also some sad parts, but I she handled it in a fun way. A very good book.
Rating:
Summary: A funny, loopy, harrowing read!
Review: I thought this was going to be another book where the privileged lead whines about their terrible circumstances -- but I was wrong. Carrie's strength, and the strength of her characters lie in the fact that she's so vulnerable -- you just want to wrap Suzanne in a blanket, make her some tea and brush her hair while she cries. Carrie's description of mental illness is, to me, unparelleled. I am impressed that she was able to access her pain so poignantly, and display it with such vigor to the rest of us mere mortals. Good for you, Carrie. And we're glad you've survived -- with style!
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