The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup : My Encounters with Extraordinary People

Rating:
Summary: a thoroughly enjoyable collection of thumbnail sketches
Review: Though the hip New Yorker style may not be for everyone, I loved just about every one of these stories. For all the criticisms leveled against Orlean, she has an uncanny ability to capture her subjects and get inside their lifestyle. The range of these stories is what makes them so interesting -- one of my favorites was the simple portrait of a typical 10 year old boy. In fact, I enjoyed the obscure people's portraits more than those of famous people like Bill Blass and Tonya Harding. Orleans is great at picking out the nuances of everyday life that make humans so fascinating. It's the type of book that's best split up into smaller sections. I read it straight through which can get a bit repetitive, but I still found myself reading late into the night to finish.

Rating:
Summary: a thoroughly enjoyable collection of thumbnail sketches
Review: Though the hip New Yorker style may not be for everyone, I loved just about every one of these stories. For all the criticisms leveled against Orlean, she has an uncanny ability to capture her subjects and get inside their lifestyle. The range of these stories is what makes them so interesting -- one of my favorites was the simple portrait of a typical 10 year old boy. In fact, I enjoyed the obscure people's portraits more than those of famous people like Bill Blass and Tonya Harding. Orleans is great at picking out the nuances of everyday life that make humans so fascinating. It's the type of book that's best split up into smaller sections. I read it straight through which can get a bit repetitive, but I still found myself reading late into the night to finish.

Rating:
Summary: Anthologies of interesting prople
Review: When I had finished "The Bullfighter checks her Make-up", it had occured to me that many of the rich and famous are quite dull when you take away the riches and fame. You don't believe me? Read an issue of Vanity Fair. In every issue, there will always be some hot star featured that month. This person may sizzle on celluloid, sound great on CD, etc. but is boring as heck or so self absorbed that you go running to a preening, navel gazing 14 year old for some company. None of Ms. Orlean's subjects are in this category. Whether it's a buff Boxer(the dog) named Biff or the Ghanian King who drives a cab; these people are unique.
In fact Ms. Orleans seems to find the unique in the ordinary. Her first subject is the "American Man" aged 10. Somehow, when reading about this fellow you are paying attention. His interests seem to be no different than other boys at that time. Yet you read and want to finish this. And to think her bosses wanted her do a profile of the then 10 year old Macauley Culkin! Good thing she got her way.
Many of these vignettes, in fact, would not be what a typical editor would request from a writer. In the sport of Women's Tennis, for instance, she doesn't profile the prominent Williams sisters but the lesser known Maleev sisters. In the dog show world, there isn't a profile of the prize poodle, but a contender in the Working Dog Category. The choices are unexpected and always a treat.
I would recommend this book to most everyone. Even a subject in which I had no initial curiosity such as Best Working Dog caught my eye. As for the Bullfighter...she's there as well. Happy reading!

Rating:
Summary: Anthologies of interesting prople
Review: When I had finished "The Bullfighter checks her Make-up", it had occured to me that many of the rich and famous are quite dull when you take away the riches and fame. You don't believe me? Read an issue of Vanity Fair. In every issue, there will always be some hot star featured that month. This person may sizzle on celluloid, sound great on CD, etc. but is boring as heck or so self absorbed that you go running to a preening, navel gazing 14 year old for some company. None of Ms. Orlean's subjects are in this category. Whether it's a buff Boxer(the dog) named Biff or the Ghanian King who drives a cab; these people are unique.
In fact Ms. Orleans seems to find the unique in the ordinary. Her first subject is the "American Man" aged 10. Somehow, when reading about this fellow you are paying attention. His interests seem to be no different than other boys at that time. Yet you read and want to finish this. And to think her bosses wanted her do a profile of the then 10 year old Macauley Culkin! Good thing she got her way.
Many of these vignettes, in fact, would not be what a typical editor would request from a writer. In the sport of Women's Tennis, for instance, she doesn't profile the prominent Williams sisters but the lesser known Maleev sisters. In the dog show world, there isn't a profile of the prize poodle, but a contender in the Working Dog Category. The choices are unexpected and always a treat.
I would recommend this book to most everyone. Even a subject in which I had no initial curiosity such as Best Working Dog caught my eye. As for the Bullfighter...she's there as well. Happy reading!