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Rating: 
Summary: The Book I've Been Waiting For
Review: Ayn Imperato reminds me of why I love to read. Even for someone like myself, who is always reading a new book, Dirty Money and Other Stories stopped me in my tracks. After laughing out loud through the first short story in this collection, I put everything on hold for a couple of hours, sat down, and didn't get up until i got to the end. It's just one of those books. These stories and vignettes piece together the life, loves, and adventures of a fiery and passionate young San Francisco woman who isn't quite ready to give in or give up. We hear the voice of a struggling artist in underground scene, where sex, booze, and creative ways to make rent liven up a raw, urban landscape. Imperato manages to make laughable the thorny subject matter of slimy phone sex clients, an abusive boyfriend, and alcoholic excess, yet also connects with the tender emotion just under the surface of these close-call catastrophes. I was warmed by the author's genuine, hopeful resolutions that relate to real life. No excess cheese or glossing over here. When it hurts, you feel it, but when she's in love, so are you. I was most impressed by the range of experience covered here, all of it so right-on you'd swear that you knew this girl. From the opening description of retail-employment drudgery, through the extreme ups and downs of crazy young romance, to the wild nights in the streets, the stories read like the older sister's diary you stole when you were 12. In this case, though, they're a lot more fun and touching. While Ayn Imperato's tales of life in the punk rock fast lane allow you to live vicariously, getting muddy in a nude photo shoot and watching your boyfriend chuck bottles at SRV's, these honest words also let you into the quiet warmth of a thoughtful, intelligent person's assessment of everyday life, scribbled in a notebook over coffee. The clever phrases and quick-minded analogies here kept me on my toes while keeping me pleasantly at ease with the knowledge that the next surprise was just around the next paragraph. Imperato is an old-school storyteller that doesn't try to dazzle you with way-out mumbo-jumbo because she knows how to write. You can't let this one pass you by. More books like this one could bring on a new urban literary revolution, from voices unheard for far too long. Listen and you won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: The Book I've Been Waiting For
Review: Ayn Imperato reminds me of why I love to read. Even for someone like myself, who is always reading a new book, Dirty Money and Other Stories stopped me in my tracks. After laughing out loud through the first short story in this collection, I put everything on hold for a couple of hours, sat down, and didn't get up until i got to the end. It's just one of those books. These stories and vignettes piece together the life, loves, and adventures of a fiery and passionate young San Francisco woman who isn't quite ready to give in or give up. We hear the voice of a struggling artist in underground scene, where sex, booze, and creative ways to make rent liven up a raw, urban landscape. Imperato manages to make laughable the thorny subject matter of slimy phone sex clients, an abusive boyfriend, and alcoholic excess, yet also connects with the tender emotion just under the surface of these close-call catastrophes. I was warmed by the author's genuine, hopeful resolutions that relate to real life. No excess cheese or glossing over here. When it hurts, you feel it, but when she's in love, so are you. I was most impressed by the range of experience covered here, all of it so right-on you'd swear that you knew this girl. From the opening description of retail-employment drudgery, through the extreme ups and downs of crazy young romance, to the wild nights in the streets, the stories read like the older sister's diary you stole when you were 12. In this case, though, they're a lot more fun and touching. While Ayn Imperato's tales of life in the punk rock fast lane allow you to live vicariously, getting muddy in a nude photo shoot and watching your boyfriend chuck bottles at SRV's, these honest words also let you into the quiet warmth of a thoughtful, intelligent person's assessment of everyday life, scribbled in a notebook over coffee. The clever phrases and quick-minded analogies here kept me on my toes while keeping me pleasantly at ease with the knowledge that the next surprise was just around the next paragraph. Imperato is an old-school storyteller that doesn't try to dazzle you with way-out mumbo-jumbo because she knows how to write. You can't let this one pass you by. More books like this one could bring on a new urban literary revolution, from voices unheard for far too long. Listen and you won't be sorry.
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