Rating:  Summary: 5 Stars for 5 MEN... Review: I adored Five Men Who Broke My Heart. I happen to pick up the book while going through what I can now refer to as "Heart Break #2." Not to sound weird, but the book and the trials and tribulations of Sue Shapiro's romantic history in this crazy city somehow made my break up a little easier to bear. As an author, she has a wonderful ability to make the reader feel like you are one of her confidants. That she has picked up the phone late one night to call and report on some awful blind date or relationship crisis. Sue Shapiro gives all of us smart, (...), confident women hope that there are men out there strong enough to take us on. This book is truly a delight from start to finish.
Rating:  Summary: Not usually my thing Review: I'm not enough of a liar to say I never read chick-lit, but whenever I do I find myself wishing the genre weren't so damn cloying and embarrassing. Susan Shapiro reinvents the category, writing with refreshing strength and fierce wit and without the pathetic whininess you find in most other examples. And she's hilarious. Besides delicious voyeurism and excellent post-breakup therapy, Five Men also offers a hysterical, bleedingly honest, and on-the-money take on what it means (or doesn't mean) to fall in love, and why even the most disastrous relationships can, in their own screwed-up way, be both necessary and enriching.
Rating:  Summary: Susan Shapiro broke my heart Review: I just finished reading this book and it is amazing- she is amazing. I barely put it down the past two days (except to breastfeed and diaper my baby). I love this book. Susan Shapiro is funny as hell, with a gift for storytelling and an honesty that breaks your heart. I love that it is a memoir written as a novel, like Mary Karr. I was constantly struck by how the structure made total sense, but I couldn't quite put my finger on how she did it. Shapiro weaved through time and space seamlessly. This was the tag to my favorite paragraph on page 10 "I was willing to trick my husband into having his own baby. Couldn't I just trick him into having someone else's?" I laughed all the way through this book and then cried for the last 7 pages, from this line on: "Finding old boyfriends I'd loved and lost was nothing compared to the fear that I could literally lose my father, the male I'd loved first and longest." I even felt comforted by Shapiro's shrink! Dr G said, "It was just easier for him to communicate with your brothers," by way of explaining her father's standoffishness. I loved that her dad, husband and brothers were the 5 men who would never break your heart. The whole book is just great.
Rating:  Summary: Faked reviews Review: Okay. Have you noticed how many of these positive reviews look like they were written by the same person? And have you seen how many are written by reviewers who have not reviewed other books (reviewers who have a history of reviewing books are underlined in blue). Many of these positive reviews have definitely been written by Shapiro's/the publisher's PR Agency. If you don't believe me, go to the reviews of a different book --Bridget Jones Diary by Fielding or Learning to Taste by Robinson, for example -- and see how many reviews are written by people who actually have a history of reviewing other books: at least 60% of these book's reviewers have also reviewed other books. Don't you think it strange that less than 10% of this book's reviewers fall into this category? Anyway, I read the book and would have given in 2 or 3 stars because there were times when it was engaging and the premise is interesting, although overall it was annoying and the narrative voice was almost unbearable at times. However, I decided on a two-star review because I HATE the fact that my beloved Amazon.com can get hijacked by PR firms writing faked reviews to boost sales. UCK!
Rating:  Summary: Wild and witty, an emotional joyride Review: If you've ever wondered about one of your ex-lovers, this book is right for you. Susan Shapiro grapples with questions about herself and life--and she delivers! Shapiro writes with humor, intelligence, and flair.
Rating:  Summary: A hilarious, moving and perceptive account of modern love Review: I loved this book: I thought it was hilarious and moving and I could really empathize with a lot of it. It's the story of a just-about-to-turn 40 woman, a successful journalist, who's at a low point in her marriage (she and her husband have just discovered they're infertile and he's away much of the time on biz) and in her career (the book she's been working on for years just got rejected). Feeling down and alone ("no baby, "no book" she says in her witty, zingingly honest style), she can't resist meeting with her college love (the first man who broke her heart) when he calls out of the blue. That scene (which sets the tone of the book) is priceless--she's squeezed into her friend's incredibly tight stilettoes to impress him and at lunch she interviews him in her best, rapid-fire New York journalistic style. It's funny, sad and romantic. You laugh yet almost cry. She then decides to look up all her old boyfriends to explore her past and get closure. Not only do her adventures make this book a terrific comic romp, but her personal discovery--that while the men were afraid of commitment in a blatant way, she was just as afraid unconsciously. And she discovers that her husband, whom she's been feeling distant from (& vice versa), is truly the man for her. As someone who went to college in the 70s and had her share of heart-breaking relationships, I could really relate to her realization. I think this is a terrific read and I've recommend it to many friends.
Rating:  Summary: This book edged out the others on my nightstand Review: "Five Men Who Broke My Heart" is a funny and touching romp through author Susan Shapiro's romantic past. Although you know the outcome from the start (her husband is the only man for her), Shapiro's knack for storytelling immerses you in each failed romance. Her honesty also makes this a compelling read, especially when a friend confronts her and tells her that despite all her talk about wanting to get pregnant, she hasn't shown the determination that she would have had it been an all-encompassing need. Shapiro tells a very genuine story that's easy to get wrapped up in.
Rating:  Summary: How could people like this junk?????? Review: Reviews good, interesting idea......but WHAT a POS. I wondered how could ANYONE think this book is worth reading. It is the literary equivalent of having a board embedded with nails pounded into your head, over and over again. Then I looked at the reviews again....AHA! Just about everyone liking this JUNK is from New York or Michigan (except for a doctor who lists being in CA but happens to really be in Michigan). So it looks like Shapiro's friends are hawking this horrid, horrid, horrid book. They should be ashamed, and the publisher should refund the price to anyone who bought this expecting to read a real author.
Rating:  Summary: Funny and Fabulous Review: Outstanding page-turner! Couldn't put it down. Writing is very very clever and funny. This author shares so much of herself on her hilarious adventure revisiting five past loves.
Rating:  Summary: Hindsight is 20/20 Review: Sue Shapiro's juicy memoir of her top 5 heartbreaks gives me hope that when you come into your own you can get it right. You won't find wistful odes to beaus past, instead it's an adventure story about what happens when you stir the pot, reopening old wounds in order to heal them. Her fresh spin on old flames had me laughing, her honesty had me crying. It's for every girl who has ever taken love to its limits, a testament to how tough and tender you have to be to make love work.
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