Rating: 
Summary: A Witty Gem
Review: A clever and wonderfully written coming-of-age story of a different sort, in which a young intellectual discovers that her idols have clay feet and more. Sexy, dishy, and very smart, this book is a delightful read. And no, I am not the author, and yes, I really read the book....
Rating: 
Summary: Aberrant Behavior Abounds
Review: Apprentice to the Flower Poet Z is about the two things that interest me most, words and aberrant human behavior, so how could I not enjoy it? It did get a little tiresome, but there was enough humor to keep me reading. The master/servant relationship between Annabelle and Z reminds me of The Nanny Diaries. Weinstein has real talent. www.home.earthlink.net/~bbeamguard
Rating:
Summary: Fresh and Funny
Review: Apprentice to the Flower Poet Z.: A Novel is the story of a highly likeable yet naive young poet who becomes aprentice to Z.,a university professor and the most celebrated poet of her time. The book is smart and pokes fun at all the sophisticated subjects of our time--sexual harassment, homosexuality, adultery, and even poetry. More than that, it's about the dirty little world of graduate literary programs, where backbiting, revenge, and theft are essential tools for survival. Again and I again I was struck by the similarity to The Nanny Diaries because both books twist the knife into people with mean and empty lives. This book is an excellent example of the "open story" in which the reader knows what's coming but the protagonist doesn't. I sometimes wished Annabelle had seen through Z's shallowness, but this book is about her dawning understanding. As such, it succeeds beautifully. I couldn't quite give it five stars because I think the weird boyfriend was incidental to the story, but I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more of Debra Weinstein's work.
Rating:
Summary: Fresh and Funny
Review: Apprentice to the Flower Poet Z.: A Novel is the story of a highly likeable yet naive young poet who becomes aprentice to Z.,a university professor and the most celebrated poet of her time. The book is smart and pokes fun at all the sophisticated subjects of our time--sexual harassment, homosexuality, adultery, and even poetry. More than that, it's about the dirty little world of graduate literary programs, where backbiting, revenge, and theft are essential tools for survival. Again and I again I was struck by the similarity to The Nanny Diaries because both books twist the knife into people with mean and empty lives. This book is an excellent example of the "open story" in which the reader knows what's coming but the protagonist doesn't. I sometimes wished Annabelle had seen through Z's shallowness, but this book is about her dawning understanding. As such, it succeeds beautifully. I couldn't quite give it five stars because I think the weird boyfriend was incidental to the story, but I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more of Debra Weinstein's work.
Rating:
Summary: Been There, Done That, Got the Degree
Review: Debra Weinstein captures the deer-in-the-headlights feel and the sometimes cryptic, usually quipping exchanges undergrads encounter inside the world of collegiate creative writing programs. Once upon a time I was a scholarship student to a midwestern university, studying under both their fiction and poetry professors. Unlike Debra Weinstein's main character Annabelle, I was not farmed out to any of these professors. Nor did I have to deal with the likes of Harry Banks, a graduate student crazy over James Joyce, and Annabelle's mild S&M fling over the course of the semester. Yet I was not completely unaware of student/teacher, teacher/teacher politics, and "Apprentice" is a believable, elegantly romping portrayal of such power struggles. The language is what pulls it off, its sparcity and precision. I've heard that style called 'minimalist,' and I've heard it compared to laziness, but Debra Weinstein uses it like a comedian who carefully sets up a joke--no flood of details to confuse everyone--and then times the punch line just right to get the laugh. But a laugh isn't always the point in this book. Annabelle's central quest is to discover what poetry is (and by default what life and love and pain is), and the frugality of Weinsteins' narrative reigns in her characters' outrageous behavior and helps to keep Annabelle's story from sliding into the ridiculous. The reader doesn't need to have any special knowledge of literature or of the literary world to enjoy this book. As a matter of fact, while I'm thankful for my years of tutelage with my professors, my subsequent degree has gone to prove that some of what's said in a workshop (mostly by students) is just literary doublespeak, political correctness gone artsy-fartsy, that time and distance from it helps to clear the head. And Debra Weinstein's book sees it reasonably clearly for a work of fiction. At its heart "A to Z" is the story of an adolescent "coming of age," a young woman disillusioned but not destroyed by her chosen vocation of poetry.
Rating:
Summary: Been There, Done That, Got the Degree
Review: Debra Weinstein captures the deer-in-the-headlights feel and the sometimes cryptic, usually quipping exchanges undergrads encounter inside the world of collegiate creative writing programs. Once upon a time I was a scholarship student to a midwestern university, studying under both their fiction and poetry professors. Unlike Debra Weinstein's main character Annabelle, I was not farmed out to any of these professors. Nor did I have to deal with the likes of Harry Banks, a graduate student crazy over James Joyce, and Annabelle's mild S&M fling over the course of the semester. Yet I was not completely unaware of student/teacher, teacher/teacher politics, and "Apprentice" is a believable, elegantly romping portrayal of such power struggles. The language is what pulls it off, its sparcity and precision. I've heard that style called 'minimalist,' and I've heard it compared to laziness, but Debra Weinstein uses it like a comedian who carefully sets up a joke--no flood of details to confuse everyone--and then times the punch line just right to get the laugh. But a laugh isn't always the point in this book. Annabelle's central quest is to discover what poetry is (and by default what life and love and pain is), and the frugality of Weinsteins' narrative reigns in her characters' outrageous behavior and helps to keep Annabelle's story from sliding into the ridiculous. The reader doesn't need to have any special knowledge of literature or of the literary world to enjoy this book. As a matter of fact, while I'm thankful for my years of tutelage with my professors, my subsequent degree has gone to prove that some of what's said in a workshop (mostly by students) is just literary doublespeak, political correctness gone artsy-fartsy, that time and distance from it helps to clear the head. And Debra Weinstein's book sees it reasonably clearly for a work of fiction. At its heart "A to Z" is the story of an adolescent "coming of age," a young woman disillusioned but not destroyed by her chosen vocation of poetry.
Rating:
Summary: Exposing Academia
Review: Debra Weinstein has written a fresh and funny tale of the misuse of an undergrad assistant by her famous poet professor. Takes place in the 80's before computers, so we can assume that academics no longer take advantage of their brilliant young students by picking their brains!!! Seriously, this is an entertaining and charming first novel.
Rating:
Summary: Clever and Engaging
Review: Debra Weinstein's Apprentice to the Flower Poet Z. is a clever and engaging read, one that accomplishes what others have tried and dreadfully failed at: an amusing "expose" of an evil and demanding boss. Pity poor Annabelle--a young, aspiring poet at a prestigous NY university who thinks she is the luckiest poet in the world when she lands the "dream" job of assistant to Z., a highly praised contemporary poet. Annabelle is so enthralled with Z. that she doesn't seem to mind the ridiculous demands Z. makes of her, doesn't seem to mind that so many of those demands are impossible to live up to. Annabelle finally sees the truth in Z., but not before she has been taken advantage of--the reader sees it coming long before Annabelle realizes it. Weinstein does an excellent job with this novel and her characters because, as horrible as Z. is, she has a number of redeeming qualities that make Annabelle want to remain at her job. She isn't portrayed as so ridiculously horrible that no one in their right mind would ever work for her. The story is told with much wit and humor. Weinstein does not think very highly of much of academia and her send up here is quite amusing. The prose is pretty spare, but gets her point across excellently. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Clever and Engaging
Review: Debra Weinstein's Apprentice to the Flower Poet Z. is a clever and engaging read, one that accomplishes what others have tried and dreadfully failed at: an amusing "expose" of an evil and demanding boss. Pity poor Annabelle--a young, aspiring poet at a prestigous NY university who thinks she is the luckiest poet in the world when she lands the "dream" job of assistant to Z., a highly praised contemporary poet. Annabelle is so enthralled with Z. that she doesn't seem to mind the ridiculous demands Z. makes of her, doesn't seem to mind that so many of those demands are impossible to live up to. Annabelle finally sees the truth in Z., but not before she has been taken advantage of--the reader sees it coming long before Annabelle realizes it. Weinstein does an excellent job with this novel and her characters because, as horrible as Z. is, she has a number of redeeming qualities that make Annabelle want to remain at her job. She isn't portrayed as so ridiculously horrible that no one in their right mind would ever work for her. The story is told with much wit and humor. Weinstein does not think very highly of much of academia and her send up here is quite amusing. The prose is pretty spare, but gets her point across excellently. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Clever and Engaging
Review: Debra Weinstein's Apprentice to the Flower Poet Z. is a clever and engaging read, one that accomplishes what others have tried and dreadfully failed at: an amusing "expose" of an evil and demanding boss. Pity poor Annabelle--a young, aspiring poet at a prestigous NY university who thinks she is the luckiest poet in the world when she lands the "dream" job of assistant to Z., a highly praised contemporary poet. Annabelle is so enthralled with Z. that she doesn't seem to mind the ridiculous demands Z. makes of her, doesn't seem to mind that so many of those demands are impossible to live up to. Annabelle finally sees the truth in Z., but not before she has been taken advantage of--the reader sees it coming long before Annabelle realizes it. Weinstein does an excellent job with this novel and her characters because, as horrible as Z. is, she has a number of redeeming qualities that make Annabelle want to remain at her job. She isn't portrayed as so ridiculously horrible that no one in their right mind would ever work for her. The story is told with much wit and humor. Weinstein does not think very highly of much of academia and her send up here is quite amusing. The prose is pretty spare, but gets her point across excellently. Enjoy.
|
