Rating: 
Summary: Emma, Who Bored Me Silly
Review: I don't understand the enthusiasm for this book. Although we are told ad nauseum how fascinating and edgy Emma is, she -- like the narrator -- is simply a grind, an average girl who works in a pizza parlor, writes bad poetry, and is kitted out with a formulaic mennu of traits that scream Early 70s Youth. The three main characters are shoved from scene to scene like a trio of theater props, which might work if the scenes rose above the level of predictable cliche (Fag Hag Party, Crummy New York Apartment, The Agony and Ecstasy of Off Off Off Broadway, The Drug Scene, etc.) For me, this book held all the sparkle of a rather stale TV sitcom. Whatever impulse I had to laugh (there are two or three genuinely funny observations in the 400 pages)was crushed by the narrator's constant badgering pose -- FIND ME FUNNY! SEE HOW IMPISHILY CLEVER I AM! BET YOU WONDER WHY I'M NOT WRITING FOR LETTERMAN! No, actually, I didn't wonder. Not once.
Rating:
Summary: Emma, Who Bored Me Silly
Review: I don't understand the enthusiasm for this book. Although we are told ad nauseum how fascinating and edgy Emma is, she -- like the narrator -- is simply a grind, an average girl who works in a pizza parlor, writes bad poetry, and is kitted out with a formulaic mennu of traits that scream Early 70s Youth. The three main characters are shoved from scene to scene like a trio of theater props, which might work if the scenes rose above the level of predictable cliche (Fag Hag Party, Crummy New York Apartment, The Agony and Ecstasy of Off Off Off Broadway, The Drug Scene, etc.) For me, this book held all the sparkle of a rather stale TV sitcom. Whatever impulse I had to laugh (there are two or three genuinely funny observations in the 400 pages)was crushed by the narrator's constant badgering pose -- FIND ME FUNNY! SEE HOW IMPISHILY CLEVER I AM! BET YOU WONDER WHY I'M NOT WRITING FOR LETTERMAN! No, actually, I didn't wonder. Not once.
Rating: 
Summary: funny and sad and deeply personal
Review: I have read this book every year that I have lived in New York, and each time I have a different experience with it. The first time I read it, I had just arrived in NY, fresh out of college, and I agreed with the reviewer who wrote that it's a great book until the end. Then I read it a year later and decided that it could not have ended any other way. This book is about growing up, and it has so mirrored my own experience of this city that I laugh and cry and have a totally different experience of it each time I pick it up. Sort of like looking at an old photo album--where you realize your relationships with the people inside the book have changed, but the feelings evoked by looking at them are just as strong as ever.It's lovely. I can't imagine admiring a book more.
Rating:
Summary: I wish I wrote it......
Review: I picked up this book from my local Salvation Army for about 50 cents. I had never heard of the author. After a few pages, I fell in love with the characters. The author presents each chapter as an engaging short story of an average actor wannabe in New York. His characters are so real (yet so larger than life) you want them to keep living after the last chapter ends. I have read it a million times, and believe me, there are only a short list of books I will read over and over: Richard Adam's "Watership Down," Elizabeth Ann Scarborough's "Songs from the Seashell Archives," Janet Fitch's "White Oleander" and every Narnia book in print. Just give it a try.
Rating: 
Summary: Tedious
Review: I shelved it after laboring to read the first 200 pages. The main characters are shallow, cardboard-like caricatures. The dialogue is cliche, the characters are cliche and Barnhardt's attempt to capture a period of time in NYC rings so false, you wonder if he ever spent any time in New York. A real bore. Don't bother.
Rating:
Summary: Very funny book!
Review: This book is great.. i picked it up in a discount store and it would have to be one of my best finds ever! One of the first books i ever read that made me actually laugh out loud while reading it. Definately recommend!
Rating: 
Summary: I'm not sure about this one...
Review: This book was highly entertaining, but not too much more than that. The way Barnhardt peopled the book reminded me a bit of Dostoevsky's technique--putting so many characters into a novel that it feels almost like a universe. I liked that aspect of the book, as it made the story more interesting and added realism. I also liked the fact that the novel had a comfortable feeling overall, as though you were reading about people you really knew. However, I never saw much character development with most of the people, with the exception of Gil. I know, I know--the whole book was devoted to Emma's character. But when I stop and think about it, Emma was incredibly complex and bizarre and for some reason I feel like I only got the wacky side of her. I guess we're not meant to know why she is still committed to celibacy for ten years (etc.), but there was still a feeling that a lot was missing. I honestly didn't like Emma. And the ending...well, I guess it was consistent with the rest of the book, but it just seemed really gross. I'm not sure what to make of it. At any rate, this is a good book to read if you've got a couple of afternoons to spend, at least for the interesting description of New York in the seventies.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST ever
Review: This is far and away the most enjoyable book I have EVER read. I bought the hardcover in 1989, and over the years have re-read it many, many times. I even named my daughter "Emma"! It is laugh out loud hysterical, and deeply moving. You feel as though you are transported to NYC in the 70s and 80s, sharing experiences with these unbelievable realistic characters. I cannot stress enough how wonderful this book is, I have yet to find one I like as much, and I read A LOT of books-trust me!
Rating:
Summary: The BEST ever
Review: This is far and away the most enjoyable book I have EVER read. I bought the hardcover in 1989, and over the years have re-read it many, many times. I even named my daughter "Emma"! It is laugh out loud hysterical, and deeply moving. You feel as though you are transported to NYC in the 70s and 80s, sharing experiences with these unbelievable realistic characters. I cannot stress enough how wonderful this book is, I have yet to find one I like as much, and I read A LOT of books-trust me!
Rating:
Summary: Emma, Who Saved My Life
Review: This is one of the most delightful books I have had the pleasure of reading. Mr. Barnhardt's understanding of the fascination that draws thousands of young people to New York to find fame and fortune in the world of arts, letters and the theatre and the tribulations, heartbreaks, joy, success and failure is uncanny. I am 61 and loved it. I gave it to my daughter who is 29 and she loved it. If you are at all interested in the world of arts and entertainment, try it. You'll love it.
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