Ask Me Anything: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Captured the angst of life changes
Review: I stumbled upon this book at the library, and decided to read it because it was set in New York. I was pleasantly surprised at how delightful this book was. Rosalie was a character that grew on me, the more I read , the more I understood her and what the author was trying to convey.
Even though I am past my 20's ( thank fully!) the issues Rosalie was struggling with overlap into all stages of life, the basic questions of change and how to cope with them. Of how unexpected things occur in life and what do they mean or where do they lead.
Some parts of the story were overlong, but I was entertained and pulled along. Francesca is a talented writer who excels at interesting dialog and witty humor. Her descriptions of Declan were priceless. She created speech patterns for each character that defined them well. I am looking forward to reading other work from her.
If you want to read a sweet story with a unique female lead, if you want to follow the twists of relationships, if you want to feel like you are in New York hanging with actors, and if you want to feel you are not alone when the changes in your own life might puzzle or sadden you....this is a worthwhile and uplifting story.

Rating:
Summary: She hits the 20something mindset perfectly
Review: I'm not a big fan of fiction, but Delbanco does manage to penetrate the achingly self-absorbed perspective of mid-twenty something New Yorkers. This book is funny, light-hearted and easy to read while maintaining a depth of characterization. Getting the age right is tough, as it's easy to stereotype the young but not too young and lose the essential humanity of their seemingly vapid but ultimately as important as anyone else's plights.

Also, when I wanted to change reading pace, I could. The text was rich enough to go slow and parse the verbal dexterity and comedy, but the plot was clippy enough so I could read quickly. The characters stuck in my mind.

Rating:
Summary: Trust her, she's lived through it
Review: It's hard to beat earnestness. And Francesco Delbanco's debut novel "Ask Me Anything" is pretty darn earnest. While it suffers from some awkwardness typical of new authors, Delbanco has a good grip on what makes a tight, optimistic light book.

Rosalie is a familiar sort of character to chick-lit readers: Mid-twenties, aspiring actress, has guy troubles, confused, busy but with plenty of time to hang out with pals. But she's a bit different at heart, more contemplative and confident. Her day job is as an advice columnist for a fluffy girl magazine, GirlTalk, giving nuggets of wisdom to angsty teenagers.

But the "Annie Answers" job is merely to support her way in a theatre troupe, First Borns, made up of rich kids, weirdos and sometime boyfriends. Rosalie is confronted with choices about her future and her heart: When other members of the First Borns start to get engaged, she finds herself falling into an affair with a fellow member's slick daddy.

Genuinely ordinary lead characters are a rarity. And Delbanco keeps a hand firmly in "normal" turf while dabbling in the lives of the rich'n'glamorous of Manhatten. Rosalie is no spoiled rich kid. In fact, her style of living, brushing elbows with that of her wealthier friends, is pretty normal by comparison, and she isn't as preoccupied with designer stilettoes and trends as you'd expect. It offers no new insights about the present generation of young single women, but then, it never claimed to. Nor does it seem to try.

Delbanco's writing is solid and nicely detailed, without the strained I-must-be-witty air of many similar books. Dialogue is her stumbling block; it's too contrived and self-conscious. She needs to just relax and let the words flow. At times it also gets a bit gooey and cliched, even bordering on an "Amelie"-esque romance novel in one kissy scene. And one would expect the little advice-column snippets to get a little too cute -- but they don't.

Rosalie's a nice lead character. She lacks scruples in places (hello, the guy is MARRIED), but her ordinary looks and soul-searching keep her interesting to Everygirl. She also has a bit of an inferiority complex that crops up from time to time, but it (thankfully) never turns into a neurosis. The supporting characters such as the suave playboy Berglan and likably weird Jake, are nicely drawn.

"Ask Me Anything" is a pleasant read, even for the non-chick-lit readers. It offers nothing new on the life of urban single gals, but is a nice light read.

Rating:
Summary: perfect prose, troubled youths
Review: Man did I love reading this novel of an teen advice columnist and would-be actress who feels, at age 26, like the world is nailing parts and coupling up and generally leaving her behind. Rosalie, our heroine, sure knows wry inner thought, and Delbanco, our author, sure knows how to write jokey banter among twentysomethings. So I laughed a lot as I tore through the book, except when every so often I hit an applause-worthy bon mot, when I'd screech to a halt and mentally vow to rave review this thing on Amazon.

Where it appears not everyone has loved the book as much as me. Maybe some people found Rosalie tough to like. But there too, I thought Delbanco successfully walked a fine line: I rooted for her. Even though she was a homewrecker. And, occasionally the shatterer of dreams of teenage girls. Details, people! I say Rosalie was pure of heart in spite of it all.

There's lots of plot, too! Good, real world plot! Affairs, and shows, and marriages, and even visits to the parents. Was there too much plot? I kind of thought the ending (happy - somebody gives it away on the back cover, so don't blame me) just kept happening, in a number of different locales. Yeesh. Pull the cord already.

But really - overall, I totally dug it. Am def gonna read the next one. Hope her publishers put out the paperback with a pink cover - because I think Ask Me Anything should be widely read.

Rating:
Summary: perfect prose, troubled youths
Review: Man did I love reading this novel of an teen advice columnist and would-be actress who feels, at age 26, like the world is nailing parts and coupling up and generally leaving her behind. Rosalie, our heroine, sure knows wry inner thought, and Delbanco, our author, sure knows how to write jokey banter among twentysomethings. So I laughed a lot as I tore through the book, except when every so often I hit an applause-worthy bon mot, when I'd screech to a halt and mentally vow to rave review this thing on Amazon.

Where it appears not everyone has loved the book as much as me. Maybe some people found Rosalie tough to like. But there too, I thought Delbanco successfully walked a fine line: I rooted for her. Even though she was a homewrecker. And, occasionally the shatterer of dreams of teenage girls. Details, people! I say Rosalie was pure of heart in spite of it all.

There's lots of plot, too! Good, real world plot! Affairs, and shows, and marriages, and even visits to the parents. Was there too much plot? I kind of thought the ending (happy - somebody gives it away on the back cover, so don't blame me) just kept happening, in a number of different locales. Yeesh. Pull the cord already.

But really - overall, I totally dug it. Am def gonna read the next one. Hope her publishers put out the paperback with a pink cover - because I think Ask Me Anything should be widely read.

Rating:
Summary: Sophomoric
Review: Most Ivy Leaguers get over their "master of the universe" phase in a year or two, and realize that being admitted to an Ivy doesn't mean they are in any meaningful way special or more important than anyone else. Poor Francesca Delbanco, she seems to have missed that crucial step of maturity. "Ask Me Anything" is the result, a well-meaning if often cloyingly self-important piece of chick lit that really wasn't worthy of publication.

Delbanco sketches some interesting backstory for Rosalie Preston as the main character, but as the book progresses Rosalie never seems to range far from an undergraduate's preoccupation with maintaining a "quirky" circle of friends and flirting with older men. Her scandalous affair with her friend's dad is frankly unbelievable, as Rosalie as written has little to offer. Declan Pearse as the serious love interest isn't much better. More successful are scenes that illustrate how self-absorbed amateur actors can be. The "Ask Annie" interludes are awkward, interrupt the flow of the story, and come off as painfully pompous. Next time, please Francesca, don't write about what you know.

Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: This is a perfect choice for your book clubs - we read it at ours and loved the characters. It's hilarious and intelligent. A must read!

Rating:
Summary: Pretty blah
Review: What I found myself thinking as I read "Ask Me Anything" was, "Hasn't someone told Miss Delbanco to show, not tell?" A promising storyline is constantly interrupted by Rosalie's narration. Nothing is left for the reader to infer on his/her own, and the generalizations punctuating the text are neither insightful nor amusing enough to warrent the interruption. The "I'm just telling you what happened" narration doesn't work because Rosalie's boring voice adds nothing to compensate for the clutter of casual prose.
I'm not quite sure what the point of the girls' letters were. As chapter frames go they were pretty obvious, and didn't fit with the plot.
As a character, Rosalie is neither complex enough to make the novel serious or funny enough to make it, well, funny. She describes herself as average, and does nothing to show us otherwise.
In Delbanco's favour is that her writing is controlled, her plot basically interesting, and that she has plenty of time to improve.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty blah
Review: What I found myself thinking as I read "Ask Me Anything" was, "Hasn't someone told Miss Delbanco to show, not tell?" A promising storyline is constantly interrupted by Rosalie's narration. Nothing is left for the reader to infer on his/her own, and the generalizations punctuating the text are neither insightful nor amusing enough to warrent the interruption. The "I'm just telling you what happened" narration doesn't work because Rosalie's boring voice adds nothing to compensate for the clutter of casual prose.
I'm not quite sure what the point of the girls' letters were. As chapter frames go they were pretty obvious, and didn't fit with the plot.
As a character, Rosalie is neither complex enough to make the novel serious or funny enough to make it, well, funny. She describes herself as average, and does nothing to show us otherwise.
In Delbanco's favour is that her writing is controlled, her plot basically interesting, and that she has plenty of time to improve.