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Women's Fiction

Straight Talking : A Novel

Straight Talking : A Novel

List Price: $11.95
Your Price: $8.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Disappointing.
Review: "Straight Talking" by Jane Green, deals with the love life of Tasha, a television producer who keeps falling for the wrong guy. She used to date Simon, who was everything she looked for in a guy and whom she felt was the "one" but unfortunately cheated on her. After her breakup, she had many passionate flings which, did not end well and Tasha ended up feeling hurt and unwanted. Then there is Adam, Simon's best friend who confided to Tasha that he had always been in love with her. But Tasha, could not see herself falling in love with Adam eventhough she loves Adam. Adam was like a "girlfriend" to Tasha, the one that she could confide in, and the one who she felt very comfortable with. In addition, there is also Andrew. Andrew was this arrogant and good looking guy whom Tasha had great chemistry with but she knew that a relationship with Andrew would definitely end in a disaster.

Personally, I think this is my least favorite among Jane Green's books. There isn't really a strong storyline as everything revolves around Tasha's love life. Unlike her previous books which concentrates on other things such as career or friendships, this one is very unbalanced. In addition, humor is definitely lacking in "Straight Talking" as there aren't any funny moments or humorous plots. The heroine of this book is extremely unlikeable as she is arrogant, manipulative and ungrateful. It was an okay book... nothing to rave about. There are definitely better chick lits out there. If you have not read any Jane Green's books, this should not be your first as her other books are much better. Green is one of the best chick lit writers out there.... it is just that this was her first book. (It was originally published in 1997)

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Dreadful
Review: "Straight Talking" from author Jane Green is a disappointing, superficial, and generally boring novel. It's an entry in the genre of the ever-popular chick-lit, and its protagonist is the very single, successful television producer Tasha. In typical chick lit style, Tasha is surrounded by a host of gal pals who alternately support and berate her. While it's not necessary to LIKE a protagonist, it's difficult to wade through 100s of pages of mindless bimbette waffling about meeting Mr. Right. 30-year-old Tasha agonizes endlessly about meeting the perfect man and getting married--given its superficiality, this novel could be the nauseating ruminations of a lovesick 13-year-old. "Jemina J", Green's earlier novel contained a heroine who was flawed, yet likeable, and while she did many stupid things, the plot remained interesting and amusing. In comparison, "Straight Talking" is a vapid exercise in formulaic nonsense with periodic erotic scenes that appear to whip the flagging plot back to life--displacedhuman

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: British Sex and the City
Review: A story developed around Tash, a single and looking woman, frustrated by the everyday life of being single. Her story had me laughing out loud and completely involved in her story. It's a story intended for entertainment, not a literary work of art. I feel any single woman can identify with Tash's struggles between wanting what you can't have and finally getting what is right for you. Sometimes you don't always know what's right and any woman can identify with that, and also with her 3 other friends she has lunch with every Sunday (sounds like a certain popular HBO series, huh?). Great read!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Horribly written and boring!
Review: After reading Jane Green's poorly written but strangely engrossing novel, Jemima J., I decided to give her other books a chance. I am extremely sorry I wasted my time. Mr. Maybe started off well, but quickly dissolved into a boring, predictable, and forgottable mess.

Straight Talking, which is probably her worst novel yet, doesn't even start off well, and unfortunately, doesn't get any better. Reading these novels makes me realize that anyone can write a book and sell it, as long as it is badly written, predictable, and blah. Mrs. Green writes like I did in the eighth grade, not even bothering to hide her lack of talent. Her descriptions, if you can even call them that, are lackluster, and her dialogue is absolutely atrocious. Plus, aside from Jemima J., she has not created one single likable heroine. In fact, Straight Talking's Tasha, has got to be one of the most pathetic, annoying, and unlikeable characters in all of literature, which, if I had my way, this book would not be a category of. She falls in love with any man who lays his eyes on her, and gives in to pleasure within minutes of speaking to him, then wonders why she can't have a decent relationship, blaming her lack of love on her parents' divorce. A television producer should be smarter than that. Honey, perhaps you can't find a man because you've slept with all of England!

Tasha's friends all seem the same to me and I was confused as to who is who. All four of these women are cardboard, going through the EXACT same cliched problems and dealing with them in the same way. I could not tell one from the other and it bothered me how similar they are. Perhaps ONE best friend would have been more convenient, and saved the confusion. These women are stuck in very harmful relationships and blame themselves for it, and can't bring themselves to just walk away. It seems they are trying to deliberately ruin their lives by doing everything they shouldn't. It's pathetic and bothersome.

I just can't get into a novel where I don't even care about the characters, especially the heroine. She is the woman you always try to avoid at parties and want your boyfriend to steer clear of at all costs. A woman everyone is friends with, but secretly hates. Now, would you want to read a book about her?

This is being compared to a British version of Sex and the City, but I assure you it is not. It's a very bad novel written about a horrible person. Steer clear, you have been warned!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Well written but unlikable character
Review: Anastasia (Tasha) is thirty and single. She knows that she's pretty, makes a good living in London television, and has plenty of friends, but her relationships may last a single night or nine months, but they never turn into Mr. Right. Sometimes the passion is there but nothing else. And with her friend Adam, there is love without passion--which simply isn't enough for Tasha.

Author Jane Green uses a conversations first person style to narrate Tasha's adventures in London. She hangs out with her girlfriends, sees her psychologist, and wonders why she can't find the relationship that will make her happy. She sleeps with several men (but not so many that she's really slutty), and spends most of her time with her friends talking about her men or their men--none of whom are worth bringing home in the first place. Of course, Adam has been growing on her, but Adam simply doesn't create the kind of fireworks that Tasha feels she needs.

Green is a good writer and her writing holds the reader's interest. Tasha, however, is not an especially likable character. She falls hard for Simon who doesn't seem to have anything going for him, waits for him to call her even when he's sleeping with a beautiful model, and treats Adam like dirt. We're led to believe that Adam is really a special and understanding guy, but I couldn't help wondering why he would like someone as superficial as Tasha unless he had his own issues.

STRAIGHT TALKING is classic Chick Lit. Women living in the big city, making big money, reject any man who is interested in them and go for the men who aren't available--and then feel sorry for themselves when things don't work out. If you like this kind of story, you'll enjoy STRAIGHT TALKING. Green's conversational style does work.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not Too Bad of a book
Review: First off I have to say that I enjoyed the book, it kept me hooked so I had to finish it. With that said, I have to say that the story and its heroine (as well as her friends) seemed like a contrived Sex and the City episode. Green seemed to want to truly connect to her readers by showing the faults and theories of her heroine; and she does, at times, achieves her goal. However, at the end of the day, Green's other novels are more readable and enjoyable. Tasha may not be the best of Green's heroines but I think she is one of the most realistic.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Just a So-so Read
Review: Having read mixed reviews of this book, I will admit that I only decided to read it because I'm a big Green fan. If you're not, I wouldn't recommend this book at all. The entire first half is very slow paced and doesn't really go anywhere. Just a lot of rambling and recollection of past relationships gone wrong. Oh, and justifying her actions and feelings to the reader (the main character, Tasha, actually addresses the reader as if in a personal conversation). Once I got into the second half (the only part where she actually has a relationship in the present tense), it started to become interesting.

Thankfully, Green's storytelling skills have grown tremendously since this debut was published. Can't wait for her new book to come out in May!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not very good
Review: I agree that if this were the first Jane Green book I had read I would have not persued her other titles. I really found Tasha to be so immature. None of the other characters were developed at all. Why was the character, Emma, even written?

I did read it straight through but that doesn't mean much.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: one of the worst books I've read
Review: I could not get through Jane Green's other books, and surprise, surprise, I couldn't get through this one either! At least Jemima was a likable character...Tash is boring. At the most she is [amorous] complaining about how she hasn;t done it in weeks and about how she can't seem to get married.

I have enough male friends to tell me why Tash isn't married: She puts out. All of my guy friends agree on that. Tash is a horrible example. Of course, if you want to stay single your whole life, follow Tash's example: be annoying and [impassioned]!

Don't waste your time on this one.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A good read for single women
Review: I have read many books, and this is the first time I've actually truly related to a character. Tasha may be 30 and in London, and I'm 24 and in the Midwest USA, but we are not very different.

I read another one of the reviews, and it says that the character is unlikable. But I don't think you're supposed to like her. She's not supposed to be the perfect heroine of the other books. She has her insecurities, and she makes decisions that she knows that she shouldn't be making, but does them anyway, and she falls in love with guys that treat her like dirt. The whole book is about her discovering the important aspects of love and friendship.

I love the British humor, and the blunt, straight-forward writing when it comes to the thoughts going through the narrator's head.

I could not put this book down right to the end. I'm making all of my friends read it, including my best guy friend because I know he'll find the resemblance frightening.


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