Rating: 
Summary: Makes you reconsider your friends' advice...
Review: Do you have a friend that you turn to when you need advice about important life decisions? "All is Vanity" will make you think twice before doing so next time.Since I am nearing my mid-thirties, I could really relate to this tale of two friends whose situations are very different, but also alike in that they are struggling to define themselves, to move upward and onward to better things, to a better quality of life. Margaret, a struggling novelist, uses her old friend Letty, a trusting housewife, to do this. As Letty and her husband struggle to build a better life for themselves, Margaret uses their struggle (and even encourages further struggling) as fodder for her novel. Needless to say, the result is not a happy one. This novel really kept me engrossed as I read to see how far Margaret would go to advance her art. However, I think some further character development of Letty, Letty's husband Michael and Margaret's husband Ted could have made this story a little better. But overall, this was an impressive follow-up to Drowning Ruth--a very different story but with the same darkness underneath.
Rating:
Summary: Deliciously Engaging!
Review: From the moment I picked up a copy of this book at work, I was hooked. Having a taste for character driven plots, I really felt that I could sink my teeth into this piece. I was right! What I found in reading All Is Vanity is that the characters in this book were very -real-. They have strengths and weaknesses and are multifaceted individuals who are quite different from one another and yet it is absolutely believable that the two could be friends. There is a type of chemistry between the two women that is illustrated so well.I have to admit that, in part, perhaps my enthusiasm for this novel comes form the fact that it hits just a bit too close to home for me. I, like I'm sure many readers could, can easily draw parallels to my own life. Who, who has any love of writing at all, hasn't imagine writing The Great American Novel! It can't be helped. One would like to be humble and keep feet on firmly planted on ground but it is still nice to be swept in the moment. After all, if you are going to strive to be something, why not strive to be the best? It's funny and yet painful to watch Margret struggle with this Goliath of a goal she has set for herself and yet anyone who has been there knows it so well...You just HAVE to laugh...just after suppressing the urge to cry...At any rate...I digress. The point is this... IT's funny how a book which in a way addresses art reflecting life (Or all out carbon copying it) should do the same for me, the reader! I've read several reviews that complain that the ending is a disappointment or that the characters are not likeable. When it comes down to it, it is a matter of opinion. If my experience counts for anything, however, I would like to say that IN their downfalls...these people are made more real. I don't know about you, but I know that I don't always do the right thing the first time around. (Or second...or third...) So this book was a wonderful study in human nature and the nature of friendships and ambitions and the gambles and consequences we face as a result.The character's voices are clear and so real and flow so naturally that it's hard to believe these people do NOT exist. In short it's an excellent book. I recommend it highly. It's thoroughly entertaining, engaging and....frighteningly close to real life. Then again, isn't that what makes a good book?
Rating: 
Summary: So Much Hype, So Little Reward
Review: I could not wait to get my hands on this book. The premise sounded so compelling to me that I envisioned a page turner I would struggle to put down. Instead I found myself struggling to pick the book up. The first 2/3 of the book talk about the struggling Margaret, who quit her English teaching job to become a novelist. Some of her struggles were interesting, as they were realistic issues that a new and inexperienced (unpublished) author might face. However, this self absorbed, one dimensional character never gained my sympathy, or my interest. How could someone so boring and completely self centered ever write a decent novel? Her relationship with Letty might have been interesting, had it been believable. But instead it was a one way street -- Letty a good friend to Margaret, Margaret using her friend at first for a sounding board and reprieve, and then for so much more than that. Not to mention the often alluded to childhood friendship that did not seem much better. Perhaps I will pick this book up again at some point, as it might have some literary ingenuity that I simply overlooked for lack of interest in the characters. It was the plot that drew me, but despite that, I couldn't get past the shallow people. I've yet to read Drowning Ruth. This interested me more, as I too, dream of authoring that great American Novel. Don't look to this book for inspiration -- maybe a reality check. Or a downer.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to read and get into to, difficult to comprehend
Review: I got into this easily--good premise, interesting character, and I too want to be a writer like Margaret. But who cares, by the end I was finding it just inconvincing on any level. It ends too quickly and on a sour note, and the plot jumps forward only in the last five pages! For the other 300 pages it's about Margaret trying to write something. (A very unlikeable character at that.) Was Christina trying to make a point somewhere here, or is it merely an account of a personal tragedy? agree with the above reviewer, Shwarcz must have her 'moral' of the story mixed up.
Rating: 
Summary: Schwarz makes a strong follow up
Review: I have a positive review for this book, though I understand it can often be hard to follow up for a book like Drowning Ruth- with so much acclaim. I felt this was a strong second book for Schwarz. I enjoyed reading this book, but let me say that I do understand where a reader can wonder in the first 100 pages or so where this story is going...I mean, if you read the jacket of the book, you know where it's going, but...it takes a bit to get there. After I got further into the book, I understood the strong back ground was to show the reader what it was like to BE Margaret, a writer-want-to-be (at that point). After that brief intro to her & her friend, the book really picks up, and I begin to groan for Letty & her situation, finally taking note where it is headed. I really enjoyed reading this book, thought the ending was worthy as well, and whether I liked the ending or not makes a big difference to me. The only thing I would change is that on the jacket of the book, to not mention where Margaret gets her story idea from. I think more & more things for movies & books aren't left to the reader or viewer to discover, we're given the whole plot in a preview or review. This jacket doesn't give it all away, however, I think it would have been an excellent surprise in reading, if one didn't know where Margaret's big inspiration was going to come from. Other than that, I'm definitely recommend reading this book. It will give you an appreciation for writers.
Rating: 
Summary: who needs Margaret
Review: I have never had the pleasure of reading Drowning Ruth, and I never read a single review before picking this book off the shelf at the local library. I loved the story itself. I found it very intriguing. The writers block, the family problems, and poor Letty. The part of the book that bothered me was Margaret. I would have been much happier to see the book more through Letty's eyes instead of the self-absorbed Margaret. I put the book down and STILL could not understand how it was Margaret's fault. Unless it was simply used as a big excuse to protect Margaret from realizing her own failure in writing her "Great American Novel" and just wanting to make herself feel like the victim to take some of the spotlight from Letty's troubles. I found Margaret repulsive and found myself skimming her parts to find out what happens to Letty next. I think that in reality most people know a "Margaret" or a "Letty" type person and can identify with the behaviors of each. Personally, I don't know why Letty put up with the woman. I would say its a good read. I agree with the other review that I find this hard to believe is a second novel from Schwarz. Unless it was rushed and pressured to come out with... and like Margaret the author decided she did it once, she could do it again with half a heart into it. Would I pass it along for others to read... sure, would I waste my shelf space on it? No.
Rating:
Summary: Schwarz is a superb writer. But.
Review: I have not read "Drowning Ruth." I picked up "All is Vanity" after reading a positive review in Publisher's Weekly that claimed some readers would raise petty objections to a novel that does not redeem its characters while others would appreciate its "no-exit spin on ambition and greed." I was curious to find out which category I would fall under. I guess I fall under the former category because I did have a problem with Margaret. Not because she wasn't redeemed, but because I eventually wondered what the point of her story was. Schwarz is a superb writer because she manages to detail excruciating moments so well I had to close the book and shudder *with* Margaret: Margaret and her husband go to a party and Margaret has to explain that she has quit her job as a teacher to write a novel. A snobbish writer is at the party and asks Margaret about her book. I will not give anymore of this scene away because it is just *too good*. It is painful and great and real. There is another scene like this that nearly made me cry. Margaret takes a job working for a friend and meets one of her former high school students who is also working there. The scene is just humiliating. Schwarz pulls it off expertly. There are other things: when Margaret sits down to write she starts to notice how dusty the apartment is and spends the day cleaning instead. I think the most frustrating/infuriating moment is when she decides the place must be repainted. All this because she can't concentrate on writing! Schwarz's ability to create a character who narrates such painful moments and at the same time says things that prove she is completely unaware of how *wrong* she is impressed me immensely. But Margaret is a total jerk. I tried hard to think of her as something else, but she is a complete jerk and it was difficult to spend so much time with her. It was also difficult to have sympathy for Letty and Margaret's husband. Because Margaret was clearly manipulative and selfish. I just wanted someone to put a foot down and say: "Get a job! You are not a writer!" I struggled with my feelings for the book because Schwarz did a remarkable job, but I've decided the story just isn't strong enough to make the time I spent with Margaret worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!
Review: I like Schwarz's newest novel almost more than "Drowning Ruth" (or maybe it's a tie). "All Is Vanity" is entirely fun to read, and I love the characters and their relationships, all deftly crafted. But the thing that makes this book masterful is the way the story moves from light-hearted to dark and serious -- almost without you seeing it coming. The depth of the story hits you powerfully and unforgettably. Read it!
Rating: 
Summary: I'd rather do nothing on a 5 hour plane ride than read this
Review: I only got through 122 pages, then gave up. I wasn't engaged, the characters were boring, and it wasn't fun reading a novel about writing a novel. I gave the book more of a chance than usual because I was stuck on a San Francisco-Newark flight with 2 hours to go, but ultimately decided staring out the window would be more interesting. I tossed it out as soon as I got off the plane.
Rating:
Summary: SHEER BOREDOM!
Review: I was convinced that I couldn't go wrong with a second Christina Schwarz book since I enjoyed "Drowning Ruth" so much. How wrong I was! What could Schwarz have been thinking of to crank out this astonishingly boring tale made up of endless letters from Letty to her best friend? Two-thirds of the way through the book, I just lost all interest and began to skim; then stopped reading altogether. What a waste of time! I'm glad I read "Drowning Ruth" first; otherwise, I would never have read it, and that would have been a shame.
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