Rating: 
Summary: Good, but no
Review: This book keeps you entertained. But don't look for plot, meaning or messages here. Its kind of depressing. Its a story of a womans life through the early part of the 20th century. It has a catchy title, but don't let it mislead you. "The Great Husband Hunt"---is not really about a husband hunt. It talks about how Poppy has to whiten her neck and wear things to keep her ears from sticking out so she can catch a husband. Ummm, thats about it. Its really a sad kind of life story. Yes, shes an aviatrix and an arts dealer. She has two daughters, Sapphire and Emerald. They're jewish, depending on the decade.This Poppy sort of staggers through life, through one relationship after another, seeking nothing rewarding or signifcant out of any thing. Shes never happy. Its sort of like an average womans chronicle of life. However, I read fiction for escapism, because I am an average woman. So I feel like I just read---almost a biography of sorts. Did I mention this is NOT a romance? Another reviewer remarked on that, and I feel I should mention that, considering the title of the book is misleading.
But really, the style and the story are not bad. Just not what you think.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't be misled by the cover
Review: This is not a romance! The title and photo on the cover could mislead you. But this is a clever book, a marvelous character read. And I loved it. I think Laurie Graham has captured the ultimate eccentric spirit in Poppy, who is modeled somewhat on Peggy Guggenheim, according to Graham's interview at the end of the novel. (By-the-way, author Graham now resides in Venice, the home of the Peggy Guggenheim Museum.)I am reminded of the Mitford novels and biographies, not Jan Karon, but Nancy Mitford, i. e. Love in a Cold Climate, The Pursuit of Love, Don't Tell Alfred. And of the Five Sisters: The Langhornes of Virginia. There is even a taste of the absurditiy of AbFab of BBC TV. For certainly Poppy has genuine feelings, as expressed by her loss of her father and the confusion over his double life, and she belabors her having been controlled by her mother and her aunt. But she is a strong and willful rich woman, a mustard heiress who seems to have no sense of conventional behavior at all, especially as it concerns her daughters, or husbands. She buys her way through life, but it isn't all despicable. In fact, her ways as an avant garde originator/fashion designer, and discover and seller of art, are not so foreign to those who actually fill that world even today. Witness the emergence of design of all kinds in the world of cable TV channels and realize what entertainment value it must provide to not only stay on the air but multiply and clone itself into more and more programming. There is a definite message in this journey the reader takes with Poppy at the helm, and it is the importance of one's family after all. In addition there is a sense of history, as in the effect of world events on culture. But the humor and oddity in the story line keep this from being a maudlin tale. The whole set of characters is no more eccentric than any other good novel, often a Southern tale. But the mix of Jewish and Christian culture with the art world and the world of the wealthy makes for a fun read. Poppy is an addictive flower of a protagonist, both reprehensible and sympathetic.
Rating:
Summary: Don't be misled by the cover
Review: This is not a romance! The title and photo on the cover could mislead you. But this is a clever book, a marvelous character read. And I loved it. I think Laurie Graham has captured the ultimate eccentric spirit in Poppy, who is modeled somewhat on Peggy Guggenheim, according to Graham's interview at the end of the novel. (By-the-way, author Graham now resides in Venice, the home of the Peggy Guggenheim Museum.) I am reminded of the Mitford novels and biographies, not Jan Karon, but Nancy Mitford, i. e. Love in a Cold Climate, The Pursuit of Love, Don't Tell Alfred. And of the Five Sisters: The Langhornes of Virginia. There is even a taste of the absurditiy of AbFab of BBC TV. For certainly Poppy has genuine feelings, as expressed by her loss of her father and the confusion over his double life, and she belabors her having been controlled by her mother and her aunt. But she is a strong and willful rich woman, a mustard heiress who seems to have no sense of conventional behavior at all, especially as it concerns her daughters, or husbands. She buys her way through life, but it isn't all despicable. In fact, her ways as an avant garde originator/fashion designer, and discover and seller of art, are not so foreign to those who actually fill that world even today. Witness the emergence of design of all kinds in the world of cable TV channels and realize what entertainment value it must provide to not only stay on the air but multiply and clone itself into more and more programming. There is a definite message in this journey the reader takes with Poppy at the helm, and it is the importance of one's family after all. In addition there is a sense of history, as in the effect of world events on culture. But the humor and oddity in the story line keep this from being a maudlin tale. The whole set of characters is no more eccentric than any other good novel, often a Southern tale. But the mix of Jewish and Christian culture with the art world and the world of the wealthy makes for a fun read. Poppy is an addictive flower of a protagonist, both reprehensible and sympathetic.
Rating: 
Summary: A terrible book
Review: This was an awful book. I could not finish it because the main character was so annoying.
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