- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: Random House (Jun 17 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0375509089
- ISBN-13: 978-0375509087
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.7 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 318 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,073,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Gidget joins the CIA in political writer Berlinski's rousing, hilarious, compulsively readable debut about a restless New Yorker who enlists in the secret service and learns about truth and justice the hard way. A Sanskritist previously stationed in India, spunky Selena Keller has returned to Manhattan only to face a lackluster teaching tenure. When a cryptic Internet ad seeking an "extraordinary individual" catches her eye, a whirlwind of screening exams and evaluations usher Selena in as the CIA's newest employee. Soon after relocating to Virginia, an orientation consisting of dull paperwork is replaced with hardcore, exhilarating physical instruction at a remote facility called "the Farm," where Selena learns hand-to-hand combat, emergency medicine and hilariously attempts to overcome a fear of flying. She befriends a tough, beautiful trainee named Iris and dates unsuccessfully-until Stan, a "pale, fat man with small eyes and very spiky thick red hair" manages to thrill her with his memory skills and eventually seduce her. Just as all is going well, Selena's trustworthiness and loyalty (and extracurricular activities) are called into question by a tough group of CIA adjudicators, an investigation is launched and it's clear that someone has framed her. Paranoia mounts and everyone close to Selena is considered a potential traitor, including the increasingly slimy Stan. Berlinski's far-fetched comedy of manners clips her protagonist's career wings a bit prematurely, but there's still a lot to cheer about thanks to the narrative voice of an extremely engaging and likable main character. Breezy, accomplished and bracing, this is superior entertainment.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Selena Keller, a young scholar of Sanskrit literature, just isn't cut out for the life of an obscure academic. Impulsively, she answers an ad to work for the CIA, and the savvy New Yorker soon finds herself caught up in a culture as alien as any she had experienced in India or academia. Taught to recruit foreign nationals to serve as spies for the U.S., she learns covert operations at the agency's headquarters in McLean and paramilitary skills at its fabled "Farm" in rural Virginia. She makes friends and finds a lover, but her ambitious classmates tend to practice their new spycraft techniques on each other, and it is never clear how genuine these relationships are. Selena shows a talent for holding her own, and readers stay on the hook to see what happens next-and to find out what's really going on. Ultimately, a vestigial conscience-and a questioning intelligence that makes it impossible for her to embrace the Company spirit-proves to be Selena's undoing, and she finds liberation in a colorful ending. This fast-moving, economically told story has elements of humor, satire, and mystery. Though some readers will simply enjoy this book as spicy light fare, others will also savor its dark undertones.
Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library,
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library,
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
enjoyable chick lit,
By
This review is from: Loose Lips: A Novel (Paperback)
After a stint in India as a Sanskrist expert, Selena returns home to Manhattan to become a bored teacher until she reads a weird Internet ad and she surprises herself by responding. In the blink of a cyberspace eye, Selena is interviewed, tested and evaluated to determine whether she an "extraordinary individual".The CIA hire Selena, who relocates to Virginia, where she receives top rate instruction at the "Farm"; Selena becomes an expert in hand combat, emergency medical care, and other needed skills for someone expected to work in the cold. She is considered a potential superstar except for a fear of flying that even Jung could not cure. Selena becomes friends with fellow student Iris and dates Stan, whose memory skills are incredible. However, sh*t happens leading to the CIA Internal Affairs investigating Selena as the evidence points to her being a traitor; Stan roots for her hanging, but Selena refuses to take the fall when she knows someone set her up. LOOSE LIPS is an enjoyable chick lit takes the CIA tale that will leave the audience laughing fro start to finish. The tale is exceptional when Selena goes through her excellent training as a top gun while her relationships are shaky until Stan enters her life. The tale remains fun, but loses some of its oomph when Selena becomes the subject of an investigation of a seditious act although she remains Pollyanna at the Farm. Harriet Klausner
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating!,
By Lisa "southernbelle54" (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Loose Lips: A Novel (Hardcover)
This book surprised me. It was highly original to me- a inside look at the CIA and its operatives from the female perspective. It's got all the intrigue you'd expect from a book dealing with spies, plus the obligatory romantic subplot. But the romance isn't what you'd expect. The glamorous protagonist, Selena Keller ends up with the unassuming Stan, an overweight, socially inept, minimally successful loner. Their romance begins ideally, but soon sours. The plot is pretty fast pace, but lags towards the end, and the ending itself was somewhat unsatisfactory. On the whole, though, and I'd recommend to anyone who wants to read something other than the usual fluff that gets written about twentysomethings.
2.0 out of 5 stars
I suspect covert ops here!,
By Susanna (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Loose Lips: A Novel (Hardcover)
How in the world this book got so many five-star reviews is beyond me, unless the author's very obliging family enlisted a bunch of friendly "reviewers" to sing this novel's praises. Her brother, we learn at the end of the book, helped her write it, and her dad let her hang out at his place in Paris for a year while she wrote it. (It seems that having massive amounts of higher education disqualified her from actual employment.)OK, maybe that was unkind of me. But I'm not feeling very kindly toward Ms. Berlinski at the moment. Why? Because the first chapter, which I read on the author's Web site, was a lot of fun and I was, rightfully, expecting more of the same. But I had read some of the non-five-star reviews here and decided to check it out of the local library instead of buying it. I'm glad I did, because it went quickly downhill. I wasn't sure what this book was supposed to be. Was it a mystery? No, it couldn't be, because a mystery is solved at the end, and this one wasn't. Was it a thriller? No, because it wasn't particularly thrilling. I felt duped, just like the "assets" courted by the CIA case officers. If you are still interested in the CIA and looking for a thriller that gives insight into "The Farm," pick up Robert Littell's very satisfying "The Amateur," back in print after two decades. As for me, I raced back into the arms of John le Carre (The Little Drummer Girl) as soon as I slogged to the end of Loose Lips.
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