- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Broadway; Reprint edition (Sep 8 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0767927621
- ISBN-13: 978-0767927628
- Product Dimensions: 13.2 x 1.7 x 20.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 249 g
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#929,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #82 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Jewish American
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In the winning latest from chick lit–ster Graff (Looking for Mr. Goodfrog), Manhattan publicist Aimee Albert, who is Jewish and whose first love, Sam, died during 9/11, has just split with her goy boyfriend Peter McKnight. Desperate for a Jewish husband and children reared in the faith, Aimee, relying on an imagined Jewish male penchant for non-Jewish women (shiksas), loses mega poundage on a Depression Diet, straightens and dyes her dark hair red, pops in green contacts and becomes a Shiksa Barbie. Gentile co-worker Krista Dowd drags the new Aimee to a Jewish mixer, where Krista hooks up with Matt Goldman, a Jewish CPA, and Aimee meets GQ-cute Josh Hirsch, who runs LoveLoaves, a lucrative family business, and who only dates shiksas. For her part, Aimee soon discovers how lies can escalate into self-destruction and self-enlightenment. Graff's prose crackles with winning wit, making her potentially annoying conceit go down like a chocolate-covered macaroon. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
“The entertaining blend of farcical scenarios and quick-fire prose finds an unexpected poignancy…” — Daily News
“The zany scenarios propel the novel but belie a powerful moral core about identity and cultural perceptions.” ¯Jewish Living Magazine
“Saturating this fluffy romantic comedy of errors is a more subtle commentary about religion and identity that raises the question: How much of yourself do you have to give up in order to be with someone else?” — San Francisco Chronicle
“A witty read with the satisfying crunch of crusty rye and the sting of hot mustard, no matter what you put between the slices.” — Jewish News of Greater Phoenix
“If you’ve got a funny bone, Graff will latch on and refuse to let go.” — LibraryJournaL.com
“Readers will enjoy Aimee's chance to rediscover herself and to recognize what she truly values.” — Library Journal
“Hilarity ensues.” — Glamour.com
“On a scale from 1 to ten this gets 10 Stars...of David.” — Beyond Her Book, PW Blog
“…some funny moments.” — USA Today
“…discerning insight and astute observations that are often quite amusing as well. “ — The Jerusalem Post
"At first, Laurie Graff's novel made me wish that I was a shiksa. Then I was glad that I wasn't. Now I'm more confused than ever.” — Alan Zweibel - Author of The Other Shulman and Clothing Optional
Praise for Laurie Graff
You Have to Kiss a Lot of Frogs
“I never knew bad dates could be so good.”
—Kelly Ripa
“A provocative and intelligent look at the ways that people search for a meaningful life.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A jaunty trek through the dating minefield in search of Mr. Right. Karrie handles the frogs with heart, humor, and hubris. Look for the sequel.”
—Family Circle
“Graff put the litany of losers, Casanovas, weirdos, and plain old bad choices to work for her in her new book, You Have to Kiss a Lot of Frogs.”
—Miami Herald
“More than just a catalogue of loser guys and bad relationships, Graff’s smart and funny novel shows just how hard finding the right man can be and how easy it is for a relationship to fail.”
—Booklist
“We’re rooting for her to find everything she’s been missing—which turns out to be less than she imagines.”
—Daily News
Looking for Mr. Goodfrog
“Navigating the cyber pond with Karrie Kline while Looking for Mr. Goodfrog leaves one laughing on the outside while your heart is breaking on the inside! I found it ribbiting.”
—Jamie Gertz, actress
“Graff . . . offers a fun tour of New York, and readers will welcome the return of her smart narrator.
—Publishers Weekly
“The zany scenarios propel the novel but belie a powerful moral core about identity and cultural perceptions.” ¯Jewish Living Magazine
“Saturating this fluffy romantic comedy of errors is a more subtle commentary about religion and identity that raises the question: How much of yourself do you have to give up in order to be with someone else?” — San Francisco Chronicle
“A witty read with the satisfying crunch of crusty rye and the sting of hot mustard, no matter what you put between the slices.” — Jewish News of Greater Phoenix
“If you’ve got a funny bone, Graff will latch on and refuse to let go.” — LibraryJournaL.com
“Readers will enjoy Aimee's chance to rediscover herself and to recognize what she truly values.” — Library Journal
“Hilarity ensues.” — Glamour.com
“On a scale from 1 to ten this gets 10 Stars...of David.” — Beyond Her Book, PW Blog
“…some funny moments.” — USA Today
“…discerning insight and astute observations that are often quite amusing as well. “ — The Jerusalem Post
"At first, Laurie Graff's novel made me wish that I was a shiksa. Then I was glad that I wasn't. Now I'm more confused than ever.” — Alan Zweibel - Author of The Other Shulman and Clothing Optional
Praise for Laurie Graff
You Have to Kiss a Lot of Frogs
“I never knew bad dates could be so good.”
—Kelly Ripa
“A provocative and intelligent look at the ways that people search for a meaningful life.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A jaunty trek through the dating minefield in search of Mr. Right. Karrie handles the frogs with heart, humor, and hubris. Look for the sequel.”
—Family Circle
“Graff put the litany of losers, Casanovas, weirdos, and plain old bad choices to work for her in her new book, You Have to Kiss a Lot of Frogs.”
—Miami Herald
“More than just a catalogue of loser guys and bad relationships, Graff’s smart and funny novel shows just how hard finding the right man can be and how easy it is for a relationship to fail.”
—Booklist
“We’re rooting for her to find everything she’s been missing—which turns out to be less than she imagines.”
—Daily News
Looking for Mr. Goodfrog
“Navigating the cyber pond with Karrie Kline while Looking for Mr. Goodfrog leaves one laughing on the outside while your heart is breaking on the inside! I found it ribbiting.”
—Jamie Gertz, actress
“Graff . . . offers a fun tour of New York, and readers will welcome the return of her smart narrator.
—Publishers Weekly
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.9 out of 5 stars (33 customer reviews)
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
I'm not sure what book the other reviewers read, Nov 24 2008
By Miss Jodella - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Shiksa Syndrome: A Novel (Hardcover)
There is first and foremost a major flaw in the book and it is that the reader is expected to believe that Aimee, a for the most part, intelligent, career woman who prides herself on being a Jewish woman is just fine with the fact that Josh is self-prejudiced against Jews, and in particular thinks quite poorly of Jewish women. Now as the reader, I don't like this man and now I don't like the main character Aimee and I think if she is this foolish I don't care what happens to her. That is never a good sign when the main characters of the book are totally unlikeable.I also had problems with some of the choices made in the writing particularly with transitions within chapters. Some of them were so disjointed, several times I had to look to see if the pages were stuck together and I missed something. Also, the fact that the parents were referred to as both Aimee's mother or father and then to their first names, sometimes in the same paragraph was awkward almost as if each was two different people. Very confusing. Then what is with the cover photo choice? Quite a few times in the book it is stated that Aimee transformed into a redhead. Why oh why did they make the girl on the cover very clearly a blond? If the publishing company wanted Aimee to be a blond just change it in the text. This book was not even particularly well-written. I'm really not clear what anyone saw in this book. It was a great idea, in theory, for a book but I think the major misstep was making Josh so prejudiced against Jewish women. I think that it would have been better to play up his attraction to the Shiksa without making him not like Jews or being Jewish, as a whole.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Initially Promising but Ultimately Very Disappointing, Mar 22 2009
By Book Nerd "Faye" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Shiksa Syndrome: A Novel (Hardcover)
I picked up this book because it looked funny and appealing based on an initial perusal, and as a Jewish single woman, I thought I could relate. The author's style of writing is amusing and entertaining, but ultimately the "lessons" she has her heroine learn are too hypocritical for me to swallow. The whole premise of the book is that we are supposed to condemn Jewish men for deriding Jewish women and lusting after "shiksa goddesses" instead, to the point where a Jewish woman must pretend to be a shiksa to get a Jew! You can see the absurdity in that. Yet in the end (SPOILER ALERT), the author has her heroine "learn her lesson" by getting together with her non-Jewish boyfriend, who is infinitely preferable to the shallow, self-hating Jew she went out with as a faux shiksa.To me, Aimee (the heroine) ends up doing exactly the same thing she criticizes Jewish guys for doing -- rejecting Jews in favor of a non-Jew. If that's the choice you make, then fine, but why does the author go through this whole subplot where Aimee has a self-actualizing moment of Jewish pride at a bar mitzvah . . . and then follows through by hooking up with her gentile ex! What kind of growth is that? Would it have been too much for her to find a Jewish guy who liked her for her? If I had no prior knowledge of Jews, after reading this book I would come away with the idea that all Jews are shallow, reject their own culture and people, and just want to assimilate.
Also, I was a bit offended by the Jewish mother stereotypes here. Aren't we past that Philip Roth/Woody Allen garbage? I know so many Jewish women who are fantastic wives and mothers. It would be nice to see that reflected in literature written by Jews, rather than have us perpetuate the same tired, offensive old cliches.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
I wanted to love it, but..., May 7 2009
By Jennifer L. - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Shiksa Syndrome: A Novel (Hardcover)
I love Laurie Graff, but I agree with the previous reviewer that the book is very insulting toward Jews and overdoes it with the stereotypes. Aimee, the main character, is surprisingly passive. We're led to believe that she's a smart, sophisticated city girl, so it's disappointing and somewhat perplexing that she'd fall for an immature, prejudiced idiot like Josh. Aimee seems to think that Josh is wonderful, but the author never convinces us of this. I never got a full sense of what Aimee was about or what she really wanted. What's sad is I've met guys like Josh before and they are in fact quite prejudiced against Jewish women, but if that's the case, then why would Aimee, a woman who loves her own religion, be interested in this joker? As his "shiksa" girlfriend, Josh treats Aimee like a little pet he found in a store, rather than an actual breathing human being. His mindset seems to be, "look at the cute shiksa I caught, isn't she adorable?" And Aimee just goes along with it, just as she goes along with everything else in the book, instead of becoming disgusted and running away, which is what she should have done when she first got to know Josh. I think it would have been a much more interesting book if Josh had a neutral or unknown view of Jewish women, and Aimee wrongly assumes he'd only want a shiksa. I also wonder, as some of the other reviewers did, why Aimee became a redhead. Many Jews have red hair, so that's not an exclusively "shiksa" trait. The author should have done something more believable, such as give Aimee mousy brown hair, so she could dye it blond.
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