From Publishers Weekly
In this somewhat scattered narrative, 60-year-old Maggie Clary wonders if she will ever truly feel like herself again, now that she's had a hysterectomy. True, she still runs a successful company that dubs grunts and voices for low-budget Hollywood movies, and the operation certainly hasn't affected her sex life. She owns her own home in the heart of Hollywood, and knows how to have a good time smoking pot and cleaning her pool. Even the fact that she can count on the support of three relatively stable adult daughters and her best friend, Connie, doesn't stop Maggie from experiencing great doses of existential angst. Narrator Critt successfully captures this bunch of at-ends characters. Each of Maggie's daughters speaks with her own slightly different Valley Girl accent when agonizing with or about their mother. Connie sounds more like a petulant teenager than a mature woman, which, given her lifestyle and concerns over men and booze, accurately represents her character. But Critt's particular strength is her handling of Maggie's slightly fusty middle-aged inflections, endowed as they are with a sparkle that conveys the spirit of a woman who is at once depressed but still very much grappling with life, Hollywood-style.
Simultaneous release with the S&S hardcover (Forecasts, Nov. 8, 2004). (Dec. 2004) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The latest novel from Pulitzer Prize winner Larry McMurtry is nonstop fun. Reader C.J. Critt clearly loves the story, and her joy reading it shines through in every word. The story follows two lifelong friends, Maggie and Connie, on a road trip from California, where they dub voices for movies, to Texas. Along the way the colorful women encounter a zany cast of characters and confront some of life's most difficult issues. The fun for Critt never ends. While she brings personality to the lead characters, Critt is also marvelous with the many supporting characters, whose personality quirks she highlights with alacrity. Perhaps the most memorable is Aunt Cooney, Connie's octogenarian aunt, a Texas chicken farmer whose indomitable spirit Critt captures superbly. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
