I would’ve stopped reading it if it wasn’t just a lil novella.

I thought this would be a funny light read but it had some heavy themes that just did not hit.

The first major issue is that Steve Martin’s main character is a woman in her late 20s and he did not capture that at all. She had no dimension and was incredibly uninteresting.

Actually all of the characters were. I think this would’ve been better if he had written it from the perspective of the 50 year old man who starts dating her.

Yikes. Also creepy that they made it into a movie and Steve Martin plays this man. I think he might’ve just written a screenplay.

This should not have been a book because it’s not good. This is why I don’t blindly pick out books.

To expand on this, the lack of depth in the characters really detracted from the overall reading experience. The woman in her late 20s was supposed to be the focal point, but she came across as a flat and one-dimensional caricature.

The other characters were equally uninteresting, lacking any real personality or motivation.

If the story had been told from the perspective of the 50 year old man, it might have added more complexity and nuance.

The movie adaptation, with Steve Martin playing the man, only added to the creep factor.

It seems that perhaps this story was better suited as a screenplay rather than a book.

Overall, it serves as a reminder that not all books are created equal and it’s important to be discerning when choosing what to read.

The story endeavors to be profound. It aims to depict a delicate panorama of the world, astonishing you with its uncomplicated verities. It yearns to croon directly into your heart. However, it fails to recognize that it is tone deaf and, indeed, rather dim-witted.

In reality, the only feasible course of action for you is to gently pat it on the head and utter, "Poor thing." Subsequently, perhaps you might offer it a slice of pie. After all, its existence will be rife with nothing but disillusionment.

This story, with its good intentions but flawed execution, serves as a reminder that not all endeavors achieve their desired outcomes. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we may fall short. But even in failure, there is a glimmer of hope and a possibility for a small act of kindness to bring a momentary respite from the harshness of disappointment.

I read this book long before I even heard that it was going to be made into a movie. This was great because it allowed me to read it without having the image of Claire Danes as Mirabella in my mind. (I must say that I thought she did a very good job in the movie. However, I just have a preference for reading a book and creating my own vision of the characters.)

It's truly a simple little story. A girl is feeling bored while in a shop. An older man takes a liking to the girl and brings her into his life to a certain extent. But when the girl desires more than just to be a plaything for him, their relationship dissolves. In the end, she ends up with a guy her own age.

I really have a great liking for this novella. It has a tone of quiet loneliness that runs throughout it. And yet, this aspect was not off-putting at all. Instead, it enhanced the overall reading experience. It made me feel a sense of melancholy and empathy for the characters, which added depth to the story.

A truly fun little book.

It is, of course, alarming at certain moments. Shopgirl delves into the lives of empty individuals who attempt to feed off one another, not only sexually and emotionally but also financially. The characters seem deceptively dynamic at first glance. However, a significant portion of their personal growth occurs outside the reader's purview. In the pivotal instance, it is presented in a rather unconvincing yet amusing manner. As a result, Martin ultimately falls short in providing a feasible roadmap to escape the listlessness that he has so vividly staged for us.

Nonetheless, he does an excellent job of describing listlessness, and he is a highly gifted prose technician. His writing style is engaging and captivating, drawing the reader in and making them eager to discover more about the characters and their experiences. Despite its flaws, Shopgirl remains an enjoyable read that offers some interesting insights into the human condition.

Overall, it is a book that is well worth picking up and spending some time with.

Shopgirl is a novella that, despite its good intentions, fails to live up to expectations. It seems to fall as flat as the fluorescent lighting at Neiman Marcus, which it constantly describes in an unpoetic manner. Ray, a wealthy divorced businessman in his 50s, meets Mirabelle, a poor and depressive 20-something, at a glove counter. They embark on a non-relationship where Ray buys her numerous things and insists on keeping it casual, while Mirabelle desires more and experiences a rollercoaster of emotions. The story ends badly, but the experience teaches Ray about responsibility and pseudo-parenting, and Mirabelle learns to follow her bliss. Additionally, a punk named Jason somehow grows a brain and becomes cool enough to be Mirabelle's age-appropriate sugar daddy.

Steve Martin has a rather distressing tendency. Instead of simply writing the story and allowing it to develop organically, he feels the need to explicitly state what the message of the story is. Seriously, adding actual dialogue wouldn't harm the narrative. Clearly, the characters are meant to come across as miserable yet sympathetic, but in reality, they just seem incredibly pathetic. They are poorly drawn pawns, lacking any emotional maturity and self-driven motivational determination, except when the plot conveniently requires it to magically appear. Overall, this novella earns a rating of 1 star.

According to James Joyce, 'life is too short to read a bad book'. And this one is truly a prime example. It is so laughably terrible that I would almost recommend reading it just so you can be outraged at its stupidity.

I decided to listen to it because it had been banned by a couple of libraries in the United States. I was curious as to why. Now I understand. It is because it is simply awful. It verges on soft porn. Written and read by Steve Martin, it appears to be the product of an elderly man with the mind of an adolescent, virgin boy. He seems to have no awareness of the value of women and instead regards them as playthings. It could have been written in the 1950s, but it was actually written by Martin in 2005. It is also over-loaded with overly clever metaphors.

Anyway, Mirabelle ends up with Jeremy in the end. But really, who cares?

It's not at all surprising that this is humorous, yet it doesn't possess the kind of humor that one might associate with 'Steve Martin'. Instead, it has a more subtle, wry, sensuous, observant, and delicately nuanced quality.

Martin demonstrates excellent writing skills when it comes to描绘 romance. He is also highly insightful when it comes to both his male and female characters.

Moreover, he was able to translate these strengths into a movie. This shows his versatility as a storyteller, being able to bring his unique brand of humor and character development to the big screen.

The result is a work that is both entertaining and thought-provoking, engaging audiences on multiple levels. It's a testament to Martin's talent and creativity that he can create something that is both funny and profound.

Whether you're a fan of his writing or his movies, there's no denying the appeal of his work. It has a charm and a wit that is all its own, making it a joy to experience.

Goodreads just presented me with the following quote from Steve Martin: “Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way.” Heh. I'm going to go ahead and incorporate that into my review right here.

Also, I'm typically completely against GIFs/pics in Goodreads reviews (because USE YOUR WORDS), but I'll make an exception (because of RuPaul and Visage):



OH, what an utterly FASCINATING exploration into the oh-so-important and equally captivating stereotypes regarding heterosexual sexual relationships. Everyone in this book could have perished in a fire, and I wouldn't have given a damn. The girl, I loathe her. I simply refuse to believe that this girl is intelligent. Everything she does suggests that she is a complete moron. But the reader is expected to accept that she is smart because Steve Martin artfully includes this in the narration by stating something like \\"She is smart. She reads books\\". WOW, how NEAT. AND SUBTLE!

Plus, everyone in this book is truly shallow and vapid and fixated on clothes, which I find to be in direct contradiction to the claim of any of these people being intelligent at all. Am I asserting that people who are really interested in fashion can't be intelligent? YES, pretty much. The narration is absurd. BOO.

Also: this book is about a 50-year-old wealthy white guy having an affair with a young and hot 28-year-old. And they made a movie out of it, and of course, STEVE MARTIN played the 50-year-old. YOUR PLOY IS TRANSPARENT, MARTIN. I haven't watched the movie, but I actually sort of want to. If this story could ever work, I could envision it working as a movie. NOT AS A BOOK. Martin isn't a proficient enough writer to pull it off.

To Lisa, Prada is as recognizable as her own mother.

When she sees Mirabelle draped in the perfect Prada shift, it provokes in her a deep guttural growl.

The only thing Lisa can think to do in such a situation is trim and coif her pubic hair.

This is a ritualistic act of readiness, a war dance, that is akin to a matador's mystical preparations for battle.

I had not known that Steve Martin, the actor and comedy performer whom I remember mainly from the good old days (1970s and 1980s) of Saturday Night Live, is also a writer, and quite a good one at that.

Looking for short books to read, I found his novella Shopgirl (2000) and it has proved to be a worthy read.

My rating would be even higher if not for a major flaw that I mention later.

In this unconventional take on a contemporary love story, Mr. Martin presents a fresh literary voice, unlike any I have heard before.

Mirabelle is a decoratively pretty young woman who works in the Neiman Marcus' glove department in Beverly Hills.

An aspiring graphic artist, with a Master's in fine arts, she suffers from depression as she has been unable to find a companion who would offer her attention and tenderness.

Mirabelle lives an uneventful life amidst the vacuousness of the L.A. scene, occasionally dating a loser named Jeremy.

She meets Ray, a man more than twice her age, very smart and very rich but - despite being on the wrong side of fifty - emotionally still an adolescent.

Shopgirl is mainly about the affair between Mirabelle and Ray but despite the tiny volume of the book, other threads are present as well.

In particular, the thread involving Mirabelle's father, a bitter Vietnam veteran, is interesting and non-trivially developed.

Mr. Martin offers generous helpings of satire about beautiful yet brain-dead people of the LA high society: the world of fashion and cosmetic surgery, populated by utter morons like Lisa from the epigraph of this review.

Several psychological observations are top notch, for instance the account of the typical male obsession with female skin.

Ray builds a complex structure of thoughts, scenarios, and images around this small piece of skin, and it provides several weeks worth of material for his mental self-pleasuring.

All would be really great if not for the author's absolutely infuriating manner of explaining in his own words why the characters do what they do and editorializing about their motivations.

It feels like Mr. Martin is not sure whether his prose is good enough to portray the characters as real people whom the readers will be able to understand on their own, without his help.

Or maybe he doubts that the readers are at all able to understand the characters' behavior.

Either way, the author's elucidations are totally jarring and spoil the whole great effort.

If not for the author's running commentary, Shopgirl would be an extremely readable sweet little love story, offbeat and enchanting, not at all cliché or silly.

With the commentary, I still recommend the novella but what a waste of a great idea!

Three stars.

I have an intense love for this book. It has such a profound impact on me that I frequently choose to present it as a gift to other passionate readers.

The moment I picked up this book, I was immediately drawn into its captivating world. The story unfolds in a way that keeps me on the edge of my seat, eager to turn the next page.

The characters are so well-developed that I feel as if I know them personally. Their emotions and experiences resonate with me deeply, making me feel a strong connection to the book.

I believe that sharing this book with others is a wonderful way to spread the joy and inspiration it has brought to my life. I hope that those who receive it as a gift will also fall in love with it and be able to appreciate its beauty and significance.

Overall, this book holds a special place in my heart, and I will continue to give it as a gift to those who share my love for reading.

I'm not sure what I like; I'm still forming.

Shopgirl is a novel that is full of characters who are immature in both love and life. It takes us to the vapid and perhaps slightly satirical L.A. social scene of the 2000s. Even the narrator in this story is as vain as the rest of them.

We are introduced to Mirabelle, a 28-year-old who seems younger than her years. Her mind and life are filled with ghosts. She spends her days idly at the Nieman's glove counter, longing for something more in life. We become intrigued by her, imagining the clerk's deep inner life with Martin as we wait, bored, for our mother or partner to find what they need at Nieman's. It has a surreal and overtly fantastical quality, like a daydream.

Mirabelle's aspirations are greater than the shop counter, her droning depression, and the idle wealthy who find her interesting, just as we do now. In this world, everyone is a little too over the top and bizarre. Women seem to think of nothing more than their next male conquest, shaving from the toilet bowl, and aimless men are considered more interesting by their companions when they keep their mouths shut.

This book is more suitable for someone from that time and with that mindset, as it offers a satirical take on 2000s L.A. However, for someone in 2022 Nebraska, it comes across as flat and disturbing, describing caricatures of these women. I'm sure Martin knew enough of them, but it left me wishing for more depth and understanding of these poor women, as I don't have a basis to satirize them from.

Mirabelle is a shy girl who knows she needs new friends. However, introductions are hard to come by for her due to her natural shyness.

Jeremy, on the other hand, has one outstanding quality - he likes her. And this quality makes him infinitely interesting to Mirabelle.

Mirabelle offers herself to Jeremy on the outside chance that he will hold her afterward. She is practical about this and vows not to feel bad if things don't work out. After all, she tells herself, she isn't really involved with him emotionally or otherwise.

Mirabelle never thinks to observe herself, so she is spared the image of a shy girl sitting alone in a bar on Saturday night. She is a girl who is willing to give her all to someone, who could never betray her lover, who never suspects maliciousness in anyone, and whose sexuality lies dormant within her, waiting to be awakened.

She keeps working to make connections, but the growing pile of near misses is starting to overwhelm her.

Mirabelle is not affected by a man's failure to approach her, as her self-deprecating attitude never allows her to think that he would in the first place.

She admits, "I'm not sure what I like; I'm still forming."