Tuesday, June 25, 2013

When it Happens to You by Molly Ringwald

 
Synopsis(via Goodreads):
 

When it happens to you, you will be surprised. That thing they say about how you knew all the time, but just weren't facing it? That might be the case, but nevertheless, there you will be.

Molly Ringwald mines the complexities of modern relationships in this gripping and nuanced collection of interlinked stories. Writing with a deep compassion for human imperfection, Ringwald follows a Los Angeles family and their friends and neighbors while they negotiate the hazardous terrain of everyday life—revealing the deceptions, heartbreak, and vulnerability familiar to us all.
 
This insomniac's opinion:
 
Well, knock me over with a feather. Molly Ringwald can actually write.
 
I had no intention to read this collection of short stories, but fate had another idea. When I was browsing through audiobook selections on Overdrive that were immediately available, this was pretty much the only title that I had not read. I was in the middle of a paperwork nightmare at work and desperately needed an immediate download to distract me from my nurse's hell. This was it.
 
Molly Ringwald narrates the audiobook version and her familiar voice was calming and perfect for the short stories. I have not read many short story collections in which the stories are all inter-related. I think this collection actually gives you a better picture of the characters and the story than a traditional novel format would have. I really enjoyed the all of the characters and felt that they were well-developed. I was worried that, being a celebrity and all, the author would be out of touch with "regular" people. That assumption seems to be misguided, as the everyday drudgery of motherhood and all its trappings seem to be well understood by Ms. Ringwald.
 
Yet another great summer read!
 
Worth staying up all night to read?
 
Yes. However, that's the beauty of short stories- you don't feel as though you have to read the entire book in one sitting.
 
Rating: 4 stars


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