Dorothy on the Rocks

Barbara Suter is one phenomenal storyteller!! Her wonderfully engaging novel tells the story of actress/singer Maggie Barlow. Suffering from some sort of midlife crisis, Maggie chain-smokes and drinks very excessively. When she is cast as Dorothy in a childrens' theater production of the Wizard of Oz, she becomes acquainted with the cast of delightfully amusing characters. Ms. Suter cleverly shuffles between reality and fantasy with the presence of a fairy godmother who appears from time to time. Every single page of this book was a delight to read! As a middle-aged woman, I could relate to this story in so many ways. I really loved this amazing book and highly recommend that you grab a copy and start reading!!

I read this book under an umbrella at the beach. I was so engrossed in Maggie's world that I didn't notice the rising tide until a wave spilled across my blanket! I loved this book - it made me laugh and pulled me in like Maupin's "Tales of the City." I'm waiting for the next installment!

DOROTHY ON THE ROCKS is a book that will make you laugh out loud. You follow Maggie through Manhattan's Upper West Side and along the way you meet geriatric actors in the children's theater company Maggie performs in, the younger man she's sleeping with who still lives at home, Mr Ed the talking Westie and Maggie's personal fairy godmother-- who happens to be the reincarnation of her cabaret piano-playing accompanist, twelve inches high, with wings, and pixie dust. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you won't be able to put DOROTHY ON THE ROCKS down. A great read!

Maggie Barlow is that friend some of us are lucky enough to have; y'know, the one with the untethered, seemingly "artsy" life, who arrives at any occasion equipped with the best war stories and funniest anecdotes of disasters avoided or endured. You sling back a few together. Then a few more; and at some point she goes home and part of you is grateful that you are not privy to her personal, work-a-day life. The one that you sense is mostly unhinged. Barbara Suter's funny, often biting account of her heroine's longing for, and self-sabotaging of her pull toward love, will hold you in its grip till its final page. Like Oz, the conventional world does hold some Magic for this over-aged, boozy Dorothy. Unlike Oz, its witches, flying monkeys and bogus Wizard are not perched along a yellow brick road; but are burrowed deep inside of a cave of her own making. Luckily, we get a seat right beside her as she tries to dig herself out.

An amazing first book from a talented writer. I laughed out loud and couldn't put it down! For everyone who's ever been in love, lost someone, had too much to drink, or wished for a fairy godmother - a great read!