Same as It Never Was

This is the sort of book that sneaks up on you with its power and its poignancy. I started it and for the first page or two thought, "College girl, obviously a spoiled brat, this isn't going to hold my interest." But it did, because it starts off so funny and before you know it, you're absorbed in the story of Olivia, a girl who has basically raised herself and so finds herself ideally placed to raise someone else. The author has created something special in Olivia, a truly original character. You would expect her, with her parents and her background, to be one of those wild kids, into drugs and sex at an early age to make up for the emptiness of her life. But Olivia surprises you, at once both jaded and innocent. She has a strength of mind that would be an asset to any woman of any age. I love how she refuses to take the abuse of the serial womanizer, despite the free wheeling sexual mores of the college scene. She remains true to her own principles, and so finds love, as you know she will, in an odd and unexpected place. (ok, not totally unexpected....) Her relationship with her half sister Celia is so sweet, because it's so real. This book doesn't sugar coat the way it is to deal with a small child, and yet shows how beautifully their relationship develops. The author's warts and all portrayal of Livvy's tentative road to successful motherhood rings true at every turn, and when the book is finally over, I found myself wishing it would continue.

This author is terrifically talented. Her words feel like they are polished and slipped into place one by one. Her characters come to life so strongly that even after closing the cover of the book, you'll feel as if you know these people and one of them may call at any moment. Beyond character and writing, I found the plot, concerning a young womam with a cynical attitude suddenly thrust into one of life's most rewarding, yet challenging roles, to be fascinating. This isn't a "chick lit" book, it is more like a female "Catcher in the Rye," with a hilarious first person view shielding a woman from her real feelings. This is a powerful first novel and this author is one to watch.

I started reading this book one evening, even though I knew I had to go to work early the next day. That was a big mistake, because I couldn't put this book down. The dialogue was funny, the characters were complex and interesting, and the plot was compelling. As a result, I was up until 1 AM finishing the book. I was tired the next day at work, but it was worth it.

We find Olivia Martin at college, too smart to find happiness in the rote sequence of events there, and scarred by an unpleasant pair of parents. Olivia's voice is addictive, which propelled me through this book in an afternoon and evening. The story and humor are character-driven, so they are much more satisfying than the cloying joke delivery systems usually rolled out as contemporary fiction. The characters are alternately imprisoned in situations and liberated from them by who they are, similar to the well-drawn, small-venue people of Richard Russo's stories. The same taut, yankee sensibility found in Russo (and Ford's) work is brought to bear on Los Angeles, with a cynical squint into the Pacific sunset.Olivia does not soften, but she learns and her world gets larger. As a commentary and summary of the movement of twenty-somethings into the world of true adults (power! responsibility!), Same as it Never Was rang true for me. Olivia's life is full of real people, believable even to the point of being unlikable in some instances. Her examination of parenthood, and the usefulness of her acerbic wit, felt real to me, and paralleled some of my own discovers around the same age.Funny, real, and memorable. I can't ask for more from a book.

Even though I knew I'd have to get up early the next morning for work, I stayed up way too late because I had to finish this book. The main character (who's in college) is incredibly funny, with a biting, take-no-prisoners kind of wit. I loved watching what happens to this kind of girl when her life is suddenly turned upside down and she has to become responsible for a kid. But the most surprising thing about Same As It Never Was, and what you might not get from glancing at the cover, is that there's a love triangle at the heart of it, and that it's one of the most romantic books I've read in the last year. I loved it! I want to start it all over again.