May 09, 2001
i bought the book "eating the cheshire cat" by helen ellis yesterday. i've only read the first couple chapters and so far it's... well, interesting. the novel opens with a mother and daughter in the emergency room... 16 year old daughter drunk out of her mind -- with two broken pinky fingers. turns out, old mom broke them in an effort to "straighten" them to perfection.
i know the setting is in alabama (near, around and in tuscaloosa), which is mostly why i have been wanting to read it. from what i understand it chronicles three teenage girls, two of which end up at the university of alabama... where they are encountered with sororities and the greek system's "machine." i'm curious to know more about the "machine" since i've heard about it in passing for a while. hope it's a good read. if nothing else, it's a major break from my standard line-up of the british novels i so adore.
You are better off staying with the British novels. If you don't like it much, why are you still reading it? The book is boring and full of unsympathetic characters. First novel for Helen Ellis who has no style or humor.
Posted by: tom at April 14, 2003 05:38 AMCan't agree with you Tom. It's a brilliant and wicked first novel, well-written and very funny. An excellent satire of southern girlhood.
Posted by: hvr at May 19, 2003 11:41 PMCan't agree with you Tom. It's a brilliant and wicked first novel, well-written and very funny. An excellent satire of southern girlhood.
Posted by: at May 19, 2003 11:41 PMi bought this book a week ago and finihsed just an hour ago. i couldnt put it down every where i went i had this book. this is the best book i have ever read. i definetly recommend this book to ANYONE.
Posted by: jessica at September 21, 2003 11:18 AMi love the part when Sarina is in the hospital and the way Ellis describes her fingers: her bones sticking out of her skin like plastic straws. and when they pump her stomach, i felt really bad for her and could almost feel her pain.
Posted by: alisha at October 29, 2003 08:10 PMOh my!
The book is scary good...considering the fact that I was looking for a light frothy passing of time...Helen Ellis could not have been more of a page turner than "the cheshire cat" I love how weirdly scary she makes the perfect Southern traditional social scene look to her unsuspecting readers! Brava!I give it atleast a 3 thumbsup! I did read it all the way through so....it's good!
Tom...u'd like the"Seabiscuit" kinda novel- true real life gripping tales of heroism and guts(I'm talking horses here!Cheers!)
