This One is Mine, by Maria Semple – Book Review
This One Is Mine, Maria Semple is Highly Recommended.
David and Violet Parry are supposed to be living the good life. He is a successful music executive, and Violet is now a stay-at-home mom after years of being a successful television writer. They have a lavish lifestyle, a beautiful toddler and a gorgeous home that Violet has just finished re-modeling, but both are deeply unhappy. Violet, once a witty and well-read take-charge dynamo, has sunk into a deep depression and only wanders out of her fog long enough to start making self destructive decisions and to find herself in a relationship with often down and out musician Teddy Reyes. David acts out by belittling his wife and lamenting the fact that all of his needs aren’t being fully met to his demanding expectations.
Meanwhile David’s diabetic sister Sally is living her life on the margins of her brother’s success and pines for the days when he was a doting brother. In her mid-thirties she is desperate to get her life in order, and for her that means getting a man. Always scheming, she thinks that the best way to go about it is to meet and marry someone who is on the verge of of being a breakout success. When she meets Jeremy, a sports writer who has become known for being able to predict the winner of sports matches, she thinks she’s found her man, but gets a lot more than she ever bargained for in a relationship.
I really loved this book, and I think that’s in large part because of the compassionate way that Maria Semple treated and lovingly developed her characters who are quite frankly, obnoxious. As I started reading the first chapters, and was introduced to Violet and her co-horts I was appalled. They were self-absorbed, prejudiced, snobs or social climbers, or social climbing snobs whose decision making and actions were completely reprehensible. They have too much, think too little, and take everything for granted; and just as I was wondering if I would be able to stand these people for the course of the book a very strange thing happened, I started rooting for them. I wanted them to be able to work through their issues and make their family lives work and for them to communicate, and for their relationships to be stronger.
Everyone was so interesting and complex that one moment I would be totally down on them and in the next instant I would gain some perspective on where they were coming from and be on their side. I railed at David on Violet’s behalf and then turned around and totally wanted Violet to get herself together so she wouldn’t lose the man who still loved her, no matter how flawed that love had become. I alternated between hoping Sally would land herself a husband and thinking that she didn’t deserve one. Teddy, Violet’s sometime lover, is both repulsive and utterly charming and all in all I felt like he was, along with the rest of them, doing the best that he possibly could. It’s wonderful when you have enough depth to really get a handle on a character and to like them though they may be very, very flawed.
One of the other great things about this book is that you really get a chance to see the flavor of L.A. and some of the communities and people that can be encountered. The house and property descriptions, Violet buying excessively expensive chocolates and Hermes scarfs to gift to sales people, the over the top yoga retreat which David attends to find himself, and the independent child classes Violet attends with her daughter are all humorously exposed and explored. The situations are hilarious and absurd, but also representative of a certain lifestyle. I liked to see the characters moving within their different environments. Semple also peppers her stories with every day problems and illness which have to be dealt with such as diabetes, Asperger’s, drug use and depression to name a few.
This book and its characters are memorable ones and they still continue to stick with me and come to the top of my list of books that I recommend, especially if you like great characterizations and drama. It had a bit of mystery as well because I wanted to see how they would all end out and there were a variety of possibilities that I would have been okay with, which is nice. But I like the one I got too!
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20 Responses to “This One is Mine, by Maria Semple – Book Review”
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Fantastic review. I enjoyed this one as well. Ms. Semple has a way with words!
Julie P.´s last blog ..Review: Dial Emmy for Murder & Giveaway
I enjoyed this book too. I discovered just how naive I am because I really had no idea people are like that in Hollywood. Thanks for the link love!
Kathy´s last blog ..Review: Two Years, No Rain
Sounds interesting. Every once in a while it’s nice to live the vicarious high life!
rhapsodyinbooks´s last blog ..Winner – Star Gazing
Oooh! I really liked this one. And I still remember it quite clearly all these months later.
Lenore´s last blog ..Friday Fabulous! (13)
Love the cover art — and it really is art! And I’m right there with you… I love watching characters moving about their own environments, watching how they interact with others within their respective lifestyles — especially when their lives are so different from my own. Well said! I’ll look for this one!
Meg´s last blog ..Famous Megs, volume one
I really loved this book. And, I cannot say enough about Maria Semple. I thought it was a book that was different than all the rest. It set itself apart from the normal “Hollywood-ish” books that I’ve read. And, yes, Hollywood really is as how Maria described it!
Sheri
sheri´s last blog ..Book Reviews: Live Relationally-Lessons from the Women of Genesis & Live Deeply-A Study in the Parables of Jesus by Lenya Heitzig & Penny Rose
Super review — you really captured the book. Like you, I was found myself rooting for Violet and Sally!
Beth F´s last blog ..Book Review Carnival
What an excellent review. You made me feel as if I knew these people and I didn’t even read the book.
Margot´s last blog ..Looking for a good burger?
What an insightful review, Nicole! You’ve got me curious about this one. It sounds like the author did an amazing job with the characters. Even from your review, I got a sense for who they are.
Literary Feline´s last blog ..TGIF: Appearances Aren’t Everything, the TBR Room & Friday Fill-Ins
By the way… there is an award for you at A Novel Menagerie on my Sunday Salon post (which will be posted Sunday). Hope you stop by!
Sheri
sheri´s last blog ..Winners: The Hollywood Nights ChickLit Extravaganza
Oh this sounds wonderful! This has been my summer of dysfunctional reading so I think this fits right in. I love the cover, too.
Pam´s last blog ..The Girl Who Played with Fire ~ Stieg Larsson
It takes quite a bit of skill to make unsympathetic characters so fully human you can’t help but root for them, and it sounds like Semple managed it in this book!
Nymeth´s last blog ..The contents of my desk
I have this on my bookshelf and your review is the first I’ve read about it. It sounds like a great book and I will be moving it up the TBR pile. The way that Semple was about to make deplorable characters fully human reminds me of Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee. Have you read it?
Vasilly´s last blog ..What My Children Are Reading – July 16th
I feel like I have heard the title, but I haven’t read it. I’ll have to look for it because I like it when characters are unlikeable but rootable, or become likeable when you discover the fullness of their humanity.
This book truly sounds amazing as it had you experiencing so many different emotions. I like how you can start out not liking a character but then the author gives you some added information and that can change your feelings dramatically!!
Excellent review and this is one that I’ll be looking out for!
What a great review! The characters do sound unlikeable, and it sounds like wonderful writing to turn it all around and have you rooting for them. I’m going to keep my eye out for this one, definitely. And I always like reading about L.A. life, too.
Belle´s last blog ..[TSS] Big List of Book Giveaways – July 19 Edition
Books about people living the high life are generally not the ones I’m drawn to, but your review makes this sound like one I might actually enjoy reading. Thanks!
Ali´s last blog ..Diversity Roll Call: Sci Fi and Fantasy
This sounds so good and I love the cover! Great review!
Dot´s last blog ..Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
This books sounds really good. Great characters… and believe it or not… I have not read ANY ook set in LA! I need to really put this one on my wish list!
veens´s last blog ..Teasers Tuesday!!