Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Review: Sundays at Tiffany's

Summary: As a little girl, Jane has no one. Her mother, the powerful head of a Broadway theater company, has no time for her. She does have one friend-a handsome, comforting, funny man named Michael-but only she can see him.

Years later, Jane is in her thirties and just as alone as ever. Then she meets Michael again-as handsome, smart and perfect as she remembers him to be. But not even Michael knows the reason they've really been reunited.

SUNDAYS AT TIFFANY'S is a love story with an irresistible twist, a novel about the child inside all of us-and the boundary-crossing power of love. -- Hachette Book Group USA

I was just thrilled when Hatchette Book Group sent me a copy of SUNDAYS AT TIFFANY'S by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet as part of their Mother's Day Book Package. I have read every James Patterson book ever written (I think), and I knew I wanted to read this one too. I consider myself a pretty big fan of Mr. Patterson's, even though I haven't loved some of his recent books. I sat down to read SUNDAYS AT TIFFANY'S when I was home by myself on a Saturday night (the kids were in bed and my husband was out-of-town on a golf trip), and I didn't get off the couch until I was done reading the book. I didn't want to put the book down; but having said that, it was also a very quick read -- it took me less than two hours.

I don't read a lot of love stories or romance books, but occassionally I will pick one up and enjoy it! That was certainly the case with SUNDAYS AT TIFFANY'S -- I realize that this wasn't a great piece of fiction, but I must have been in the right mood for a love story. I know many people will be turned off by a story about a woman falling in love with her childhood imaginary friend, but I thought was heart-warming. I was touched by this book, and I liked the overall message about the importance of love. I know I sound a little bit mushy, but sometimes it's nice to read a "sweet" book.

If I wanted to be find fault with this book, I certainly could -- the characters were kind of flat, the story was somewhat predictable, etc. In fact, I feel kind of guilty for not going into details about some of the elements that I found lacking in the story. However, I don't think the intent for this book was ever for it to be judged as a literary piece of art. I just enjoyed this book for what I saw it as -- a feel-good book about finding love.

11 comments:

Cheryl said...

Glad you liked this book. I have read a few James Patterson books and realized I like them better on audio

Anna said...

I too have been disappointed with Patterson's most recent books. The only romance I really enjoyed by him is Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. If you haven't read that one, I recommend it. I'm not big on books that are romance and not much substance. I read Sundays at Tiffany's and I don't know what I was hoping for, but I agree that you have to take it for what it is. Patterson will never write a literary masterpiece, but he's very good at writing page-turners with endearing, if flat, characters. After the disappointment of Sam's Letters to Jennifer and Sundays at Tiffany's, I'm not sure I'll read another of his romance books again.

heather (errantdreams) said...

Sounds neat---sometimes you just want to be uplifted by a book, or swept away by it, and questions of literary merit fall away. Nothing wrong with that at all as long as the book fulfills its promise.

Julie said...

Go and get his other two books like this one. You won't be disappointed. I bawled while reading Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. A truly wonderful book. I enjoyed Sam's Letters to Jennifer also but Suzanne's Diary is the better of those 2.

Amy said...

I personally enjoy fluffy fiction from time to time (ok maybe more than that!), especially if I've just finished a really heavy book. :)

I've only read The Women's Murder Club books and the last few have had really terrible writing technique. I think maybe he's churning out too many books? :)

Anonymous said...

I love how Amy said "fluffy fiction." That's what I read mostly. I have this one in my TBR pile and can't wait to read it.

Great review! =)

jkluginbill said...

I have been waiting for a rainy day to read this one. I expect it to be a bit fluffy, but feel-good. I like most of Patterson's novels...a few disappointments, but overall I like him.

kristen said...

I've been meaning to try Patterson and this sounds like a great place for me to begin! Thank you!

Darlene said...

I enjoyed this book too for what it was-a nice, fluffy read. Sometimes it's nice to escape into a story like this. I'm not into romances at all except for James Patterson's Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, Sam's Letters to Jennifer and this one. I enjoyed them all.

Anonymous said...

I did think this was a quick read. I must have been in a mood for a romance because I felt it to be uplifting and heart warming. It was a quick read, but I enjoyed it very much! I would recommend this book to someone who wants to feel good for a few hours!!

weight loss pills said...

This is not typical Patterson fare. There's no murder, no choppy chapters, no characters from a series making an appearance.

Instead, this is Patterson trying to write a love story, in the same vein as his (uber-treacly) Sam's Letters to Jennifer or Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. This time, Jane is a sad, lonely 32 year old women who falls in love - with her imaginary friend from childhood.

I think having a female co-author helped Patterson marginally this time - the plot is still treacly, but bearable if gimmicky, and you come to root for the characters, which is nice. This read was...pleasant. And short. At three hundred rather small, hugely fonted, well spaced pages, this is a "whip through in an hour or two" read. Which, sometimes, is nice.

If you are looking for "typical" Patterson, though, this isn't it!we