Ringing for You

By Anouchka Grose Forrester

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0002258412
• ISBN13: 9780002258418
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Flamingo
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.

Customer Reviews

smart and entertaining

Don't believe those reviews that say the book is unfunny-- this short read is both witty and intelligent. I laughed out loud on several instances. It's a great weekend indulgence.

An intelligent book with some rough spots

Ok, first off, my rating is really3.5 stars, but after reading some of theotherreviews I figured that this book needed some good mojo. This is an intelligent book about a scatterbrained, but smart young woman in London with a demented love life, a job she doesn't hate but could do without, and way too much time to think on her hands. It is not a book that would appeal to the mass market audience, its too neurotic and artful. It is well written, funny, witty, sharp, and unsettling (as life sometimes is).I think the problems with this book are in the middle. At times, the author seems to lose focus... not of the story, just in general. The writing fluctuates in quality and some scenes are unimportant or could have used some more work. However, the beginning of the book is wonderful, it hooks you and sets up the main character and the MWMM (the love interest) very well. I personally liked the ending, though I could see how some would find it lacking. It was like life, jagged, unsatisfying, and not final. That's why I think I liked this book, it is a lot like life really is, or how it really is in the fictional world.The characters are not always the most likeable, the story doesn't always give you what you want, but in the last few chapters the author figures this out for herself, and by doing so, I think gives the reader something to take with them from this book. Its a book that makes you think, makes you feel, and makes you examine your own life (especially if you're in your late 20's or early 30's). I look forward to her next book and story. If you're a fan of English lit like Emma or of American stuff like Raymond Carver, get this book, you'll like it for the most part. If you think Bridget Jones and romance novels are quality reading I'd avoid this book because its not as neat and tidy of a story as you might want it to be.

Hey wait, this was actually a really intelligent book

I feel especially priveledged to write this review as I read this book while I was working at the same place as the author wrote from. It sounds totally implausable and I didn't believe it myself until I found a bullitin board with press clippings of Prince Phillip's visit in the office. What the real place is called is the Institute of Materials and I worked there for three months while working abroad with a student work permit in Britain (I'm American). She brilliantly contained the decisively strange place that the Institute of Materials is. I found it absolutely bizarre and I'm glad that I'm not the only one, as I thought it was all of Britain that is like that. I found her novel to portray something original (then again, I have refused to read Bridgit Jones' Diary) and with true intelligence. It may be that I was moved by the sheer coincidence of the novel, as I am also fresh out of college and the Institute was my first job. Nevertheless, she portrayed the frustration of the exploited excessively-intelligent temp with wit that I fear I could not. This is a book for the intelligent among us. Being a temp sucks with such a biterness that I cannot express, but she can and I depend upon her for that. Much like a drugged out rocker to Stairway to Heaven, this book saw me through some rough times. (I kept trying to tell the people at the Institute, "No seriously there's this book about the Institute and she talks about Paul and Mike - listen to me" but they didn't because the English are like that.) Basically, this is a book for the frustrated, under appreciated, intelligent young women with awful temp assignments as receptionists or what not and should be appreciated as such. In addition, its a really fun, easy read.

Bridgette Jones with a Master's Degree

When the heroine of this book claims that you may recognize some of the people in it by thier descriptions, she was right!! There was so much of myself in her I felt like we were sisters from the first page. I thought the book was funny, thoughtful, and yes - a little crazy at times...exactly like we all are. The book jumps around and the funny symbols for phone calls and packages and the MWMM can get a bit tiresome...but overall...the voice is a clever and engaging one. I read this book over the weekend...a perfect way to read it...in a relaxed, casual atmosphere. Enjoy!

A receptionist writes of her not-so-receptionist life.

I was attracted to this book's subject about a receptionist who writes a novel during work hours. As a receptionist myself, who has also considered writing a novel during my work hours, I was eager to hear what she had to say. It turns out, exactly what I had hoped she would say! As a temporary position, her job gives her a chance to tell the story of her quirky days, her steamy relationships and her humerous insights into the human condition, inside and out of the office. The book becomes interactive with the reader as she lets us know when she needs to pause to answer the phone, sign for a package, etc., using symbols which quickly become crucial to understanding her world. She is another young person who is capable of so much more than the job she is stuck with, and her painfully true descriptions of the office and her relationship to it helped me to see the humor in my own position. She became my best friend and I was sad for her to leave me when the I finshed the book. Anouchka Grose Forrester is a fun and energetic writer, perfect for the gen-x crowd and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!