The Thin Pink Line

by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Book Overview

"Hilarious and original." --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY A KIRKUS starred review. Jane Taylor is a slightly sociopathic Londoner who wants marriage and a baby in the worst way, and she's willing to go to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0373250592
• ISBN13: 9780373250592
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Red Dress Ink
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A satire of the highest caliber

(Upfront FYI: I'm a guy. I don't know if that's important, but it just might be.)THE THIN PINK LINE is an enjoyable madcap book that is guaranteed to delight lovers of zany British humor, a subject on which Baratz-Logsted must have been a patient student. It has many laugh-out-loud moments that, while of course very far-fetched (the book IS a comedy, after all), seem so real because of the author's compelling characterization. I see some reviews on here that take issue with Jane's ethics and hold that against the book when they rate it. Yeah, she's self-absorbed, but what person that fakes a pregnancy wouldn't be? The book can't be about what it's about and have Jane be any less self-involved - any less so and she wouldn't do the things that make this book so funny. Jane's character reminds me of Basil on Fawlty Towers - that guy was anything but sympathetic and the show was hysterical. Lighten up, folks. Leave the "reader baggage" at the front desk, please; the bellhop will bring it up to your room after you turn the final page.What I loved about this book the most was that I found myself throughout it rooting for Jane to be able to pull this off and always worrying that she was about to be outted as a pregnancy-faker (and all the ramifications of that). Lolita-esque, if you will, just without the gross stuff. It's compelling, fresh, and so satirical of a story that Jonathan Swift has nothing on it. I don't normally read books that are meant for a near women-exclusive audience, but I'm very glad to have spent the time with this one.

If you're a fan of BBCAmerica......

If you're someone who enjoys the traditions of British comedy -- that dry wit, those sly double meanings, those self-depracating glances, then THE THIN PINK LINE is going to be a real treat! British editor Jane, feeling a little insecure, is right on the money -- people ARE nicer to you when they see you're expecting a baby. That she would want a little of that kindness isn't surprising, but how she goes about getting it is! In the end, it isn't the baby who grows and changes over the course of the "pregnancy" but Jane herself.A terrific book for anyone who has recently had a baby (and might really be in need of a lighter touch when it comes to motherhood!) or anyone who enjoys good comedy at its best.

An amusing allegory on the importance of honesty

When she is late, a condition that never happens to her, Jane assumes she has to be pregnant, which makes her elated. She spreads the word about her delicate condition and everyone especially her boyfriend treats her with care and dignity. However, a few days later her period arrives. Reluctantly, she knows she must tell everyone the truth, but besides her friends and colleagues thinking she is a bonehead, Jane enjoyed the pampering she received. She decides to say nothing and just pretend that she is pregnant.However, Jane begins to learn the down side of her fake pregnancy, as she becomes a closet smoker and drinker since she cannot imbibe in public. She gives up her exercise class and has to fake symptoms. When her boyfriend learns of her sham, he leaves, but Jane continues with her con until the bittersweet best and worse that could happen to her occurs. Jane falls in love.At first brush, readers will think THE THIN PINK LINE is a silly chick lit tale, but that would be a mistaken classification. Instead, the story is an amusing allegory on the importance of honesty and caring for others. Jane is a delightful key player whose web of lies proves more difficult to maintain with every passing moment. Readers should take a chance on something different as the morality lesson venue is cleverly interwoven inside a jocular plot.Harriet Klausner

I LOVED this book!

This book is bloody brilliant. In some ways, it fits in the genre of Bridget Jones in the sense of Very-Funny-29YearOld-Single-British-Working-Girl-Copes-with-Boss-and-Screwy-Love-Life-and-Dreams-of-True-Love-and-Marriage, except that this is much better. (B.J. was sometimes too ditzy and too incompetent at work for my taste.) My favorite aspect of this book? The protagonist kept surprising me. That's not typical for the average romance novel, which this is sort of, but not really. This one goes beyond the usual. The smart-ass heroine is very, very funny (of course) but quite tender-hearted (of course). Best of all, there's a wry, wise twist that I can't tell without spoiling it. Let's just say the heroine ends up in a very different place than she (or I) would have expected. This is a Don't Miss book, a fabulous read.

This is a very good, very entertaining, read.

I'm not usually a fan of what could be called 'Chick-Lit' or 'Brit-com', just so that's clear. However, I was given an advance copy of The Thin Pink Line to read on a long flight and was very pleasantly surprised. First of all, the dialogue (one of my first criteria) is crisp, well written and sounds real in the mind's ear. Next, there are moments that are laugh-out-loud funny. The novel is very well paced and moves right along. The only criticism I may have, and this is purely from a personal point of view and has nothing to do with the writing, is that I found it very hard to sympathise in any meaningful way with Jane, the protagonist. However, if someone like me who doesn't read much along the lines of this sort of thing enjoyed it very much, I'm sure people who do will find that The Thin Pink Line stands head and shoulders above the rest.