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The Big Love
Hilarious and heartbreaking, combining the emotional incisiveness of Jane Austen with the up-to-the-minute frankness of "Sex and the City," Dunn's latest work will be the passing must-read novel of the summer.
228 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
96 people are currently reading
1711 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Dunn
21 books341 followersSarah Dunn (born 1970) is an American author and television writer. She was educated in the University of Arizona.
Coming to prominence in 1994 with her book Official Slacker Handbook, Sarah Dunn went to Hollywood, where she wrote for such series as Murphy Brown, Veronica's Closet and Spin City.
Coming to prominence in 1994 with her book Official Slacker Handbook, Sarah Dunn went to Hollywood, where she wrote for such series as Murphy Brown, Veronica's Closet and Spin City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 367 reviews
January 24, 2015
The Big Love joins yogurt ads, spray tans, and sitcoms in the long line of terrible things that have resulted from our culture's expectations of, and regard for, women.
Things I hate about The Big Love (the short list):
1.) The main character of The Big Love went to a frickin' Ivy League university and her main obsessions are marriage and why, at age 32, she has only had sex with two people in her life. Are you kidding me?
OK, so, she's from a fundamentalist Christian background and argues that this has stunted her. She also seriously dated a gay man and ended up sleeping with him because she was desperate to have sex. It's understandable that she has issues. But the obsession with her lack of sexual partners is triggered by her boyfriend dumping her at the beginning of the book and she just cannot let it go, even after she has had plenty of sex (only three partners by the end of the book, oh noes, whatever will she do? THERE ARE THIRTY-TWO YEAR OLD VIRGINS ALL AROUND THE WORLD. WHO. CARES. WHO CAAAAAARES. YOU'RE THIRTY-TWO).
2.) She buys into the whole stupid cliche that bisexuals are hormone raging freaks that will sex anything that moves anytime and is almost surprised when "even" her bisexual friend says bestiality is wrong. (??? How offensive.)
3.) She spends like two pages talking about how she's a diagnosed narcissist. Cool story gurl.
4.) She thinks there's nothing more pathetic than going into Reading Terminal Market and shopping by yourself and taking home cheese to then eat by yourself. THAT SOUNDS LIKE AN EXCELLENT DAY. There are enough women who think they're being judged when they do things alone, so way to further reinforce codependency and spoil the fun of a day out by yourself.
(Honestly? In my life I have enjoyed eating at restaurants and seeing movies alone more than I've enjoyed probably 90% of the dates I've been on.)
5.) There's a pregnancy scare and a best friend's confession of undying love, each of which is explored for only about three pages, because this book is crap and it's like Dunn realized nothing was happening aside from her nauseating MC's whinging, so she just phoned in two chick lit tropes to make it seem like things were moving forward.
I don't expect books to be politically correct or to reinforce my feminism. But I am soooo tired of these lazy books that buy into the "common sense" idea of what it is to be woman, dreaming about our weddings and having total fucking breakdowns in the absence of men. They're boring. They're generic. In more vulnerable times, they've actually been unhealthy for my self esteem. I am tired of it! You can't hide your laziness with "Woody Allen" "wit." Get away from me forever, Big Love!
Things I hate about The Big Love (the short list):
1.) The main character of The Big Love went to a frickin' Ivy League university and her main obsessions are marriage and why, at age 32, she has only had sex with two people in her life. Are you kidding me?
OK, so, she's from a fundamentalist Christian background and argues that this has stunted her. She also seriously dated a gay man and ended up sleeping with him because she was desperate to have sex. It's understandable that she has issues. But the obsession with her lack of sexual partners is triggered by her boyfriend dumping her at the beginning of the book and she just cannot let it go, even after she has had plenty of sex (only three partners by the end of the book, oh noes, whatever will she do? THERE ARE THIRTY-TWO YEAR OLD VIRGINS ALL AROUND THE WORLD. WHO. CARES. WHO CAAAAAARES. YOU'RE THIRTY-TWO).
2.) She buys into the whole stupid cliche that bisexuals are hormone raging freaks that will sex anything that moves anytime and is almost surprised when "even" her bisexual friend says bestiality is wrong. (??? How offensive.)
3.) She spends like two pages talking about how she's a diagnosed narcissist. Cool story gurl.
4.) She thinks there's nothing more pathetic than going into Reading Terminal Market and shopping by yourself and taking home cheese to then eat by yourself. THAT SOUNDS LIKE AN EXCELLENT DAY. There are enough women who think they're being judged when they do things alone, so way to further reinforce codependency and spoil the fun of a day out by yourself.
(Honestly? In my life I have enjoyed eating at restaurants and seeing movies alone more than I've enjoyed probably 90% of the dates I've been on.)
5.) There's a pregnancy scare and a best friend's confession of undying love, each of which is explored for only about three pages, because this book is crap and it's like Dunn realized nothing was happening aside from her nauseating MC's whinging, so she just phoned in two chick lit tropes to make it seem like things were moving forward.
I don't expect books to be politically correct or to reinforce my feminism. But I am soooo tired of these lazy books that buy into the "common sense" idea of what it is to be woman, dreaming about our weddings and having total fucking breakdowns in the absence of men. They're boring. They're generic. In more vulnerable times, they've actually been unhealthy for my self esteem. I am tired of it! You can't hide your laziness with "Woody Allen" "wit." Get away from me forever, Big Love!
May 16, 2007
This book was smarter than average chic lit (I would presume), although still chic lit, HOWEVER if you grew up an evangelical Christian and now find yourself a bit more...liberal, this character is amazing. The stuff she writes about the Christian dating scene and the resulting issues of sex are hysterical.
Read
July 8, 2008Bleh... couldn't even finish it on BOOK TAPE. It was really just bad. But plenty of jokes about fundamentalist Christianity, mixed in with the horribly stupid storyline about being in love with the world's most obnoxious guy, and a liberal dose of profanity.
Don't bother.
Don't bother.
March 1, 2014
Why do I do this to myself? Why I continue to read chick-lit hoping to re-create the excitement I felt when I read "Bridget Jones's Diary" at 22? Only to realize every time that the main reason for the excitement was that I was 22 and "Bridget Jones's Diary" was the first chick-lit I ever read, and in fact, the whole genre is crap. Yesterday's Harlequin romances in a new coat. "The Big Love" is a shining example for that. The title says it all, for God's sake. But no, I had to convince myself "it has to be a joke with the whole romance genre, a "Big Love" sort of thing. Probably the main protagonist will be a big woman".
Wel, I need to brake the circle and stop getting excited at the sight of a cover with big pink title.
Wel, I need to brake the circle and stop getting excited at the sight of a cover with big pink title.
February 20, 2022
I enjoyed the writing style of this story . Some of the premise about the origins of the main characters pysch problems are understandable yet I disagree with the opinion about certain belief systems. Even so, I enjoyed the search for meaningful Big Love. The characters felt real. The chatty narration a bit like a soulful visit with a best girlfriend as you laugh and cry and sort out all the details. Its just that somehow, something is off. The whole focus on experience in bed translating into empowerment in love does not hold true.IMO. Sadly, the main character seems to think that being with anyone is less tragic than being happy as a single. The biggest part of the story tries to clomp its way to a better head space eventually. But, it was fun to trek about the neighborhoods and streets of Philadelphia. Overall, this was a ok fast read to while away a bit of time.
October 27, 2010
The blurb sounded light and fluffy but the actual book was a bit of a slog. It lacked a certain glibness or pacing to make it enjoyable and elevate it above the overdone premise. The Year of Yes , Eat, Pray, Love and I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti were essentially the same book but were easier to read and more entertaining.
In this book, I felt like the protagonist was really whiny and kept talking about how she wasn't going to do something (bash fundamentalists, talk about herself, talk about Tom, etc.) and then she'd do it over and over again.
For a specific example, she talks about how she had dozens of therapists and she wouldn't bore us with a list of them. She tells one anecdote about her most recent therapist which was weird but okay because it served to illustration something about her character. But then throughout the book she thinks about and talks about and lives her life according to the advice of just one of them. She is not only named but she is named with first and last name as if this was the first and only time she'd been mentioned. Drove me nuts because it just underscored my increasing mistrust of her as narrator.
I know I complained that there wasn't any character growth in Spaghetti and there was character growth this book but it was such a basic sort of growth (the world is not about YOU and maybe if you stop whining about how miserable and unappreciated you are, you might actually notice that your life isn't so bad) that I was not satisfied. I found myself skipping over parts that weren't dialog with another person, it got too wearisome to listen to her naval gazing.
In this book, I felt like the protagonist was really whiny and kept talking about how she wasn't going to do something (bash fundamentalists, talk about herself, talk about Tom, etc.) and then she'd do it over and over again.
For a specific example, she talks about how she had dozens of therapists and she wouldn't bore us with a list of them. She tells one anecdote about her most recent therapist which was weird but okay because it served to illustration something about her character. But then throughout the book she thinks about and talks about and lives her life according to the advice of just one of them. She is not only named but she is named with first and last name as if this was the first and only time she'd been mentioned. Drove me nuts because it just underscored my increasing mistrust of her as narrator.
I know I complained that there wasn't any character growth in Spaghetti and there was character growth this book but it was such a basic sort of growth (the world is not about YOU and maybe if you stop whining about how miserable and unappreciated you are, you might actually notice that your life isn't so bad) that I was not satisfied. I found myself skipping over parts that weren't dialog with another person, it got too wearisome to listen to her naval gazing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2007
i really loved this book. i think mainly because every girl can relate to the character in some way if not all. her thoughts are similar to ones that i have all the time and expresses feelings that you'd think only you had. makes you feel better knowing that you're not the only girl who thinks/feels certain ways.
i think we've all been through that stage where we always tell ourselves no matter what, we're never going to be with someone who did us wrong but it's always the opposite when we're actually in that situation. i like that even though she knows she's in the wrong or what she does isn't 'acceptable' she's still straight-forward and honest about it. there's no denying and at least she tries to understand and analyze what's happening with her.
i'd love to be her best friend!
i think we've all been through that stage where we always tell ourselves no matter what, we're never going to be with someone who did us wrong but it's always the opposite when we're actually in that situation. i like that even though she knows she's in the wrong or what she does isn't 'acceptable' she's still straight-forward and honest about it. there's no denying and at least she tries to understand and analyze what's happening with her.
i'd love to be her best friend!
August 22, 2013
Sarah Dunnin Suuri rakkaus on kirja itsensä löytämisestä ja itsensä kunnioittamisesta. Alison on reilu kolmekymppinen nainen, jonka avomies Tom jättää yllättäen sinapinhakureissun yhteydessä (tärkeä yksityiskohta). Alison joutuu pohtimaan, miksi Tom palasi takaisin vanhan rakkautensa Katen luo, mitä Katella on enemmän kuin hänellä. Alison joutuu myös miettimään, millainen henkilö hän on ja mitä hän haluaa elämältään.
Vaikka tämä kirja on sijoitettu romantiikkaan kirjastossa, ja vaikka romantiikasta paljon puhutaankin, on tämä kirja mielestäni enemmän kuin pelkkä rakkausromaani. Alison kasvaa kirjan edetessä henkisesti ja joutuu toteamaan omien tunteidensa todellisen laidan.
Vaikka tämä kirja on sijoitettu romantiikkaan kirjastossa, ja vaikka romantiikasta paljon puhutaankin, on tämä kirja mielestäni enemmän kuin pelkkä rakkausromaani. Alison kasvaa kirjan edetessä henkisesti ja joutuu toteamaan omien tunteidensa todellisen laidan.
February 13, 2015
The story line in this was kind of wobbly, but the main reason I connected with it is because the main character struggles with her Christian upbringing and even though she is no longer a believer, she still finds herself questioning things. A lot of things that were mentioned struck a chord with me and some of the scenarios had me laughing out loud and nodding my head. Anyone who has any kind of past with organized religion should find this very amusing.
May 30, 2008
This book was great! It isn't often that I open a book and find it necessary to keep reading until I have read every last detail. I enjoyed Sarah's writing style imensley. There was never a point where the plot started to drag.
This is a great book that explores why women tend to stay in relationships longer than they know they should, while simultaneously exploring the impact having a strong religous background has on current day dating. It's laugh-out-loud hilarious!
This is a great book that explores why women tend to stay in relationships longer than they know they should, while simultaneously exploring the impact having a strong religous background has on current day dating. It's laugh-out-loud hilarious!
April 8, 2015
Yes. YES. This is chick lit done properly, replete with the kind of intense introspection that would, logically, accompany the sort of romantic plots so present in the genre. This particular narrative isn't terribly different from the others, but the narrator's voice elevates it to something else. Some of the sentence structure was a little distracting, although I respect it as an aesthetic choice.
August 27, 2018
Прекалено монотонна за моя вкус. Освен всичко останало , религиозните обяснения ми бяха много скучни поради факта , че съм по-скоро атеист.
Имаше и някои интересни хрумки, но те някак се губят в тази монотонност.
Това , което обаче ме впечатли за книга писана в бума на чиклите е , опазването на целомъдрието на главната героиня до толкова късни години.
Защото от прочетените безброй книги от този мой любим жанр, характерното е свръх палаво поведение и опиянчване до безпомощност.
Имаше и някои интересни хрумки, но те някак се губят в тази монотонност.
Това , което обаче ме впечатли за книга писана в бума на чиклите е , опазването на целомъдрието на главната героиня до толкова късни години.
Защото от прочетените безброй книги от този мой любим жанр, характерното е свръх палаво поведение и опиянчване до безпомощност.
May 26, 2017
There were things I liked about this book. Overall annoying and irritating and I just kept wanting to yell at this woman to check her privilege for like a second. Dunn has better books. This book had some good moments, and I think if things had been more developed, it would have been a lot better. The stream of consciousness thing was kinda ok but off putting for sure.
August 9, 2023
Alison is literally the most annoying protagonist ever. It’s kind of crazy that it takes the entire book for her to figure out that her boyfriend is trash, and then she whines and complains some more because it’s what she’s good at. I was promised humor, and this book is so unfunny. 2 stars because I feel like the author put a lot of work into this, and that should be recognized.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2018
This book was alright. It had a few good and fun moments. I wasn't sure if I like the book's seemingly neurotic voice overall.
March 23, 2011
The Big Love is in the best tradition of chick lit. Alison Hopkins is stunned when her live-in boyfriend, surely preparing to propose, goes out to pick up mustard, then calls to announce he is in love with someone else.
Alison tumbles through a number of reactions and tries to scrape her life together. She narrates the story in a chatty breathless style that feels a lot like a long telephone call. Like this:
"I suppose if I had been exposed to Dorothy Parker at an impressionable age she would have been who I wanted to grow up to be, but we didn't get Dorothy Parker in Arizona when I was growing up; we got Nora Ephron. Who I proceeded to want to grow up to be. I didn't find out until years later - after I'd been exposed to Dorothy Parker myself and had begun to idly contemplate attempting to become her - that Nora Ephron had wanted to grow up to be Dorothy Parker, which made me quite pleased."
When Alison tells us her therapist thinks she’s a narcissist, it’s easy to believe.
The heroine goes through all the angst of modern romance, with one very interesting twist – she was raised an evangelical Christian. Even though she rejects many of those conventions, some of those elements are still very meaningful and she tries to reconcile them with her choices and yet still find love.
The Big Love is light and fun and easy to read, although the end was a little less than satisfying. The author raised some interesting questions about romance and faith, but this is no way a Christian book, with a few uses of choice language to emphasize that.
Alison tumbles through a number of reactions and tries to scrape her life together. She narrates the story in a chatty breathless style that feels a lot like a long telephone call. Like this:
"I suppose if I had been exposed to Dorothy Parker at an impressionable age she would have been who I wanted to grow up to be, but we didn't get Dorothy Parker in Arizona when I was growing up; we got Nora Ephron. Who I proceeded to want to grow up to be. I didn't find out until years later - after I'd been exposed to Dorothy Parker myself and had begun to idly contemplate attempting to become her - that Nora Ephron had wanted to grow up to be Dorothy Parker, which made me quite pleased."
When Alison tells us her therapist thinks she’s a narcissist, it’s easy to believe.
The heroine goes through all the angst of modern romance, with one very interesting twist – she was raised an evangelical Christian. Even though she rejects many of those conventions, some of those elements are still very meaningful and she tries to reconcile them with her choices and yet still find love.
The Big Love is light and fun and easy to read, although the end was a little less than satisfying. The author raised some interesting questions about romance and faith, but this is no way a Christian book, with a few uses of choice language to emphasize that.
January 24, 2019
Inevitably when I love a book, I come to Goodreads and it has all one-star ratings at the top of the screen. I've been wishing Goodreads would sort the books by how well I match up with the other reviewers, not by which random review has the most likes. (I think I need to write a blog post about that.) Anyway, this is a case in point: the narrator's internal monologue might drive some readers crazy, but I loved it.
One reviewer complains that a woman who went to an ivy league school is focused on sex and marriage—to me, that's very realistic, and a problem that happens in America, and one of the things that the character struggles with and overcomes during the book. I particularly loved that the ending wasn't super tidy but had that opening-up feeling, like more was to come and it was exciting. And that the answer wasn't "find the right man."
One reviewer complains that a woman who went to an ivy league school is focused on sex and marriage—to me, that's very realistic, and a problem that happens in America, and one of the things that the character struggles with and overcomes during the book. I particularly loved that the ending wasn't super tidy but had that opening-up feeling, like more was to come and it was exciting. And that the answer wasn't "find the right man."
March 25, 2010
"Haittaako jos juon itseni humalaan tänään?" kysyin.
"Miksi se haittaisi?"
"Haluan vain varoittaa seuralaisiani, kun aion juoda itseni humalaan. En halua kenenkään luulevan, että se on vahinko."
"Luovut tietoisuudestasi tietoisesti."
"Aivan", sanoin. "Se saatettaisiin luokitella alkoholismin oireeksi, vaikka en ole ihan varma."
"Tapailin yhteen aikaan naista, joka kävi AA-kerhossa, ja hänen mukaansa kaikki mitä tein viittasi alkoholismiin."
"Millaiset jutut?"
"No, en tiedä", Matt sanoi. "Jatkuva ryyppääminen."
Hymyilin.
- - -
Ja niin hymyilin minäkin, useaan otteeseen kirjaa lukiessani. Siksi täydet viisi tähteä tälle "kevyehkölle hömpälle". Ja kun kirjan päähenkilö vielä kuvailee uudesta asunnostansa avautuvaa näkymää maijapoppasmaiseksi, niin aika samalla aaltopituudella tässä ollaan, juuri niinhän minäkin kuvailin aikoinaan näkymää keittiönikkunastamme.
"Miksi se haittaisi?"
"Haluan vain varoittaa seuralaisiani, kun aion juoda itseni humalaan. En halua kenenkään luulevan, että se on vahinko."
"Luovut tietoisuudestasi tietoisesti."
"Aivan", sanoin. "Se saatettaisiin luokitella alkoholismin oireeksi, vaikka en ole ihan varma."
"Tapailin yhteen aikaan naista, joka kävi AA-kerhossa, ja hänen mukaansa kaikki mitä tein viittasi alkoholismiin."
"Millaiset jutut?"
"No, en tiedä", Matt sanoi. "Jatkuva ryyppääminen."
Hymyilin.
- - -
Ja niin hymyilin minäkin, useaan otteeseen kirjaa lukiessani. Siksi täydet viisi tähteä tälle "kevyehkölle hömpälle". Ja kun kirjan päähenkilö vielä kuvailee uudesta asunnostansa avautuvaa näkymää maijapoppasmaiseksi, niin aika samalla aaltopituudella tässä ollaan, juuri niinhän minäkin kuvailin aikoinaan näkymää keittiönikkunastamme.
March 27, 2009
Ughhhh. I forced myself to finish it and even at that, probably skimmed more than 50% of it. I originally picked it up because the title made me think of the HBO show "Big Love." The story line seemed intriguing enough, the girl is throwing a dinner party, sends her live in bf out for mustard, he calls her and breaks up with her over the phone.
The main character is nuerotic and pyscho analyzes everything. As a result, the book is like having a conversation with someone who has a touch of ADD. The main character keeps going off on tangents as she's trying to figure out her life. And everything keeps coming back to her Christian upbringing and the impact it's had on her sex life.
And to top it off, the ending was totally unfulfilling.
The main character is nuerotic and pyscho analyzes everything. As a result, the book is like having a conversation with someone who has a touch of ADD. The main character keeps going off on tangents as she's trying to figure out her life. And everything keeps coming back to her Christian upbringing and the impact it's had on her sex life.
And to top it off, the ending was totally unfulfilling.
April 15, 2009
I read this book several months ago. It did have a couple of humorous moments and I could empathize with Alison in the beginning but as the novel progressed it became harder to identify with her. I noticed that they are billing this book as appealing to fans of Price and Prejudice as well as The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing. Well, I loved P&P and thought The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing was very overrated. Honestly, this book has nothing in common with P&P. Don't expect too much and you shouldn't be disappointed.
March 15, 2011
الرواية لم تكن مبهرة لكنها راقت لي نوعاً ما
الرواية تتحدث عن أليسون تلك الفتاة التي بلغت من العمر ثلاثة وثلاثون عاماً ومازالت تبحث عن الحب الكبير في البداية ظنت انها وجدته متمثل في توم لكنه هجرها هنا بدأت تتغير بعض المفاهيم داخلها وعندما عاد إليها كانت نظرتها قد تغيرت كلياً ووجدت ان توم لم يكن يمثل لها سوى محاولة للاستقرار وبناء أسرة لكن هذا لا يكفي كي تكمل حياتها معه للابد لذا تخلت عنه عندما رأت انه لم يكن الحب الكبير بالنسبة اليها فلم تعد تبالي بسنها ولا بقلة الفرص المتاحة لها كي تبني أسرة بل
رأت ان الحب الكبير يستحق الانتظار وهذا يكفى
.
الرواية فكرتها جيدة لكن القيمة الادبية لها ضعيفة
الرواية تتحدث عن أليسون تلك الفتاة التي بلغت من العمر ثلاثة وثلاثون عاماً ومازالت تبحث عن الحب الكبير في البداية ظنت انها وجدته متمثل في توم لكنه هجرها هنا بدأت تتغير بعض المفاهيم داخلها وعندما عاد إليها كانت نظرتها قد تغيرت كلياً ووجدت ان توم لم يكن يمثل لها سوى محاولة للاستقرار وبناء أسرة لكن هذا لا يكفي كي تكمل حياتها معه للابد لذا تخلت عنه عندما رأت انه لم يكن الحب الكبير بالنسبة اليها فلم تعد تبالي بسنها ولا بقلة الفرص المتاحة لها كي تبني أسرة بل
رأت ان الحب الكبير يستحق الانتظار وهذا يكفى
.
الرواية فكرتها جيدة لكن القيمة الادبية لها ضعيفة
March 31, 2009
Really not a great book at all. Hard to even recommend for light reading. I finished it simply because I was waiting at the house while the movers packed and had nothing else available. Got two stars instead of one, because there were a couple funny parts.
Read
June 1, 2019This book is laugh out loud funny at times.
September 25, 2016
This book made my brain hurt....
May 17, 2017
This book is a pure chick lit, one and done indulgence for me.
It was a decent story of repressed girl (thanks to her hang ups and religious induced guilt) finds her inner strength through a bunch of crappy events in her life.
Alison, an Evangelical Christian 32 yr old woman working as a puff columnist at a minor Philadelphia newspaper throws a dinner party. Her live in boyfriend goes out to buy the mustard for the guests all seated, phones and says he's in love with his old college gf and isn't coming back.
Alison sleeps with her boss...gets fired by a different boss(unrelated to the workplace tryst) and her slimy boyfriend, Tom, wants her to take him back after 5 months of doing what he wants while Allison was falling apart.
She does take the cheater back while womankind and every other character in this book collectively screams, "DONT DO IT DUMMY!!" but she finally learns on her own. Since she always felt like she never really knew Tom before he cheated and sure as hell doesn't know or trust him now the lightbulb finally goes on in her brain.
At another dinner party held by friends that just had a baby, Alison realizes, SHE wants the big love....SHE can do better since she is not going to get that from Tom. They break up and she moves in with a friend temporarily.
Alison gets an apt. rediscovers her love of travel and hooks up with her boss Henry.
FINALLY SHE GOT SMART.
I really hate the ditzy girl angle chick lit sells, which is why this was my one and done quota in this genre for the year.
It was a decent story of repressed girl (thanks to her hang ups and religious induced guilt) finds her inner strength through a bunch of crappy events in her life.
Alison, an Evangelical Christian 32 yr old woman working as a puff columnist at a minor Philadelphia newspaper throws a dinner party. Her live in boyfriend goes out to buy the mustard for the guests all seated, phones and says he's in love with his old college gf and isn't coming back.
Alison sleeps with her boss...gets fired by a different boss(unrelated to the workplace tryst) and her slimy boyfriend, Tom, wants her to take him back after 5 months of doing what he wants while Allison was falling apart.
She does take the cheater back while womankind and every other character in this book collectively screams, "DONT DO IT DUMMY!!" but she finally learns on her own. Since she always felt like she never really knew Tom before he cheated and sure as hell doesn't know or trust him now the lightbulb finally goes on in her brain.
At another dinner party held by friends that just had a baby, Alison realizes, SHE wants the big love....SHE can do better since she is not going to get that from Tom. They break up and she moves in with a friend temporarily.
Alison gets an apt. rediscovers her love of travel and hooks up with her boss Henry.
FINALLY SHE GOT SMART.
I really hate the ditzy girl angle chick lit sells, which is why this was my one and done quota in this genre for the year.
July 16, 2017
" Властта притежава онзи, който обича по-малко. Който е по-склонен да си тръгне. Ще ви кажа и нещо друго. Изневярата е власт. Каквото и да се е случило в една връзка, всичката власт е у онзи, който се чука наляво и надясно."
" Може би единствената причина да не съм станала по.лошо е, че се страхувам да бъда такава. А когато страхът те държи далеч от неприятностите, това не се брои за добродетел, нали? Ти си просто една плаха, пъзлива личност, която води безопасния си животец, и мисълта, че подобно съществуване изисква някакъв морален кураж, е просто...ами пълна глупост."
1 звезда по-малко- липсата на база за сравнение на такъв тип "женски" житейски книги. За това няма да е много реално ако дам 5 или 1 звезда.
1 звезда още по-малко- неподходящата възраст на, която беше прочетена книгата. За мен остават недооценени истините, които са засегнати. Все пак главната роля се водеше от жена наближаваща средна възраст, с лош късмет в любовта, донякъде повлиян от ��елигията. Невзрачна личност в големия свят, с 2 добри приятелки и цял куп разсъждения/съмнения, преминаващи веднага в момента на преживяната ситуация.
Като цяло романчето се четеше лесно. Написано от жена за жена, като цялото действие се развива в мислите на жена. Интересното е, че не бяха дразнещи всичките тези логически заключения, до които смея да твърдя често се сблъскват жените.
И като за финал Алисън доказа, че е Алисън с това, че получава това, което е желаела и се е подготвяла, а когато то е факт осъзнава, че желае нещо по-голямо.
" Може би единствената причина да не съм станала по.лошо е, че се страхувам да бъда такава. А когато страхът те държи далеч от неприятностите, това не се брои за добродетел, нали? Ти си просто една плаха, пъзлива личност, която води безопасния си животец, и мисълта, че подобно съществуване изисква някакъв морален кураж, е просто...ами пълна глупост."
1 звезда по-малко- липсата на база за сравнение на такъв тип "женски" житейски книги. За това няма да е много реално ако дам 5 или 1 звезда.
1 звезда още по-малко- неподходящата възраст на, която беше прочетена книгата. За мен остават недооценени истините, които са засегнати. Все пак главната роля се водеше от жена наближаваща средна възраст, с лош късмет в любовта, донякъде повлиян от ��елигията. Невзрачна личност в големия свят, с 2 добри приятелки и цял куп разсъждения/съмнения, преминаващи веднага в момента на преживяната ситуация.
Като цяло романчето се четеше лесно. Написано от жена за жена, като цялото действие се развива в мислите на жена. Интересното е, че не бяха дразнещи всичките тези логически заключения, до които смея да твърдя често се сблъскват жените.
И като за финал Алисън доказа, че е Алисън с това, че получава това, което е желаела и се е подготвяла, а когато то е факт осъзнава, че желае нещо по-голямо.
February 12, 2017
The Big Love was a Big Flop. A lackluster story that felt like a failed attempt at being witty, this "love" tale was anything but. Alison is in love with Tom, her boyfriend of several years. Tom cheats on Alison. Alison decides to sleep with her new boss. Alison loses her job (nothing to do with the new boss). Alison takes Tom back. Alison realizes Tom isn't her Big Love and instead "finds herself" by taking up all the cliche things single girls in their 30s apparently do. The plot essentially was Eat, Pray, Love gone bad with a side of "I'm almost as cool as the girls in Sex in the City." Oh but wait - there's more. There's the entire subplot of Alison being raised devout Christian and how that plays into one or two chapters. I know I'm not supposed to mention the spoilers (or the entire plot for that matter), but I believe when you give a book 1 star you have a right to. The only redeeming quality of the entire book was that it was a brief read. There was no meat; there was no depth; there was no...anything. Simply not a fan of this one.
August 6, 2017
Didn't like this as much as the Arrangement or Secrets to Happiness, which I read first. I like Dunn's sense of humor, and this book had some funny parts, but the main character's thoughts weren't that interesting, and the book didn't have much of a plot.
Main character is a 30-something single looking for love in Philadelphia. She grew up evangelical and is somewhat narcissistic. Seemed to me like she was looking for a "great catch" who would love her, although she did not appear to be offering much in return. She describes herself as intelligent but doesn't really seem to have any interests or prospects. I didn't find her very relatable, and we learn practically nothing about the two male characters, so there wasn't much to go on as far as understanding why she was or was not in love with them. The whole book is about love, but the main character doesn't even talk about what that means to her, what exactly she is looking for.
Main character is a 30-something single looking for love in Philadelphia. She grew up evangelical and is somewhat narcissistic. Seemed to me like she was looking for a "great catch" who would love her, although she did not appear to be offering much in return. She describes herself as intelligent but doesn't really seem to have any interests or prospects. I didn't find her very relatable, and we learn practically nothing about the two male characters, so there wasn't much to go on as far as understanding why she was or was not in love with them. The whole book is about love, but the main character doesn't even talk about what that means to her, what exactly she is looking for.
August 18, 2018
Overall very much enjoyed the writing and got much more than I was expecting to out of this book. The subject matter + marketing are kind of trashy, whatever that means, but the flow was good and witty, and I thought the writing was super good in general.
I really enjoyed the introspection and thought the main character was quite realistic/relatable. The other characters didn't seem very well thought-out. But to me, this is really a book about Alison's thoughts and her life (love life, mostly). She's pretty self-absorbed, so it almost works that her story wouldn't fill in the lines of the other characters super well. Also, not much in the way of plot, but again, that felt secondary to me.
This book spoke to me personally a lot, so I'm probably biased in favor of it. I can think of several friends who would not enjoy this book.
I really enjoyed the introspection and thought the main character was quite realistic/relatable. The other characters didn't seem very well thought-out. But to me, this is really a book about Alison's thoughts and her life (love life, mostly). She's pretty self-absorbed, so it almost works that her story wouldn't fill in the lines of the other characters super well. Also, not much in the way of plot, but again, that felt secondary to me.
This book spoke to me personally a lot, so I'm probably biased in favor of it. I can think of several friends who would not enjoy this book.
January 4, 2020
Well. Most of it seemed to be a stream of consciousness from the main character, Allison. Who, by the way, I had the hardest time remembering her name....maybe because it was so rarely used, as the entire book was her rambling on and on and on. The premise might have been interesting, she was raised fundamental Christian with strict rules about sex and marriage. So she waited a long time to become involved with anyone, and the first guy was a friend who happened to be gay, but now she's involved with the love of her life who she finds out is cheating on her with an old girlfriend. Still....there's hardly any dialog and her thought process to jump into bed with any guy, almost as though she's owed that...well...the whole thing was lame.
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