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A Year in Van Nuys
The author of Depth Takes a Holiday presents a zany Southern California parody of A Year in Provence as she describes life in the suburb from Hell in a series of seasonal observations--"The Winter of Our Discontent," "Spring Without Bending Your Knees," "Summer Where We Winter," and "Fall of Our Dearest Expectations." Reprint. 25,000 first printing.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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About the author
Sandra Tsing Loh
17 books95 followersWriter and performer Sandra Tsing Loh is a contributing editor to The Atlantic, host of the syndicated radio show The Loh Down on Science, and the author of five previous books. Her work has appeared in Best American Essays. In addition to having been a regular commentator on NPR’s Morning Edition and PRI’s This American Life, she has performed two solo shows off-Broadway. She lives in Pasadena, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
September 18, 2022
When my kids were little, I used to try and take them to at least one live stage performance per year, and lazy bum that I am, this usually ended up being a holiday treat because I'd realize we were halfway through December and I hadn't yet fulfilled my annual obligation.
One year, what was passing through town was Sandra Tsing Loh's one-woman holiday show. It didn't completely knock my socks off, but it was fun enough, and somehow or other I learned that she was also an author. I read a bit about her and felt her to be a kindred spirit, trained in physics but much more interested in the arts, so I went and found this book in the library.
It's hard to write humor, and I think she did a good job here. (Note: This came out during the middle of the Year in Provence craze, and is clearly riffing off that.) I did laugh out loud, once, at a description of trying to get jiggy with a potential lover in a car that smelled like French Fries. Of course it did. The guy was married and had kids, and the smell in his car tipped her off. Otherwise, the book was pleasant enough to read, about the neurotic author's many inferiority complexes, the inevitable byproducts, she claimed, of having a stern German mother and inflexible Chinese father.
All of this has a sad ending. Several years later, I remember my shocked disbelief while reading an essay about the end of her marriage, which, in her mind, meant an end to the institution altogether. It appeared to me that she had lost her mind, hopefully temporarily, as a result of the great stress attending a divorce. But for me, it was like having a little candle blown out in my life. Sigh.
One year, what was passing through town was Sandra Tsing Loh's one-woman holiday show. It didn't completely knock my socks off, but it was fun enough, and somehow or other I learned that she was also an author. I read a bit about her and felt her to be a kindred spirit, trained in physics but much more interested in the arts, so I went and found this book in the library.
It's hard to write humor, and I think she did a good job here. (Note: This came out during the middle of the Year in Provence craze, and is clearly riffing off that.) I did laugh out loud, once, at a description of trying to get jiggy with a potential lover in a car that smelled like French Fries. Of course it did. The guy was married and had kids, and the smell in his car tipped her off. Otherwise, the book was pleasant enough to read, about the neurotic author's many inferiority complexes, the inevitable byproducts, she claimed, of having a stern German mother and inflexible Chinese father.
All of this has a sad ending. Several years later, I remember my shocked disbelief while reading an essay about the end of her marriage, which, in her mind, meant an end to the institution altogether. It appeared to me that she had lost her mind, hopefully temporarily, as a result of the great stress attending a divorce. But for me, it was like having a little candle blown out in my life. Sigh.
May 27, 2014
Sandra Tsing Loh has the rare ability to make me laugh out loud -and- annoy the bejeezus out of me with her shallow, hungry-ghost, class/money-conscious cravings.
There were times when her "We aren't rich & famous\We live in the wrong part of LA\I'll never be a great writer\I have eye-bags and am, therefore, worthless\etc., etc." crossed over from humorous self-depravation and into Oh-Please-Stop-It-Whining. I happily skimmed through pages here and there, waiting for her to get over herself and get back to the type of insightful honesty that makes her such a fine writer.
At the risk of spoilers, there is something of a redemptive end to the year Tsing Loh chronicles, but I can't help thinking the more interesting stuff happened in the months after her epiphanies.
There were times when her "We aren't rich & famous\We live in the wrong part of LA\I'll never be a great writer\I have eye-bags and am, therefore, worthless\etc., etc." crossed over from humorous self-depravation and into Oh-Please-Stop-It-Whining. I happily skimmed through pages here and there, waiting for her to get over herself and get back to the type of insightful honesty that makes her such a fine writer.
At the risk of spoilers, there is something of a redemptive end to the year Tsing Loh chronicles, but I can't help thinking the more interesting stuff happened in the months after her epiphanies.
July 14, 2009
Sometimes I really, really like Sandra Tsing Loh and she inspires me to write since she has such an uncensored, stream of consciousness, ranting quality. And she writes down some things I think but wouldn't say.
But, she also has a meandering quality and there is a lack of tightness to the narrative, and with this and the last book of hers I read, I was ready for it to be over at least 30 pages before it was over.
Also, I was very upset to hear recently that she is divorcing her poor suffering and patient husband.
But, she also has a meandering quality and there is a lack of tightness to the narrative, and with this and the last book of hers I read, I was ready for it to be over at least 30 pages before it was over.
Also, I was very upset to hear recently that she is divorcing her poor suffering and patient husband.
January 2, 2011
A Year in Van Nuys is a humorous memoir of Sandra Tsing Loh, a writer who wants to make it big but realizes that, at age 35, she is passing the threshold of being a young, fresh and promising talent. The year follows Sandra, who is neurotic about her appearance (writes about her trials with the zone diet and the bags under her eyes) and neurotic about her success (or lack thereof) and neurotic about the place she lives in (not Provence, not Tuscany, not even a better neighborhood in Los Angeles). The book eventually gets to the place where she accepts the realization that she's not young and fresh (at least in the eyes of LA) anymore and that it's ok.
I think I would give this book 3.5 stars, but I pushed it to 4 for rating purposes. I love Sandra's writing -- it's very much like how she reads her short essays on Morning Edition: smartly, sarcastically fast-paced...almost stream of consciousness, but not. And, the concept of feeling like you're transitioning out of being in the young category (and not having too much to speak for it) speaks to me, as I enter my early 30s and feel more floundering than I thought I would. And I loved how in the book Sandra creates these characters of people in her life, and then brings them back around, but subtly reminds you of who they are by how she describes them. That's really helpful for me because I tend to forget characters based on name only. And -- the book is very funny in places, as you hear Sandra's take on LA, therapists, industry-types, being a neurotic woman, etc. What I did not like about this book is that sometimes Sandra's writing became a little too...harsh/biting/angry for me. And sometimes it was a little too much, "I'm a depressed writer, let me wallow in my depression" for me. Maybe because I understand the whole feeling like life is passing you by and not being able to have anything to prove your worth for it, I guess I would have appreciated the book a little more if it touched on that, then made light of it (as she does), that would have made me feel better and like she would have reached me more, because who does have their life together, and why do you have to be able to prove yourself so young, and is that even realistic or good?
Anyway, I enjoyed the book for the most part and am interested in reading her other books.
I think I would give this book 3.5 stars, but I pushed it to 4 for rating purposes. I love Sandra's writing -- it's very much like how she reads her short essays on Morning Edition: smartly, sarcastically fast-paced...almost stream of consciousness, but not. And, the concept of feeling like you're transitioning out of being in the young category (and not having too much to speak for it) speaks to me, as I enter my early 30s and feel more floundering than I thought I would. And I loved how in the book Sandra creates these characters of people in her life, and then brings them back around, but subtly reminds you of who they are by how she describes them. That's really helpful for me because I tend to forget characters based on name only. And -- the book is very funny in places, as you hear Sandra's take on LA, therapists, industry-types, being a neurotic woman, etc. What I did not like about this book is that sometimes Sandra's writing became a little too...harsh/biting/angry for me. And sometimes it was a little too much, "I'm a depressed writer, let me wallow in my depression" for me. Maybe because I understand the whole feeling like life is passing you by and not being able to have anything to prove your worth for it, I guess I would have appreciated the book a little more if it touched on that, then made light of it (as she does), that would have made me feel better and like she would have reached me more, because who does have their life together, and why do you have to be able to prove yourself so young, and is that even realistic or good?
Anyway, I enjoyed the book for the most part and am interested in reading her other books.
March 15, 2007
I am crazy in love with Sandra Tsing Loh and her everywoman stories of her life in SoCal. Someday I hope to be married to a musician and eating takeout from Koo Koo Roo.
March 8, 2008
I love to listen to Sandra Tsing Loh--her short essays/commentaries I've heard on NPR are charming and funny. This was why I read her book and was sorely disappointed. It was a thinly disguised whining about her life as a writer in California, living on her own while her husband is traveling, life with older, overbearing sister. I would have abandoned it, but hoping it would get better. No such luck.
January 27, 2008
Got this at the Central Library FOL shop for only $3.00; one of my better buys this year. A nice California voice to counter all the all-NY all the time of the Sederis - Vowell mafia. Being 38 and still casting about for my 'cool' patrimony, I found much of Loh's observations to be painfully funny.
August 10, 2009
Kind of sloppy (I think she recycled a good few published columns into her novel), kind of shallow, but extremely, howlingly funny. I probably enjoyed this more than I otherwise would have because heard her radio pieces on KCRW for years, so I could hear the entire book in my head being read to me by Sandra -- and she is a brilliant monologist.
April 19, 2024
I picked this book because I'd spent a reasonable amount of time in Van Nuys. Although, then, it wasn't anything like Ms Loh's description. Where I was was lovely. Also, my friend taught at Van Nuys middle school and quit after a year as the children were awful. I'd never heard of the author. She's quite clever. The publishing date of 2001 means the chapters, some of which seem like stand-alone stories, may contain fragments from her previously published features. In the title year, she turns 36 and feels over the hill. Her husband is her sounding board for her complaints like undereye bags and her perpetual, incomplete novel. Both in their mid thirties, they have no steady jobs. That would be depressing. Both are artists: a musician and a humorist writer. For the reader who enjoys clever, social critique type writing, it's a fun book.
August 9, 2009
Sandra Tsing Loh's writing is nearly always compelling: she has a funny, wry voice which seems to hold up a lens to the many (many!) absurdities of the modern woman's life in the US today. I usually really enjoy her Atlantic Monthly columns--I even really liked the last one, Lets Call The Whole Thing Off, even though she came off as demented, self-observed and self-indulgent in her attempt to rationalize her very own personal decision to have an affair and divorce her husband of 20-odd years, an attempt in which she (rather insanely) tried to convince everyone else to also get divorce since, her view, marriage--and not HER marriage--is the big problem! :) Still, her writing was pretty good.
In A Year in Van Nuys, though, she doesn't follow up to her initial promise--or to the great title! I myself have lived in LA for 6 years, know both Van Nuys and the entertainment industry quite well, and am only a few years younger than Tsing Loh, so I sort of identify with what she writes and can recognize it for what it is. Here, though, she does very little to make the storyline flow. It is not tight or clean enough, or makes enough sense, for a book-length narrative. An article would have been more than enough.
In A Year in Van Nuys, though, she doesn't follow up to her initial promise--or to the great title! I myself have lived in LA for 6 years, know both Van Nuys and the entertainment industry quite well, and am only a few years younger than Tsing Loh, so I sort of identify with what she writes and can recognize it for what it is. Here, though, she does very little to make the storyline flow. It is not tight or clean enough, or makes enough sense, for a book-length narrative. An article would have been more than enough.
February 15, 2016
I do not comprehend this book in the least.... I am unable to fathom, why this unending whining & mindless patter is considered funny.
No, I absolutely did not comprehend what this woman is trying to get across....
So in mimicry of the author:
This is not the first time I have thought this about her writing... In fact, I'm beginning to wonder why I even thought i might want to read this book..... It might have been the cover. In fact I'm sure it was the cover, but not the name on the cover, no that would not be what grabbed my attention. It had to have been the bright yellow background on the cover and the green palm and a gal in a turquoise track suit with a bottle of wodka (I should have stayed with the Tsing Tao) in her hand and pug dog tied to a lamppost (is that what that is?) on the cover.... So maybe it was the cover all along.......
Blah!
December 5, 2007
I saw that Laura had read this book.
This seriously, to truly appreciate this book, you must have lived in Van Nuys. This is the funniest book ever. I love Sandra Tsing Loh! She does regular radio programs in L.A., and just hearing her name makes me miss L.A.
Van Nuys is the biggest dump ever, nothing great about it. And, coming from a usually starving artist's perspective, I completely identified with her! Brilliant!
This seriously, to truly appreciate this book, you must have lived in Van Nuys. This is the funniest book ever. I love Sandra Tsing Loh! She does regular radio programs in L.A., and just hearing her name makes me miss L.A.
Van Nuys is the biggest dump ever, nothing great about it. And, coming from a usually starving artist's perspective, I completely identified with her! Brilliant!
July 25, 2007
I just picked this off my book shelf to re-read, since I'm moving to SoCal and it's as hilarious as ever. Her mix of self-deprecating neurotic humor paired with sharply observed insight about gyms, women's web sites, pitching shows, and more are fabulous and seem as fresh as when I first read this book years ago.
December 16, 2007
I've heard her on NPR once or twice and thought she was funny, so I grabbed her book from 2001, A Year in Van Nuys. Having never lived in, let alone ever visited, Los Angeles, I'm likely missing out on much of the local references. But that's okay because I AM getting the rest of the humor--I think.
December 12, 2020
I liked this more when I first read it when I was 23. But even then it was maybe 3 stars. I'm an LA girl and the LA commentary worked but the narcissistic parts with their weird and negative comments were just too much. In particular her views about relationships are not something I can connect with.
December 31, 2007
Sandra Tsing Loh has no right to be as funny as she is. EVen worse, she makes it seem effortless. Like many a writer before her, she mines the annoyances and absurdities of daily life and comes up with comedy gold.
This is a very funny book.
This is a very funny book.
June 9, 2009
Everyone's doing it: creative nonfiction/memoir/fiction, or whatever it is. Loh was doing it before others, though, and is one of those who is doing it much better than the likes of Jen Lancaster. Truly laugh-out-loud funny throughout much of the book.
February 10, 2011
bought it for a friend and meant to read it for eons. I liked it a lot, though I think I liked Depth Takes a Holiday slightly more. Still really funny and spot-on. And I've been to the Valley of Cali at least. Though, Laurie Notaro is still one of my faves.
February 8, 2018
This started out okay, but it seems to have fizzled out about halfway through. The best parts are her article submissions for the web site. I guess she's funny in small doses but can't quite carry a whole book.
March 16, 2007
Never live in Los Angeles. But if you have to, by Gawd, read everything this woman has ever written.
April 12, 2007
I have a feeling this book would be funny anyway, but if you know Los Angeles, it is really hilarious.
July 4, 2008
funny. it won't change your life or anything but it's a quick, amusing read.
December 12, 2012
I made it to about page 30. A (typical) sentence ... in (this!) ... book looks (like) ... this!!!!!! Seriously. It gave me a headache.
February 7, 2008
Funny, smart, light. Great book for "I hate LA" days.
July 29, 2008
Very, very funny
November 16, 2008
This book is hilarious and I can really identify with the point the character is at in her career.
December 2, 2008
i'm not the only one that feels the same way about van nuys.
December 14, 2008
Lord, I howled reading this. Also made me wish I lived near a Coo Coo Roo.
December 17, 2008
I still read it once a year, and I still laugh at loud every time.
January 7, 2009
Tsing Loh is really funny and I love her articles in the Atlantic Monthly, but this book didn't hold up to her snarky political wit-- mostly a 30's something, chick lit sort of ranting...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews