What do you think?
Rate this book
Lisa Maria #1
Lisa Maria's Guide For The Perplexed
For Lisa Maria, the decision to become a maid was she was tired of nine-to-five office jobs and sick of falling for men she worked with. Performing manual labor for women seemed comparatively interesting and emotionally safe. Besides, wasn't there a certain intrinsic value in cleaning up other people's messes? Lisa Maria saw herself strolling into the lives of grateful strangers and making them over -- making them beautiful and efficient -- while turning a tidy profit for herself. Lisa Maria Marino's been chewed up and spit out by the world once again. This time, though, she has retreated to her childhood bedroom in upstate New York to try to regroup. After all, nothing ever happens in New Sparta, NY, what better place to absorb one's losses? After doing nothing gets old, Lisa Maria finds work as a "household assistant" (aka maid) -- although the line between who's bossing whom is hilariously blurred. And even though her own life is a disaster, she takes over as the advice columnist for a local paper, telling people what to do, with her trademark deadpan flair. With a winning cast of characters -- the slovenly novelist who dresses up as his creations, the "good sister" gone ridiculously bad, the local mall with a sinking personality all its own -- Lisa Maria's Guide for the Perplexed is a sharp, funny, enlightening tale of one woman's quest to figure out her future by diving headfirst into her past.
245 pages, Paperback
First published May 25, 2004
56 people want to read
About the author
Susan Hubbard
25 books191 followersSusan Hubbard, born in upstate New York, is the author of two collections of short fiction, both winners of national prizes, and four novels. The Society of S was published in May 2007 by Simon & Schuster, and The Year of Disappearances, a sequel, was released in May 2008. The U.S. paperback edition of The Year of Disappearances was published in 2009.
The third volume in the Ethical Vampire series, The Season of Risks, was published in July 2010.
Hubbard's books have been translated and published in more than 15 countries. Her short stories have appeared in TriQuarterly, The Mississippi Review, The North American Review, America West, Kalliope, Ploughshares, and other journals. She is coeditor of 100% Pure Florida Fiction, an anthology.
She has received teaching awards from Syracuse University, Cornell University, the University of Central Florida, and the South Atlantic Adminstrators of Departments of English. She has been awarded residencies at Yaddo, the Djerassi Resident Artists Project, the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and Cill Rialaig.
Hubbard has led writing workshops at universities and arts programs across the United States and the United Kingdom. A former president of Associated Writing Programs, she has served as an assessor and curriculum consultant to several colleges and universities.
Hubbard currently is a Professor of English at the University of Central Florida. She is an advocate for animal rights, social justice, academic etiquette, and literacy. Her hobbies include running, salvaging, and collecting items of questionable taste.
The third volume in the Ethical Vampire series, The Season of Risks, was published in July 2010.
Hubbard's books have been translated and published in more than 15 countries. Her short stories have appeared in TriQuarterly, The Mississippi Review, The North American Review, America West, Kalliope, Ploughshares, and other journals. She is coeditor of 100% Pure Florida Fiction, an anthology.
She has received teaching awards from Syracuse University, Cornell University, the University of Central Florida, and the South Atlantic Adminstrators of Departments of English. She has been awarded residencies at Yaddo, the Djerassi Resident Artists Project, the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and Cill Rialaig.
Hubbard has led writing workshops at universities and arts programs across the United States and the United Kingdom. A former president of Associated Writing Programs, she has served as an assessor and curriculum consultant to several colleges and universities.
Hubbard currently is a Professor of English at the University of Central Florida. She is an advocate for animal rights, social justice, academic etiquette, and literacy. Her hobbies include running, salvaging, and collecting items of questionable taste.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 14, 2007
Since Lisa Maria has a hard time cleaning up her own messy life, she opts to clean up other people's messes as a maid...er...'Household Assistant' and as an advice columnist. This selection lacked a little oomph, but I'm hoping that it is because it is a segue to Lisa Maria Takes Off.
June 21, 2009
I read this witty little book in an evening. While I'd imagined it would be your typical light chicklit sort of book, it had the zing of a Janet Evanovich in terms of the mother-daughter-sister-father family dynamic. Quite a fun read, well-written and not altogether unrealistic.
January 17, 2008
Really cute read. In hindsight, I probably should've read this one before Lisa Maria Takes Off, but oh well. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
February 15, 2017
Girl has crazy life. Drama, drama, drama.
November 4, 2016
I put this down at pg120. I will revisit this later (I hope)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews