Magari ti chiamo

by Nancy Sparling

Alex Fairfax è decisamente un bravo ragazzo, forse troppo. Il tipo capace di chiedere scusa al proprio capo che lo sta licenziando in tronco, o di sentirsi imbarazzato nel trovare la fidanzata a letto con un altro uomo. Alex non aveva una vita perfetta, ma almeno ne aveva il controllo, a modo suo. Ma questo accadeva prima che si svegliasse al rumore della costosissima lamiera della sua Jaguar che si contorceva sotto le spranghe di un gruppo di hooligans. Prima di perdere anche, nella medesima settimana, fidanzata e lavoro. Avrebbe potuto decidere di farla finita, scrollare le spalle e ricominciare in attesa della prossima disgrazia o "resettare" il tutto e reinventarsi un modo nuovo di affrontare la vita. Nasce così Alexander.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Thriller, Romance

420 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of my shelf-warmers, it's been there forever, and I can't quite remember why I got it, probably because I love the name Alexander, and also because the promise of revenge intrigued me.

However....
It's supposedly funny, but I didn't laugh once. Might be because the translation didn't pass the humor along.
I wanted to get to the point when Alex starts exacting his revenge, but the glee was short lived. I understand the points he tried to make, but he becomes a humongous asshole, burning bridges as he goes and I find it really hard to feel compassion for him.

The last quarter of the book, I read one paragraph per page, to get it over with.

I didn't hate it as much as I make it sound, it just wasn't what I hoped it would be.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Het was een oké boek. De recensie staat online op http://bookswithabeautychick.blogspot...

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talk about extremes! It was more about exacting revenge than actually making himself a better person.

[Sivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, i love the plot, though the ending was seemed to me weak.

[Ellie-Neve Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the premise of this book was... odd, to say the least, it was quite entertaining and reminded me of a Meg Cabot - A sort of rom-com with no real problems and events that were barely believable. I will say that the author had a certain liking for parenthesis which made the text confusing at a time, it being used several times on a page, but that really wasn't an issue. Many of the other reviews are complaining about this book being so fixated on revenge, however, that was literally the whole point of it and it was quite amusing the lengths that the protagonist was willing to go. Overall it was fine, I just wish that the ending was a little more satisfying as it honestly didn't seem worth it.

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrendous.

[Nandan Dubey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book while returning from home. I will never be able to complete this book if it is not for the boring journey. Anyway I am happy to bring this book along because it lightened my travel quite a bit. It is a book to read in journey and not for leaser reading at home. Not worth spending money, for sure. Never going to suggest it to someone, although it was a fresh story with present time relevance. I have one another book "Ben hur" with me while travelling and I also started with that one but you can't read such boring classic while travelling. I read it till 90 pages without getting little bit of interested. I guess now it will take me very long to complete the rest of "Ben Hur".

[Cassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another classic example of schlubby teenagers transforming themselves into another personality that is more likable, more suave, and more put-together. This novel is a more modern Steve/Stefan situation. If you're hard up for a read, it's not terrible, but there are much better things you could pick up to pass the time.

[Mary Guerra · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book was good throughout the middle chapters. It was a fun and easy read. However if fell flat at the end. It was as if the auther was tired of writing and just decided to be finished. Type of ending that can break a book.

[Vance · Rating 2 out of 5]

You felt for the main character at first then you started to think he was an idiot.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting concept, and an enjoyable read. A satisfactory ending. Why not read it?

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Love, love this book! I enjoyed watching Alex take control of his life and alter its path! He made some very obvious mistakes. It was still a very great read!

[Chy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jed and Sarah deserve to be shot and shat on.

[Cerys · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a reasonably good quick read. It was interesting to read what is essentially a chic-lit book written from the perspective of a man.

[Jeroen Desloovere · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in dutch and I really loved it! The story is so good and I love the small chapters with headings...

[David Raz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being Alexander by Nancy Sparling
Hebrew review follows ביקורת בעברית בהמשך

The story of the betrodden guy, that goes through a transformation, deals revenge to all his wrong doers, becomes a sex god and learns his lesson (of sorts).
The one good thing I can easily say about this book is how readable it is. Light as a feather, I read the 329 pages in a straight three hours (or a bit less), not realizing that time was passing. And it wasn't such a bad time to be honest.
On the other hand, you can't get much more predictable than this. One can guess where it all goes at about page 30, including the "twist" at the end. From then on it was reading how it unfolds, hoping for some surprises, although as mentioned above, it's done in a mostly painless and fairly entertaining manner. At some points it almost felt like the result of a "how to write a book" guide or what would come out of a writing workshop. Very little originality is involved in this book.
I also didn't like the parts where the author shares her annoyances with us, as if it is what the protagonist. Yes, people taking children to the cinema are annoying, and so are people not taking care of their pets. Why exactly do we need to read this?
Bottom line, an extremely light reading, devoid of much weight or content. If you have nothing else to read, there are worse ways to pass the time. 2 out of 5.

סיפורו של הבחור שכולם דורכים עליו, שעובר טרנספורמציה, נוקם בכל מי שעשה לו רע הופך לאל מין ולומד את הלקח שלו (פחות או יותר).
הדבר הטוב בספר הזה הוא עד כמה הוא קריא. קל כנוצה, קראתי את 329 העמודים במשך שלוש שעות רצופות (או קצת פחות), בלי להרגיש איך שהזמן עובר. ולמען האמת זה לא היה כל כך נורא.
מצד שני, קשה לחשוב על סיפור הרבה יותר צפוי. אפשר היה לנחש לאן הסיפור הזה ילך אחרי כמה עשרות עמודים כולל ה"טוויסט" שבסוף. מאותו רגע ואילך הקריאה היא יותר כדי לראות איך בדיוק הספר יתפתח ואולי הוא יצליח להפתיע, אם כי כאמור, באופן מבדר במידת מה. בחלק מהמקרים הספר הוא כמו תוצאה של מדריך "איך לכתוב ספר" או התוצר של סדנת כתיבה. המקוריות וההפתעה הם לא הצד החזק של הספר זה.
גם לא אהבתי את החלקים שבהם המחברת חולקת איתנו את מה שמציק לה, כאילו אלו מחשבותיו של הגיבור. כן, גם אני חושב שאנשים שלוקחים תינוקות לקולנוע זה מעצבן, כמו גם אנשים שלא אוספים אחרי הכלבים שלהם. למה בדיוק אנחנו צריכים לקרוא את זה?
בשורה התחתונה, קריאה קלילה ביותר, נטולת משקל או תוכן רב. אם אין שום דבר אחר לקרוא, יש דרכים גרועות יותר להעביר את הזמן. 2 מתוך 5.