The Boyfriend School
By Sarah Bird
(Ballantine Books, Paperback, 9780345460097, 368pp.)
Publication Date: August 26, 2003
Categories: General
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Gretchen Griner is an underpaid, underappreciated photographer for the Austin (that’s Texas) Grackle, part-time lover of Peter Overton Treadwell III (known as “Trout”), and major consumer of Cup O’ Soup. That is, until she meets Lizzie Potts—otherwise known as Viveca Lamoureaux, romance writer extraordinaire. Lizzie has a plan for Gretchen’s life—and it includes Lizzie’s brother Gus. But Gretchen has her own plan, and it does not feature a “wispy goon” named Gus. Of course, fate also has a plan for Gretchen, and it doesn’t care what Gretchen wants. So Lizzie will give Gretchen Gus, Gus will give Gretchen the man of her dreams, and among this oddball cast of marvelous misfits, someone just may discover the secret to true romance.
“Falling-off-the-chair hilarious . . . Sarah Bird is a fearless madcap.”
—Los Angeles Times
“SARAH BIRD IS A RIOT OF A WRITER. . . . THIS IS ONE OF THE FUNNIEST BOOKS IN A LONG TIME.”
—Cosmopolitan
“Laced with the bite of good girl-talk, Bird’s observations are as acute as they are entertaining. At once silly and thought-provoking, The Boyfriend School is a literary slumber party, where probing metaphysical discussions overlap manic girl-antics.”
—Austin Chronicle
“ENTERTAINING FROM START TO FINISH.”
—The Houston Post
“BRILLIANT AND HILARIOUS.”
—United Press International
Praise for the novels of Sarah Bird
The Boyfriend School
“Bird possesses the ability to see life’s oddities and continually be entertained. Her humor is not a mean-spirited sarcasm but more an earthy sassiness.”
—Houston Chronicle
“[A] witty, scathing satire.”
—The Daily Texan
Alamo House
“More than just belly laughs. Bird’s stinging observations of human and sexual foibles provide frontline pictures so clear you can read the license plate numbers.”
—Austin Chronicle
“A zany, fast-paced novel . . . The author’s snappy dialogue and pungent characterizations poke fun at everything from rodeo regulars to mass-murderer Charles Whitman, all with a dry wit.”
—Chicago Tribune
The Mommy Club
“Bird outdoes herself with this hilarious, deadpan account of a Texan artist’s attempt at surrogate motherhood. . . . A warm, wise and witty comedy.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A dear and touching and very funny novel about love.”
—The Boston Globe
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Sweeth Tooth Ian McEwan Nan A. Talese |
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The Light Between Oceans ML Steadman Scribner |
