“…those who venture to criticize us perform a remarkable act of friendship, for to undertake to wound or offend a man for his own good is to have a healthy love for him.” ~Michel de Montaigne
Kristine Huntley reviewed The Hard Way for Booklist Magazine. (If you want to read it at Booklist Online, you have to subscribe – 30 days free!) If you don’t get a thrill seeing the review in its original setting, here’s a copy of what Kristine Huntley so generously wrote:
The Hard Way
By Julie Luongo
Release: June 2008.
272p. Forge, paperback, $13.95 (9780765316677).
REVIEW. First published April 15, 2008 (Booklist).
Like the novels of Melissa Bank, Luongo’s first offering is a novel-in-stories. Her protagonist, Lucy Venier, spends her twenties floundering in careers and relationships that are wrong for her. Lucy tries her hand at journalism, advertising, sales, and even law school, but none of the professions feel like the right fit for the artistic Lucy, who is most at home when painting or filling her surroundings with her creations. Her taste in men is even more misguided: she dates a feckless, unfaithful newspaper editor; an arrogant cad who magnifies her self-loathing; and an incomprehensible loser who gambles away $800 on her credit card. The only winner of the bunch is Ben, who is both charming and funny and believes in Lucy, but his proposal and their subsequent engagement feel suffocating. Though Lucy’s boyfriends aside from Ben are almost unrealistically unappealing, her sharp observations (“I’ve stopped reading women’s magazines, so I feel less and less trivial everyday”) make her a heroine worth rooting for. — Kristine Huntley
Yeah, I’m totally rooting for her.
Joe Trunzo said,
April 15, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Good for you Jules. Another super-awesome review is a very cool thing for you and Lucy. I couldn’t be happier – actually, I will be when Amazon delivers “The Hard Way” to my door, but for now, i couldn’t be happier for you…
julieluongo said,
April 15, 2008 at 4:15 pm
You can see what changes I made to it from when you read it…what, three years ago? You’re really going to be happy when you read the new book. Ok, it’s not finished yet…but when it is, you’re going to LOVE it.
Jim said,
April 15, 2008 at 6:23 pm
I always root for the feckless…
messiestobjects said,
April 15, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Knock ‘em dead, Luongo.
julieluongo said,
April 15, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Jim, I think you’d like the feckless characters. They’re so feckless.
MamaPeg is Watching You said,
April 16, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I’m rooting for Julie! nice job, girl!
julieluongo said,
April 16, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Thanks, Peg.
Sissy said,
April 18, 2008 at 10:15 am
I read it as freckless at first. As in there are no frecks on his face.
Awesome review! You go, girl!
julieluongo said,
April 18, 2008 at 2:19 pm
He is freck-less.
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November 4, 2008 at 2:14 pm
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November 27, 2008 at 10:54 am
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