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The English American
The English American
Author: Alison Larkin
When Pippa Dunn,adopted as an infant and raised terribly British, discovers that her birth parents are from the American South, she finds that "culture clash" has layers of meaning she'd never imagined. Meet The English American, a fabulously funny, deeply poignant debut novel that sprang from Larkin's autobiographical o...  more »
ISBN-13: 9781416551591
ISBN-10: 141655159X
Publication Date: 3/4/2008
Pages: 352
Rating:
  • Currently 3.2/5 Stars.
 13

3.2 stars, based on 13 ratings
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The English American on
Helpful Score: 2
Tolerable debut novel, it could be better but could be far worse.

I struggled through the first few chapters before resigning it to the bookshelf once more. Why? The 'heroine' is twenty-eight going on eighteen and as usual, the publishers make a hash of the British English to American English translations (please make up your mind Mr Publisher, stick with either Anglicizing or Americanizing text).

New England winters are long and cold so, The English American made a come back to my reading list. I'm glad I finished it and if the truth be told, even enjoyed it but my opinion of Pippa Dunn didn't change - childish, insufferable and a quite probably barking mad...I can only hope that this is not an accurate reflection of Ms Larkin's own personality.

Why it is necessary to portray the token Scot as criminally insane though, I will never work out...
meldster avatar reviewed The English American on
Helpful Score: 2
Had this book on my wish list, but it was going to take forever to get, so I checked it out from the library. After reading it, I'm glad I didn't use a credit on it.

I was hoping this book was going to be good, but by the end, I didn't really think it was a great book. I found Pippa to be a bit of a push over and her birth mother, extremely annoying. The first half of the book didn't seem all that realistic because the characters just seemed too positive about things. I kept thinking "This wouldn't happen in real life. It's not this black and white." Things begin to unravel eventually, but I wasn't that impressed with the book.
charliebear avatar reviewed The English American on + 26 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
The author's unique comedic voice never fails from beginning to end. Looking back, it would be easy enough to say that the book is typically structured as a romance. However, holding on to the uniqueness of such a delightfully humorous voice through the ups and downs of the main character's life, truly rates plaudits for delivering a romantic comedy of the highest order.

Although I don't think I'd ever read it again, I haven to admit I could not put it down once I had been captured by the first two sentences!
Read All 3 Book Reviews of "The English American"


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