Rate this book

Other People's Rejection Letters: Relationship Enders, Career Killers, And 150 Other Letters You'll Be Glad You Didn't Receive (2010)

by Bill Shapiro(Favorite Author)

3.33 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0307459640 (ISBN13: 9780307459640)

languge

English

genre

Humor

publisher

Potter Style

review 1: This book is a non-fiction epistolary story about human trial and error. It exposes rejection letter after rejection letter in all modern forms of modern communication today including: emails, Facebook messages, old-fashioned typed letters, official letterhead stationary, handwritten notes and text messages, collected virtuously by Bill Shiparo from friends and reporters across the country, and bundled in a visually-told book. From memory: I recall letters from girls dumping guys, guys dumping girls, sons rejecting parents, daughters running away from parents, middle-aged women rejecting each other's friendship, artists getting rejected from galleries, writers rejected from publishers, even Jimi Hendrix (who's former name was James) getting rejected by the military. People... more's words cut to the core, even if they lighten the load in a few introductory sentences. Off the bat, New Delta Review actually says someone's "work is terrible." On a lesser level, a granddaughter tells her grandmother that she can't do anything with her because she has other plans. Then there's probably the most shocking letter, from California State Prison, stating that this man who was charged of murdering his wife and his lover all in one night was sentenced to death, and executed. There's a myriad of relationship letters ending relationships that show how complex this tango can get, or trite, depending on maturity levels.And then Jimi Hendrix. That was my favorite. But I won't give that one away. Because it's that amusing. A "Postscript" in the end of the book glimpses the story behind a few letters, including Hendrix's, updating readers on what how the recipients reacted or how they progressed. Those that graduated into this section really show the resiliency of human nature altogether, as everything turns out okay, life goes on, even with harsh words exchanged. Some forget what they did and most succeed after a few more tries.Ironically enough, I started and finished this book today. When I went to my computer to check my email, I received my own rejection email from a job I applied for. I'd been anticipating hearing back from them, and maybe I would have felt disappointed, but after this book, I found myself strangely comforted, or possibly desensitized. I felt like everything was going to be okay, because that's how the cookie crumbles sometimes. Maybe that's the resolution I found in this book. That's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.
review 2: I brought this book home from the library because I was hoping that by reading the rejection of others, I would feel better about my own personal (job-related) rejections. Misery loves company, and all that. Based on the couple of other reviews I've skimmed, I am not alone in this. However, I didn't feel better. After finishing this, I felt even worse. It's sad, pathetic and disheartening to read page after page of letters relating to love gone wrong, and continual professional rejection ones. A few were funny, some of the ones (like the Jimi Hendrix army discharge letter) were interesting. After a while I began to feel horribly sad for Mr. Arthur Gonzalez, an artist who decorated many of his "sorry your art is good but just isn't right for us" notes. I sure hope he found a place to display and earn money, he seems talented. less

Download links for: Other People's Rejection Letters: Relationship Enders, Career Killers, and 150 Other Letters You'll Be Glad You Didn't Receive

Advertising