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Annie Begins (2000)

by Michelle Toth(Favorite Author)

3.25 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

review 1: Self discovery story about an HBS grad at the start of the dot com boom. I enjoyed the trip back to 1995, there's a fantastic, life-loving German roommate, and all the Boston/Cambridge details are just right, but Annie didn't grab me.Annie works all the time. Fine. But what keeps her busy (100 hours a week or so) as the VP of marketing at a fledgling dating site remained unclear throughout the novel. The heady sense of nineties urgency is totally missing, and the resolution of the work situation is unrealistic. (Venture capitalists come in to run the start up, Annie chooses to start an old economy business to partner with the start up, the founder agrees on the spot - just felt rushed and weird.)Annie's best moments come when she's hashing out her insecurities or spending... more time with her ten-year-old niece, an old soul of a child battling a particularly aggressive cancer. The romance story line is very predictable, which isn't in and of itself a problem in the genre. I like a happy ending as much as the next person, but I kept hoping for a twist that never came.
review 2: Set during the dot.com boom, this charmer of a novel is the story of Annie, a young woman who has suddenly found yourself at a pivotal point when her love life (or lack thereof), her professional life, and her home life all threaten to go spinning out of control, challenging her to reassess who she is in the grand scheme of things. The narrative is funny, neurotic, poignant and sad at times (particularly in light of the looming family tragedy). The writing is strong and the characters and Boston / Cambridge setting held my interest . My only real critical concern was that the book could have been tightened up a bit in terms of pacing, and at times, Annie's neurotic interior monologues seemed to break up the flow of action and dialogue a bit too much. Overall, a nicely executed literary romantic / comedy. less

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