Such A Pretty Face
- ISBN13: 9780758229557
- Condition: New
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In this warm, funny, thoroughly candid novel, acclaimed author Cathy Lamb introduces an unforgettable heroine who’s half the woman she used to be, and about to find herself for the first time…Two years and 170 pounds ago, Stevie Barrett was wheeled into an operating room for surgery that most likely saved her life. Since that day, a new Stevie has emerged, one who walks without wheezing, plants a garden for self-therapy, and builds and paints fantastical wooden chairs. At thirty-five, Stevie i
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(out of 16 reviews)
List Price: $ 15.00
Price: $ 8.44
Tags: face.........., Pretty, such
Review by L. Gondelman for Such A Pretty Face
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I absolutely LOVED this book. There I said it. And would you like to know why? It’s simple really. The characters are real, the places are real, and the emotions are real.They are true, and they are believable. They are you, they are me, and they are your mother, your father, your neighbor, your cousin, or even your teacher. They are the people that are hiding from their pasts, that are struggling with day-to-day life and the people looking towards a better tomorrow.
Stevie Barrett is not the same person she used to be. After suffering a heart attack at 32, primarily caused by her severe obesity, she knows that it’s now or never to get her life on track. So she makes the life-altering decision to have gastric bypass surgery and is now 170 lbs lighter. But this doesn’t really solve all of Stevie’s problems. Yes, it solves the weight issue, but not what caused her to almost overeat herself to death. She has many new challenges she must now face. She is grappling with a past that no child should ever have to live through, while at the same time trying to adjust to a life in her new body, deal with family issues, a moral dilemma at work, and, of course, there is that crush she’s got on her gorgeous neighbor. There is also her obsession with chairs. Yes, chairs. Chairs that speak to her and tell her how they’d like to be designed. Chairs that fill her garage yet are kept hidden from the rest of the world. How is this a key to her past and how will it open the door to her future?
Stevie lived with her mother Helen, her baby sister Sunshine (whom she named) and her grandparents. We find out at the beginning of the story the tragedy that befell this family, the one that defines her life, and through flashbacks we learn more and more about what happened to Stevie and her immediate family when she was young. Aunt Janet was Stevie’s mother’s sister who, with her husband Herbert, and cousins Lance & Polly, Stevie went to live with when she was a young girl. Herbert (she refused to call him Uncle) was a tyrant. Aunt Janet was dominated by Herbert their entire married life and she has become a weak, shell of a person. Lance is a former football star who has made millions coming up with new business ideas and launching them (but only if his ankle twitched). Polly is a well known newscaster struggling with eating issues of her own. Cherie is Stevie’s boss. She is the managing partner of the law firm that Stevie works in as a legal assistant. She is absolutely hysterical and adds the humor that Stevie needs in her life. Zena is her crazy co-worker who frequently finds Stevie outside on her way to work begging a piece of clothing with which to freshen up her night-before clothes so that it doesn’t look like that she’s just finished clubbing. Unfortunately Stevie is forced to work with a bitch of a woman on the case of a young boy permanently injured by a botched surgery. They are representing the hospital and refuse to settle with the family. Stevie finds some incriminating evidence against their client, but will she do the right thing and turn it over to the other side? Then there is Eileen, her BFF, who claims that Stevie cheated her way in losing the weight by having the surgery. She torments Stevie to no end. But what it really comes down to is that Eileen is overwhelmed with jealousy because Stevie is now thin. Can this friendship possibly survive the changes in both women? And then there is Jake, her hunky neighbor who Stevie avoids at all costs. She’s known to jump a hedge or two when she sees him coming just so she won’t have to speak to him. But he’s on to her game and slowly the two form a relationship that might just provide Stevie with the happiness that she’s looking for, and rightfully deserves.
This book is loaded with tough topics like anorexia, overeating, gay marriage, divorce, self-esteem issues, mental illness, abuse, and death. It is not for the faint of heart. BUT, it is also filled with love, hope, humor, honesty, devotion, trust and forgiveness. You will want to reach right into the pages of the book to comfort those who are hurting. Does being skinny and having a “pretty face” mean you have it all? Nope. As the saying goes – beauty is only skin deep. From an opening that will tear your heart to pieces to an ending that will sew it back together again, Such A Pretty Face will make you laugh and it will make you cry. It will make you feel. Because that’s exactly what a great book does.
Review by Alayne for Such A Pretty Face
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Stevie Barrett once weighed over 300 pounds. She ate food to smother the grief she felt over the loss of her baby sister, schizophrenic mother, and loving grandparents all within a short time period. She ate to lose herself. She ate to hide. And then she had a heart attack, and eating was no longer the solution if she wanted to survive. Several surgeries and 170 pounds later, Stevie has lost the weight but hasn’t managed to find herself in the process. Such a Pretty Face is the beautiful story of one woman’s search for herself amongst the burden of this thing we call Life.
At times both literary and whimsical, Such a Pretty Face fulfilled my need for a meaty, meaningful story, while also lightening my soul with love and sunshine. It made my heart ache with sadness for Stevie’s childhood and the oppressing reality of schizophrenia, but the flashbacks to her earlier years are followed with laughter as she struggles to keep an outraged divorcee from tearing her ex-husband to shreds.
Lamb’s writing is skillful and exploratory, drifting from inner dialogue to prose and back again. We really get to know Stevie, staying inside her head throughout the full novel, feeling the tide of emotions she is drifting on. With an oppresive uncle, a bulldozing best friend, a mound of medical debt, and a hopeless crush on her neighbor, Stevie is lost in the world and the narrative explores her natural sense of fear, followed by her internal strength and courage to stand up for herself and what she wants.
Overall, Such a Pretty Face is a culmination of fabulous traits from some of my favorite books: a story of family pain and love (Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson), mixed with a woman’s courage and strength (The Wife’s Tale by Lori Lansens), with a dash of Sarah Addison Allen’s fanciful language thrown in the mix. But most of all, it simply is what it is: a beautifully literary and touching novel by a wonderful writer. I will definitely be reading more of Cathy Lamb in the future.
Review by Marilyn W. for Such A Pretty Face
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What an incredibly touching, poignant story. Lamb is so talented at bringing to life a community of characters who are distinctive and have led interesting–if sometimes very painful–lives. She paints their struggles and their relationships with compassion and, also, little delightful sparks of humor.
Stevie is a character who will stay in my heart for quite a long time. A highly recommended read and an especially good choice for book clubs!
Review by Nancy C. Silvers for Such A Pretty Face
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I absolutely loved this book! Anyone (and who didn’t) have issues in their childhood will recognize themselves in one way or another. Stevie is a very well-developed character that you sympathize with and cheer for as you discover who she has been and who she is on her way to be. She is a character that stays with you after you finish reading the book – like a very good friend. I have loved all of Ms. Lamb’s book and can’t wait for the next one but I think “such a pretty face” will be hard to top!
Review by Monica McHugh for Such A Pretty Face
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Cathy Lamb’s characters will stay with you. The people in this book are honest, real and moving. I stuck my nose to my Kindle and did not put that sucker down until I finally HAD to, I fell asleep and it hurts when it hits you in the face….but I digress. Cathy Lamb’s newest characters are her best. The premise of the book just sounds horrible. But like watching a good spooky movie, you open the book and get through the prologue. Then you are hooked. Now you have to finish and see what this book is all about and how the characters will resolve things. Aweseome, beautifully written, Cathy Lamb captures the self talk and brings the people in her story to life. Get this book and enjoy it. You will laugh, you will cry, you will think and you will want to DO something when you are finished!