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List Price: $5.99 | | Publisher: Hyperion
Salesrank: 55587
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| Our Price: $2.15 |
| Used Price: $0.99 |
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| Media: Mass Market Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
One of our country's most acclaimed and beloved entertainers, Steve Martin has written a novella that is unexpectedly perceptive about relationships and life. Martin is profoundly wise when it comes to the inner workings of the human heart.
Mirabelle is the "shopgirl" of the title, a young woman, beautiful in a wallflowerish kind of way, who works behind the glove counter at Neiman Marcus "selling things that nobody buys anymore..."
Slightly lost, slightly off-kilter, very shy, Mirabelle charms because of all that she is not: not glamorous, not aggressive, not self-aggrandizing. Still there is something about her that is irresistible.
Mirabelle captures the attention of Ray Porter, a wealthy businessman almost twice her age. As they tentatively embark on a relationship, they both struggle to decipher the language of love -- with consequences that are both comic and heartbreaking. Filled with the kind of witty, discerning observations that have brought Steve Martin critical success, Shopgirl is a work of disarming tenderness.
Description of Shopgirl: A Novella:
Steve Martin's first foray into fiction is as assured as it is surprising. Set in Los Angeles, its fascination with the surreal body fascism of the upper classes feels like the comedian's familiar territory, but the shopgirl of the book's title may surprise his fans. Mirabelle works in the glove department of Neiman's, "selling things that nobody buys any more." Spending her days waiting for customers to appear, Mirabelle "looks like a puppy standing on its hind legs, and the two brown dots of her eyes, set in the china plate of her face, make her seem very cute and noticeable." Lonely and vulnerable, she passes her evenings taking prescription drugs and drawing "dead things," while pursuing an on-off relationship with the hopeless Jeremy, who possesses "a slouch so extreme that he appears to have left his skeleton at home." Then Mr. Ray Porter steps into Mirabelle's life. He is much older, rich, successful, divorced, and selfish, desiring her "without obligation." Complicating the picture is Mirabelle's voracious rival, her fellow Neiman's employee Lisa, who uses sex "for attracting and discarding men."
The mutual incomprehension, psychological damage, and sheer vacuity practiced by all four of Martin's characters sees Shopgirl veer rather uncomfortably between a comedy of manners and a much darker work. There are some startling passages of description and interior monologue, but the characters are often rather hazy types. Martin tries too hard in his attempt to write a psychologically intense novel about West Coast anomie, but Shopgirl is still an enjoyable, if rather light, read. --Jerry Brotton
Shopgirl: A Novella Reviews:
Light, airy, though surprisingly satisfying 
2009-10-22 - I've long been a Steve Martin fan. So when I saw this wisp of a story in the CD audio collection at the local library, I knew it would be a pleasant respite during my morning commute. I had enough of Iraq and the bailouts. I wasn't disappointed. Now I'm still creeped out with older men preying upon young, clueless girls, but I guess many girls without strong fathers want a father figure. She wants a father and he just wants to give her an allowance and make love as much as possible. I say make love, but that's putting it mildly. I'm trying to keep this PG. The language and the details can be a bit graphic (which of course I didn't mind, but it was odd listening to the CD while pulling into my school to teach - like I was watching prono with kids around). The ending was sweet, if not somewhat contrived. But isn't every novel? Worth the few hours. There's also a bit of the Mean Girl scenario here too at the department store which makes for a funny situation.
Shopgirl
2009-10-06 - Personally I didn't know Steve Martin could write so well. The book was insightful, relateable, playful. Steve Martin is a man of many talents and I quite hero-worship him now. As for the writing style, I'm not sure how else to describe it other than to say that it's masculine. Almost every sentence in the book is very short, to the point, and matter of fact like it's written from a man's point of view. I found it a bit depressing even though it had a (supposedly) happy ending. Yet I found the characters to be very endearing with all their imperfections. They grew on me. If you liked the movie then the book is a definite must.
A thoughtful and enjoyable read 
2009-10-01 - Written by funnyman Steve Martin, I really enjoyed this book. After first watching the DVD (which I didn't realize was such a good movie until the last few scenes), I felt compelled to buy the book and was not disappointed. Although the book is short at 130 pages, the story itself (a bittersweet love story) was deeply moving, intelligent and tender and although written by a comedian, the humorous moments was cleverly deadpan and sarcastic rather than wild and zany.
I really liked Mr. Martin's writing style. His writing felt razor sharp and crisp as if he put a great deal of thought into each sentence. Each paragraph felt like it flowed and gelled with the story and that no sentence was wasted. I found myself hanging on to each sentence and was never bored or lost in the story. Although I don't know this as fact, I imagined he had many people help him edit this book and that it was rewritten dozens of times until he and the publisher felt it was just right.
His development of the story and the characters was excellent. I won't go into the details surrounding the storyline as that is already summarized by critical reviews available on this site. However, I will say I felt, well, both moved by the deep introspection of the main male character Ray Porter as he stumbled along the path of self discovery trying to decipher how to love another human being and yet I felt sorry for him in his ignorance about relationships with women in spite of his wealth and success as a businessman. I felt happy for the main female character Mirabelle in her claim to independence and finding value in herself although I felt empathy and compassion for her during the pitfalls she encountered throughout the book to get there.
I HIGHLY recommend this book. The story and characters stayed with me long after finishing the book.
Love Steve Martin as an author
2009-08-19 - I am generally leery of any book written by an actor or singer. Actually, I am leery of any medium made by an artist that usually does something else. I admit that I saw the movie first. I didn't think that I would like it, but the synopsis seemed interesting and I had recently realized that I liked Steve Martin and I love most of what Claire Danes does. I loved the movie, and I was blown away that Steve Martin could write such a gem.
I didn't rush out and by the book despite my appreciation for the movie . Whenever I was at a bookstore, I would pick it up and look at. I would flip through it and then put it down. Books seem to get more expensive, so I tend to be more selective of what I buy, and I didn't think that Shopgirl would be a wise investment. It's a short book, only 144 pages or so. I can rip through that many pages in a couple of hours. Eventually, I gave into the urge and picked it up and took it home. I didn't regret the purchase, like countless others that I have made in the heat of the moment.
Steve Martin can write. I grew to love all the characters in a matter of a few pages. Mirabelle is lonely and depressed and spends her days at Neiman Marcus selling gloves. She does little more than lean against the glass counter all day. She understands that she should be doing more in life, but she seems to have accepted a life where she is merely a bystander. She spends her nights drawing dead things and talking to her cats as she waits for her life to start. She dates Jeremy, who at first glance is the epitome of a loser, and then Ray Porter, a successful man who wants to possess her with no strings attached. Each interaction between the characters adds layers of dimension to all of them and at the end of the book, you are left with three very real people. Steve Martin truly has a talent with characterization, and his word choice and phrasing is wonderful. With such insight, it makes you want to crawl into Steve Martin's head and live in there for a while. The end of the book comes much too soon, but the ending leaves you "mostly" content with the future that seems to be laid out for the characters. It is a beautiful and well written little book. It's like a small bite of something delicious. It's worth it.
Simply nails it!
2009-06-03 - Couldn't sleep one night. Turned the TV on and caught the movie. When I first saw Steve Martin as the lead actor, I went looking for something else to watch but I ended up back watching the movie. I kept watching with what I thought was, mitigaged interest, however it is only at the very end that I realized how caught up I was in the story... by that time, I was crying my brains out. I love it when a movie manages to capture your heart without you knowing it... Claire Danes is out of this world! I loved this movie...even if I really REALLY really didn't want to.
