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Elizabeth's Reviews > Stern Men

Stern Men by Elizabeth Gilbert
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bookshelves: fiction, maine, new-england

I respect Elizabeth Gilbert as a writer--a lot. Her dialogue jumps off the page, her descriptions are taut and humorous. But I do feel that this book reveals an author in her early period trying to find her groove. There are some plot points that fall short, and the character arcs only develop fully in the epilogue. About a third of the plot of the book seemed to fall into the last chapter. That being said, I'm becoming more and more interested in reading various writers' early work, mostly because the flaws show how far they have come and how every writer struggles at the beginning of their career.

I'm not sure if I would recommend this book to someone who is simply a fan of Eat Pray Love. However, if you are studying writing as a craft, Gilbert shows off some textbook skills along with some mistakes. It's a great way to see all the ingredients laid out, but not quite gelling. I'd like to read the Last American Male next.
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Reading Progress

Started Reading
December 7, 2009 – Shelved
December 7, 2009 – Shelved as: fiction
December 7, 2009 – Shelved as: maine
December 7, 2009 – Shelved as: new-england
December 7, 2009 – Finished Reading

Comments Showing 1-2 of 2 (2 new)

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message 1: by Alexandra (new)

Alexandra This is an interesting angle to look at writing. I never see it this way... but I guess it makes sense that you do :)


Kelly One of the reasons I also try to wade through bad books - I think there’s a lot to learn from books you don’t like too. I love the idea of reading lots of early works of writers we love, just to study the process!


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