Traveling with an Eggplant
Posted by admin | Posted in Travel | Posted on 17-03-2010
Tags: Eggplant, Traveling
5
Product Description
Alycia Ripley’s debut novel, Traveling With An Eggplant, is a unique and deceptive re-imagining of Alice In Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz: a surreal world of music, magic, ghosts, and the state of modern romance. Music journalist Alison Olson finds herself wandering the college campus she attended years earlier. As her memories resurface and she remembers a cryptic comment from her favorite singer, Elvis Costello, she begins a story of three hardship… More >>
This book is amazing! The plot is twisted enough to get the reader guessing, the characters are well rounded and well developed and the attention to detail is first rate. I finished it in 2 days! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read interesting books that have unique points of view, which this one does. This book is definitely a great one if a reader wants to be entertained!
Rating: 5 / 5
I completed ‘Traveling with an Eggplant’ in a day. This is the first time–in a long time–that a book has kept my undivided attention. The story is seamless and not full of filler-footage. Every word written has revelance. And the writing is smart, which makes you think, but not in an i-have-to-take-an-exam kind of way. More so in the ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcylce Mainteance’ way. Just not as heavy.
Alycia Ripley also did an amazing job in bringing the reader into Alison’s (main character) world. I felt primarily connected to Alison and had a fun time watching the story unfold in my head. As a thespian, I understand how important it is to keep your audience connected with your character and Ms. Ripley displayed that extremely well in her novel. Also, being a child of the 80′s and from Long Island, I could easily associate my own life to various references about the 80′s the LI in ‘Eggplant’.
I highly recommend ‘Traveling with an Eggplant’ if you’re looking for something different. It’s a quick read and I believe most will definitely find a connection to the story.
Rating: 5 / 5
I’m pleased to say that I briefly knew the author of this book while mutually attending Syracuse University. She was a friend of a friend whom I met at a lively campus bar and often went to see perform in the SU comedy troupe. You could always tell what material was hers because it was so on the mark and on the money. The voice she used while making fun of our (oh so visible) campus stereotypes was unique, articulate and fast as bullets. Although that was comedy and this book is more drama, I can still hear her voice in my head and see her when reading some of the descriptions and images. This book is really engaging and fascinating. The characters are so alive and the circumstances so vivid that I sometimes found myself looking around the room I was in to make sure that I was still alone. There are several parts that kept me awake and freaked me out. If you enjoy a good story, some fresh characters, and having to actually use your brain, you will like this book. Congratulations Alycia for succeeding at what you wanted so much to do! It’s really great to see someone from SU making their name in the arts.
Rating: 5 / 5
I had the great fortune of seeing Alycia Ripley read from this book at Borders. My first thought upon seeing the dark hair, pale, narrow face and Blondie t-shirt was “It’s John Cusack’s long-lost baby sister!” I found her to be warm, funny and self-deprecating and the passage she read from sounded interesting so I got myself a copy. It’s an inventive, well-written piece of work with a whole lot of personality. I was reading chapters long after I should have stopped to shower or walk the dog but it really pulled me in. If you ever have the chance to see this author in person at a signing or reading, definitely go and check it out. Very cool author, very cool book. Lloyd Dobler himself would give it a very big thumbs up, I’m sure.
Rating: 5 / 5
I bought this book at a book fair- I was there to browse and see the nearby art gallery and planned to buy nothing at all but this book’s description really intrigued me and I finished my copy over that weekend. This is a fine piece of work from a new author and the more thought you put into it, the more you get out of it. I loved the vivid characters and bizarre situations. It has something for everyone- humor, violence, realism, surrealism, and of course, music. I flipped through it at the book fair and was sold when I saw a paragraph all about the group Hall and Oates. This is a terrifically engaging story and I’m looking forward to reading much more from this author in the future.
Rating: 5 / 5