Books : Sundays at Tiffany's

Rating: - Refreshing and quick read, nice break from Dickens or Proust
I like all sorts of books. Sometimes I want a a light read, a break from something that requires a lot of my attention. I checked out Sundays from my local library as an Overdrive Audio book for just that purpose. I've never read anything from Patterson but I wasn't expecting something literary and if you aren't either, you'll have a better chance of enjoying a book like this. I thought the imaginary friend concept being a "real" thing or at least coming back and being real was an interesting one. I've never thought of that before, probably because, as far as I remember, I never had an imaginary friend of any duration. I thought the story was sweet and charming and I did not find Micheal's (the imaginary friend) romantic love for Jane as an adult off-putting. I thought there was sufficient explanation and development of his angelic/mentoring type of love for her as a child--her characteristics and humanity--becoming a deeper love for her over the years as he thought about her and later when he spots her in NYC and watches her, then meets and spends time with her again.

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Rating: - Refreshing and Unique
I was delightfully surprised by a Patterson book that escapes the confines of his usual murder mystery novels and suspends the very reality that makes many of his other novels so powerful. I related greatly to Jane as a child, and it brought back many of my own painful memories that were good to visit in a positive environment. The authors didn't dwell on the negative and made what could have been a depressing situation into a light, refreshing story. It kept me wondering, along with Jane (and Michael), as to exactly who Michael was and what he would do next. His friends were just the right touch to lend credence to the story without being too much. Refreshing also was the sweet, innocent romance and Michael's becoming self-aware. The chapters were, in true Patterson style, short and sweet, which made the story flow and made it easy for me to take a break (not that I wanted to!). Quite honestly, it was extremely difficult for me to put down, and my one negative thought was that the end would come far too soon. Patterson clearly found a co-author who shared his light, fantastical side to make a great combination of reality, joy, and whimsy.

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Rating: - Purely Heartwarming
This book was one of the best books I have read in a long time. It was a story I think any person who has had a imaganary friend can relate to. It was purely heartwarming. I read this book in one afternoon I could not put it down. I read alot of James Patterson and I think this was the best one yet.
The book takes place in NYC and you almost feel like you are right there with the descriptivness. When you read this book you just want to befriend Michael and Jane.
Worth the time to read. Make sure you keep a box of tissues handy though a real tear jerker in parts.

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Rating: - ridiculous and contrived
I really hated this book ... It was so sappy and artificial I could hardly get through it. A friend loaned it to me who loved it, and honestly I just don't get it.
I thought the idea of the story wasn't so bad, so I guess I kept expecting it to get better. It never did. The "romantic" parts were totally unbelievable and just stupid. Even the characters didn't seem convincing ... I'm sorry, but no straight man would ever rollerblade through Manhattan listening to Corinne Bailey Ray.
If you liked the concept of the book, I highly recommend "The Time Traveler's Wife" instead of this shallow waste of time. Time Traveler is one of the most romantic stories I've ever read about timeless love and is in a class far above Sundays At Tiffany's.

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Rating: - KID'S LIT DRESSED UP IN ADULT'S CLOTHING
Less than a love story, more than a fairy tale, Sunday at Tiffany's is every young girls' fantasy of the perfect imaginary man of her youth appearing in the flesh (so to speak) some 20 years later. Sunday is a story that requires the reader to abandon logic and common sense, climb into a magic pumpkin coach and take a ride into a sunset conceived in by Walt Disney and his Imagineers.

To enjoy this story of Jane and Michael(her imaginary childhood friend) you absolutely must let your childlike naiveté take over. That co-author Charbonnet is a writer of children's stories is obvious and Sunday at Tiffany's smacks of classic children's literature such as The Velveteen Rabbit and Pinocchio (stories that tell us that "love can make you real") with a touch of Cinderella and The Princess Bride thrown in for good measure (this would cover the appearance Jane's sometimes boyfriend Hugh and her controlling, self obsessed mother, Vivienne.)

I am not opposed to the happily ever after genre of stories, but Jane and Michael are so sweet and their love so perfect I almost got a cavity in my tooth from reading the book. And no, I don't want to join them at the St. Regis for a coffee ice cream and hot-fudge sundae.