Monday, October 7, 2013

Shopgirl By Steve Martin



From the Back Cover:

Mirabelle works as a shop assistant in the glove department at Neiman’s, L.A.’s finest store. She has two men in her life : Jeremy, a man who stencils amplifiers for a living; and Mr Roy Porter, a rich, older man who believes he can apply logic to relationships and is serially confused. How can she choose between a man who thinks a date is a chance meeting in a Laundromat, and a man whose policy of honesty is guaranteed to hurt her?

***
I didn't know Steve Martin was an author too! I loved him in the Father of the Bride (one of my all-time favorites!) & The Pink Panther movies. Anyway, moving on to the book. I didn't really like it initially but it got better towards the end. I really love happy endings and in that, Shopgirl does not disappoint.

It gets off to a pretty depressing start, with a description of Mirabelle's lonely and melancholic existence. I didn't think it was possible, but the rendezvous with Jeremy are even sadder!
And then she meets Mr. Roy Porter, and everything is so much better, she very quickly falls in love with him, a love that is not consciously reciprocated, as he is still looking for the perfect woman, who most definitely is not Mirabelle.

In an attempt to make it clear to Mirabelle this is just a fling, the following conversation happens:

"I think I should tell you a few things. I don't think I'm ready for a real relationship right now." He says his not to Mirabelle but to the air, as though he is just discovering a truth about himself and accidentally speaking it aloud.

Mirabelle answers, "You had a rough time with your divorce."

Understanding. For Ray Porter, that is good. She absolutely knows that this will never be long term. He goes on: "But I love seeing you and I want to keep seeing you."

"I do too," says Mirabelle. Mirabelle believes he has told her that he is bordering on falling in love with her, and Ray believes she understands that he isn't going to be anybody's boyfriend.

"I'm traveling too much right now," he says. In this sentence, he serves notice that he would like to come into town, sleep with her, and leave. Mirabelle believes that he is expressing frustration at having to leave town and that he is trying to cut down on traveling.

"So what I'm saying is that we should be allowed to keep our options open, if that's okay with you."

At this point, Ray believes he has told her that in spite of what could be about to happen tonight, they are still going to see other people. Mirabelle believes that after he cuts down on his traveling, they will see if they should get married or just go steady. 



Although such hilarious exchanges are rare in the book, the rest is not too bad.

Things get bad when Mirabelle finds out about Ray's indiscretions. She still loves him, but cant forgive him, so she ends things. And try as he might, Ray just cant seem to stop thinking about her.
So, they stay in touch, and he helps her in any way he can. She eventually gets over him somewhat, and is back to living a solitary life, when the unexpected happens and we get a happy ending!!

No comments:

Post a Comment