Steve Martin

[graydaisy]

should i be embarrassed to admit that i like his book "Shop Girl"?

 

[Martin]

Yes.

Yes, you should.

No, honestly, I don't know. Didn't even know he wrote. He's a funny guy though (or, used to be).

What's the book about?

Cheers, Martin

 

[phil_t]

What THE Steve Martin??

As opposed to say ... Steve Martin the postman from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betlegeuse



Phil

 

[Martin]

No I'm talking the Steve Martin that lived during the Renaissance. Lived next door to Shakespeare. Many people claim that he wrote all the stuff Shakespeare's famous for.

That's the Steve Martin I'm talking about!

's true!

Cheers, Martin

 

[graydaisy]

It is about a girl who comes to terms with who she is in relation to the world she lives in. However, I do have my suspicions that it was actually written by Shakespeare. A classic tragicomedy.

 

[funes]

I don't know if you should be ashamed or not. I prob'ly should be though; I have a copy of Cruel Shoes amongst the many books I own.

 

[Ashlea]

I haven't read them but I bet they are really good, he's very smart actually, very literate, has written great articles for the New Yorker on literature. He's a comic genius, I will read them eventually, interesting to see how well he transfers to the page.

He and Robin Williams did "Waiting for Godot" on Broadway once. I'd give up almost anything to have been able to see that.

 

[graydaisy]

That must have been a good show.

 

[Martin]

Beckett rules!

Cheers, Martin

 

[nelle]

I have read Shop Girl and I am now reading his latest book "The Pleasure of My Company". It is good so far. I liked Shop Girl a lot too. My only complaint is that the books are very short, they are called novellas. I know that he is trying to be brief, that's probably a comedy thing, but I always feel like the story is just getting started when it ends. I think he is trying to appeal to an audience that doesn't read much. Have any of you read "The Pleasure of My Company"? What are your thoughts if you have?

 

[graydaisy]

i have not read it. in fact, i didn't even know he wrote a second book. let me know how you liked it when you're done.
i liked the briefness of shopgirl. i felt that it finished as it should. more would have been too much.
i think what i liked most about it was that it was serious literature written by one of the funniest men ever. i appreciate him so much more.

 

[nelle]

I finished The Pleasure of My Company. It was good but Shop Girl was better. These books are more like short stories to me. I would recommend TPofMC just because it is short and sweet. It is nice to finish a book in a few days sometimes. The story built up nicely but the ending was a little forced and unrealistic. But that just means it had a good ending. I do like Steve Martin's style, I will probably read everything by him unless it really stinks.

 

[StillILearn]

Steve Martin...

... is a great writer! Well, he's not John Irving, but I was surprised at how much I liked "Shopgirl". He really did a good job of writing from a woman's point of view.

I listened to him read this one on tape and enjoyed it hugely. I also thought it was the perfect length for the type of story he was telling. Bravo, Steve!

Omigod. Steve Martin and Robin Williams in "Waiting for Godot"? One can only imagine that one...

 

[Anamnesis]

I thought Shopgirl was very peculiar. Steve Martin's a surprisingly gifted writer and there were several passages of the book that I enjoyed, but the near-lack of dialogue and use of present tense narrative was something I had to get used to after a while. It was definitely an interesting book, I'll say that much.

Has anyone seen the film version with Claire Danes and Jason Schwartzman (as well as Martin himself)? If so, what did you think?