Tossing It Out

Showing posts with label Watching Willow Watts. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Time to Get Happy! : A Review of Talli Roland's Watching Willow Watts

Happy Blogoversary to Tossing It Out!!!
Two great years starting with the first blog post on September 19, 2009

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GET HAPPY! GET WATCHING WILLOW WATTS!

The links are:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Recently I finished reading J.D. Salinger's Catcher In The Rye. I found that book to be somewhat of a downer, and perhaps I'll talk more about that book at a later time. After finishing Catcher I began reading Margaret Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale which I was finding to be very ponderous and depressing. Then along came Talli Roland's Watching Willow Watts. I decided to take a break from the bleak Atwood tale to read Roland's much cheerier story. A delightful diversion it turned out to be.

Willow Watts is a young woman whose life has seemed to have hit a wall. After her mother's death she leaves London and the man she loves to return to the dreary village where her father lives in order to comfort him and help out with his antique business which is on the brink of financial ruin. Dressed as Marilyn Monroe, she appears in a whimsical video that rapidly becomes a YouTube sensation drawing thousands of fans to the village. Suddenly, she is the fixation of her adoring fans and under the guidance of an unscrupulous talent agent sees a way out of her financial troubles and a promise of new prosperity for the village. Her decisions bring changes to her life and the lives of those around her--but is the change for the better?

In this short novel Talli Roland tells a blithe tale about when ordinary people are confronted with big changes. The storytelling is skillful and told with humor and heart. The characters are portrayed realistically with no airbrushing or cosmetic cover ups--we see the good and the bad and love or detest them for who and what they are. These are adults doing grown up things, but with an innocence that almost charmed the pants off of me. Oh, don't worry, my pants stayed on all the while that I was reading since there is nothing overly steamy in this book. The book for the most has little to offend most readers.

The message in the book is a good one portrayed in an entertaining way. The story deals with people with empty spaces in their lives that need filling. Roland examines how people try to fill the empty places by living vicariously through the lives of others on YouTube and reality TV. As the characters in this story begin to realize the importance of accepting self and pursuing ones dreams, they gain awareness of how the past can cast a shadow on the present and stand in the way of the future. Some of the characters are sweet while a few not so much. Synchronous circumstances bring an assortment of people together in a place where dreams are fulfilled in unexpected ways.

The book is not without flaws. There is an abruptness in the continuity of some of the events in the novel, but it allows for fast pacing. This is an easy read that is uplifting and funny. The story drives home the positive message of acceptance of self and living life instead of just watching others live theirs. In the end we understand that just watching Willow Watts is not as meaningful as being Willow Watts. An important message for all of us.

I don't typically read anything that might be labeled "chick lit", but I really did enjoy this book. I'm not even sure that it is fair to put the limits of the "chick lit" label on the book. My recommendation is read WATCHING WILLOW WATTS and decide for yourself. For me it was darn good reading.

Now I guess I can go back to finish A Handmaid's Tale.

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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

If I Could Be Anyone, I'd Be...

Today (9/14/2011) is the e-book debut of Talli Roland's newest novel Watching Willow Watts. To celebrate Talli has organized an online 'If I Could Be Anyone, I'd Be...' party. It's a virtual costume party where we are supposed to dress up like the person or character we'd most like to be.

The reason for this particular theme is that in Talli's book, the character Willow Watts is mistaken for a sort of reincarnation of Marilyn Monroe and begins to take on the role in order to appease adoring fans and make some money in the process. Willow becomes Marilyn, who would you like to be?

'If I Could Be Anyone, I'd Be...'

I always struggle with a question like this--even in playfulness. I can never think of that perfect life that I would like to enter if I could. We all have our problems, but at least I know what mine are.

In thinking about this question my first reaction was King Solomon. He was one of the richest and wisest men who ever lived. He had just about anything a man could want. And on top of that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Now what man doesn't dream of something like that?

On the other hand, living with that many women would probably be a real challenge. Maybe it would be fun for a while, but really!--That many women under one roof? Besides old Solomon kind of pissed off God and that's something you don't want to be doing. Maybe being Solomon wouldn't be all that great after all.

So then I considered a famous writer. Mark Twain wrote good material, traveled the world speaking to packed houses, and made some decent money. He also lost a lot of money due to bad business investments. If I were him I'd probably even make worse investments and lose more money.

Mark Twain had his triumphs, but he also had his share of tragedies in his seventy-five years of living. It might be interesting to live in Twain's shoes, but maybe I'd rather read about him than actually be him.

Even with the person with the sunniest facade you don't know all that they have felt. Sometimes the great times a person seemed to have had may have been overshadowed by dark events that history told us about or that perhaps are kept in the secret places of that person. So considering that factor of the unknown about the life of another, since I know what my life has been, where I am now, and whatever potential I see in my future, I guess I'll just come to the party as me. I was never one for dressing up much anyway.