Being AntiSocial Leigh K Cunningham 9789810720933 Books
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BEST INDIE BOOKS FOR 2013, INDIEREADER GOLD MEDAL WINNER, 2012 READERS' FAVORITE BOOK AWARDS GOLD MEDAL WINNER, 2013 READER VIEWS LITERARY AWARDS Mace Evans is single at thirty-eight. When her much unloved older sister, Shannon, declares that Mace is anti-social, she embarks on a journey to understand her condition; whether she was born that way or if it is the accumulation of thirty-eight years of unfortunate encounters with other humans and dogs. For reasons unbeknown to Mace, she has an affair with a work colleague, which brings an unexpected end to her perfect marriage. And as if the self-imposed torture and regret is not enough, Mace endures ongoing judgment from her older sister and mother, which further exacerbates already tenuous relationships. With support from her four best friends, merlot and pizza, and with guidance from her life coach and mentor, Oscar Wilde, Mace recovers to a degree, but in her quest to understand her anti-social ways, she finds herself wondering about the quality of the fabric that keeps her network of friends intact. When Mace's mother is diagnosed with cancer, Mace searches for common ground on which to connect before it is too late.
Being AntiSocial Leigh K Cunningham 9789810720933 Books
People are the worst and sometimes (or most of the time) it's better to spend time alone. Being Anti-Social by Leigh Cunningham explores one woman's experience with her friends and family and her anti-social perspective.Mace is one of five children and she adheres to the thought that middle children have particular personality traits that drive their behavior. When her older sister calls her anti-social, this affects her psyche and drives her to act antagonistically toward her sister. Nearing 40, Mace has had some upsets in her life in the affair she had while married and the death of her husband after their separation. Getting her life back to the level it was before all this occurred seems impossible but her friends and family attempt to help her regardless of what she wants.
While the specific setting of a story isn't always vital to the narrative, bringing clarity to it ought to be done in an effective manner so as to not shock readers. I was unaware it was Australia due to lack of outside clues until the Mace brought it up in relation to the traveling she's done and then some of the linguistic choices made sense. While pegged as a humorous, chick-lit story, I found it to be neither of those things - with the majority of the humor coming from Oscar Wilde quotations - and instead a relatively serious introspection into the psyche of Mace's life and grief, sprinkled with a conservative amount of levity through some of Mace's observations.
Overall, I'd give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars.
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Being AntiSocial Leigh K Cunningham 9789810720933 Books Reviews
I will admit that I started to read this book based on the title. Since I am not a fan of small talk, I will occassionally be accused of being anti social so I had to see what it was about. Mace seemed like an interesting charater at first and I did see some similarities as far as not getting along with a sibling and like spending the evening at home. However, throughout most of the book, Mace was highly negative which sometimes made it hard to read. I am a more positive personality, for the most part, so I often wanted to tell her to just grow up and quit whining.<br/><br/>I was pleased that there were some redeeming qualities about her and I did enjoy her friends allowing me to like the book a bit. Also, her relationship with her parents was touching and I was happy that she eventually listened to the wisdom of her mother. I was happy that she seemed to be more happy at the end of the book.
I honestly didn't find this book terribly humorous, but it was still enoyable to read. Mace simply would rather not be bothered with people, although she does have a group of extremely odd close friends. (I did find one of them to be extremely obnoxious and wondered why she put up with her, but oh well...) Nearly everyone in Mace's life tries to bring her "out" and their attempts and Mace's honest reactions make up the bulk of the book. Mace is part of a large Australian Catholic family and all is not love and light between the siblings and parents, although it is obvious that most of them put up facades and pretend to be a part of the clan. Over the course of a year, Mace faces many challenges and learns more about who she is, and actually moves to find comfort in being her own person. I would not call this book "chick lit" and I definitely wouldn't call it a romance. More of a sly, acerbic coming of age story.
Leigh K Cunningham does an interesting job of illustrating the lead character, Mace, as being seriously emotionally damaged as a result of the end of her marriage, due to her infidelity, and the following unexpected death of her ex-husband. I appreciated the use of quotes from Ocar Wilde and am now reading one of his books. I read that another reader found the lead character to be almost narcissistic, but I differ. This character is so emotionally wounded that she cannot allow herself to step outside of the life that she thinks she is deemed to live because of her perceived inability to be acceptable. Rather than loving herself and seeing only herself, she cannot allow herself to have the fullness of life that comes from connection with others - it appears to be a form self-deprivation or punishment.
This writer is definitely accomplished. While she portrays the nature of how this character relates to others, I wondered if I was getting a little peek inside some elements of Australian culture.
At, perhaps, the most poignant moment in the book, I discovered that this author's writing resonated with me in a way that I was not expecting. I burst into tears and realized I was moved to think about some of my own pain and loss in life. I was not expecting this at all!
This book is worth reading.
I rarely write reviews (I'd rather read books!) but this is an outstanding novel that deserves 5 stars and then some. This is the rare book that truly does make the reader laugh and cry, and then laugh and cry again. Told in first person, the book quotes Oscar Wilde liberally, but many of the author's own observations rival the wit and self-examination of Wilde. For example, on finding herself tempted to "crack [the gym's personal trainer] across his pompous nasal bridge" "I prefer to battle with my wit, but this is not always possible when dealing with one less blessed". Regarding men "God is ironic, I concluded, for he gave men strength, egos, and higher wages then humbled them with a scrotum".
If I have a criticism of the novel it would be that, despite the often perfect fit of the Oscar Wilde bon mots, the author should have forced herself to reduce their frequency. The sheer quantity of quotes occasionally disrupted the flow of the story. But a wonderful story it was, and wonderfully told. The character is so likeable, witty and honest that I would have been well entertained even if she had experienced no personal growth at all, but without resorting to sentimentality or cliche, the author allowed the heroine to learn to forgive and accept herself. It was a healing experience for the character AND the reader, and an example we could all follow.
People are the worst and sometimes (or most of the time) it's better to spend time alone. Being Anti-Social by Leigh Cunningham explores one woman's experience with her friends and family and her anti-social perspective.
Mace is one of five children and she adheres to the thought that middle children have particular personality traits that drive their behavior. When her older sister calls her anti-social, this affects her psyche and drives her to act antagonistically toward her sister. Nearing 40, Mace has had some upsets in her life in the affair she had while married and the death of her husband after their separation. Getting her life back to the level it was before all this occurred seems impossible but her friends and family attempt to help her regardless of what she wants.
While the specific setting of a story isn't always vital to the narrative, bringing clarity to it ought to be done in an effective manner so as to not shock readers. I was unaware it was Australia due to lack of outside clues until the Mace brought it up in relation to the traveling she's done and then some of the linguistic choices made sense. While pegged as a humorous, chick-lit story, I found it to be neither of those things - with the majority of the humor coming from Oscar Wilde quotations - and instead a relatively serious introspection into the psyche of Mace's life and grief, sprinkled with a conservative amount of levity through some of Mace's observations.
Overall, I'd give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars.
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