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The Late Bloomer's Revolution
The Late Bloomer's Revolution
Author: Amy Cohen
The debut of a sparkling and reassuring memoirist -- an inspiration to late bloomers everywhere -- "I like to consider myself a late bloomer, meaning someone who will eventually, however late, come into bloom. Although when and if I will bloom remains a mystery. I wish I knew how to speak a foreign language fluently. I wish I knew how to cook a ...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780786888177
ISBN-10: 0786888172
Publication Date: 7/15/2008
Pages: 304
Rating:
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 23

3.4 stars, based on 23 ratings
Publisher: Hyperion
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 1
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Late Bloomer's Revolution on + 36 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
The first paragraph of Chapter 1 begins: "I grew up thinking my mother had the answer to everything. Watch any black-and-white film and she always knew some obscure fact about an actor with one line. `See the fishmonger behind the ox, the one who's yelling, "Slay the hunchback!" she'd say. `His name was Skids Monroe. He came out of the Yiddish theater and was tragically maimed in a Ferris wheel accident."` From a reader's point of view, I like paragraphs like this because you start in one place (in front of a household television) and end up somewhere completely unexpected (the scene of a Ferris wheel ride gone awry). This particular example may be a touch morbid, but you have to admit, it's also interesting. Thankfully, Amy's mom knew others things as well, like words. "`The term "steatopygous" means characterized by fat around the hips,'" Amy recalls her mother saying in paragraph two. "It was once considered not cellulite, but a highly desirable benchmark of fertility! Remember that the next time you say you look hideous in a bathing suit."

"The Late Bloomer's Revolution" is filled with chuckle-worthy moments like this, which makes it all the more heart wrenching when, for instance, Amy's mother finally succumbs to her illness. I would lament the end of a relationship in one moment, then laugh at Cohen's ability to bring humor to a bad situation in the next. For instance, one day she went to the dry cleaners only to have the service woman greet her with "Oh God! What that on your face? You burn in grease fire?" - which is how Amy discovered the onset of a serious rash that marred her face and kept her homebound for almost a year. Yet despite such upheavals Amy's humor shines through, turning what could have been a "look at all the awful things that have happened to me" memoir into a poignant, thought-provoking account of one woman's search for love in New York city.
scrapbooklady avatar reviewed The Late Bloomer's Revolution on + 472 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
"The Late Bloomer's Revolution"book is funny, witty and well-written I especially enjoyed Cohen's sarcasm and wit throughout the book as she wanders through the world of dating. There were many times that I laughed out loud, though I do appreciate pretty heavy sarcasm...Worth reading.
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bettybargain1315 avatar reviewed The Late Bloomer's Revolution on + 3 more book reviews
I have read this book a number of times. It is a touching, funny memoir. Down-to-earth and honest with moving portraits of her mom and dad, and of course, herself, a single gal in New York City. Highly recommend.
kaatee avatar reviewed The Late Bloomer's Revolution on
The ending is wonderful!


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