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	How to Be Single: A Novel Liz Tuccillo Atria, 2008 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 22 reviews view larger image
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On a brisk October morning in New York, Julie Jenson, a single thirty-eight-yearold book publicist, is on her way to work when she gets a hysterical phone call from her friend Georgia. Reeling from her husband's announcement that he is leaving her for a samba teacher, Georgia convinces a reluctant Julie to organize a fun girls' night out with all their single friends to remind her why it is so much fun not to be tied down.

But the night, which starts with steaks and martinis and ends with a trip to the hospital, becomes a wake-up call for Julie. Because none of her friends seems to be having much fun right now: Alice, a former legal aid attorney, has recently quit her job to start dating for a living; Serena is so busy becoming a fully realized person that she can't find time to look for a mate; and Ruby, a curvy and compassionate woman, has been mourning the death of her cat for months.

So, fed up with the dysfunction and disappointments of being single in Manhattan, Julie quits her job and sets off to find out how women around the world are dealing with this dreaded phenomenon. From Paris to Rio to Sydney, Bali, Beijing, Mumbai, and Reykjav'k, Julie falls in love, gets her heart broken, sees the world, and learns more than she ever dreamed possible. Back in New York, her friends are grappling with their own issues -- bad blind dates, loveless engagements, custody battles, and single motherhood. Through their journeys, all these women fight to redefine their vision of love, happiness, and a fulfilled life.

Written in Liz Tuccillo's pitch-perfect, hilarious, and relatable voice, How to Be Single is the ultimate novel for the adventurer in us all.

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From S. Krishna's Books

How to Be Single by Liz Tuccillo has a simple premise: how do women all over the world handle being single? Unfortunately for Julie, a publicist living in New York City, the answer is much more complicated than the question. After watching the unsuccessful love lives of her three closest friends, Julie decides that it is time that someone discerns the answer to this probing question. After pitching the idea of a book to her boss, Julie embarks on a quest around the world to discover how women cope with the gut-wrenching pain of being a single woman in today's society.

Back at home, Julie's three friends lead their own hectic lives. Georgia's husband, Dale, recently left her for a much younger woman, and Georgia is desperately trying to stay afloat while managing their two young children. Serena decides to join an ashram, taking a vow of celibacy, but that vow is much harder to keep than she realizes. And Ruby, poor, emotional Ruby, has decided that she can't keep investing so much in relationships that turn into nothing. As Julie's quest draws these three women closer, they, too, learn how to be single in the wide world of New York City.

Does this premise sound familiar? If it does, you aren't alone; How to Be Single is a healthy mix of Sex and the City and Eat, Pray, Love. Liz Tuccillo was the head writer and executive story editor on the HBO series Sex and the City, so it is understandable why the book resembles the show. Even the characters are reminiscent of the famous New York City women; to start with, there are four of them. Julie, like Carrie, is a writer (well, to be fair, Julie is a publicist at the beginning of the novel, then becomes a writer). Alice treats dating like Samantha treats her trysts with men; both are a full-time job. Ruby is reminiscent of over-emotional Charlotte. Serena, however, is not much like Miranda.

Julie visits France, Italy, Australia, Indonesia, India, and a few other destinations. In Liz Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love, she makes trips to Italy, Indonesia, and India. Because of this, it is sometimes easy to forget that How to Be Single is actually fiction; Tuccillo's writing style makes it seem like a memoir.

Julie's travels are fun, her experiences memorable. Considering that Tuccillo traveled extensively to many of the destinations mentioned in this book, it is interesting to hear the perspective of other women around the world on the subject of being single. It is also heart-wrenching in some places; the fear of not finding a significant other is a real and potent source of despair for many women.

In the end, of course, it has an uplifting message that is a bit unexpected, considering Julie's views throughout the book. It is safe to say that any fan of either Eat, Pray, Love or Sex and the City will enjoy How to Be Single. Though I can't say that it is a unique book, Liz Tuccillo's novel is fun and enjoyable read that any fan of chick lit should be happy to pick up.

Originally published at Curled Up With a Good Book

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Not the most exciting read

In Liz Tuccillo's "How to Be Single: A Novel," Julie embarked on a journey around the world to interview single women and to understand how they deal with dating and love. Since her closest friends in New York City are single, Julie was curious to know how different or similar the other single women were to them. With an advance from her boss for a book she will be writing, Julie traveled to countries such as Italy, France, Australia, China, and India to do her investigation. In the midst of her journey, Julie fell in love with Thomas, a Frenchman who was also married. The book also covered Julie's girlfriends in New York (who were in their late thirties) and their attempt to find true love.

This was an okay read to me. The premise of the book seemed interesting, but the author was unable to engage her readers throughout the book. It read like a collection of short stories sometime. The characters seemed too one-dimension to me as their sole focus was to find a husband. It would have been nice if the author was able to also factor in family and/or career into their lives. Very average.

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Only An Okay Read for Me.

The narrator, Julie, embarks on a journey around the world to interview single women and to understand how they deal with dating and love. Her closest friends in New York City are single and Julie is curious to know how different or similar other single women around the world are to them.

With an advance from her boss for a book she will be writing, Julie travels to several different countries to do her investigating. Meanwhile, back at home in New York, her friends are also trying to sort out their love lives, or lack there of, and plan for their futures.

I liked this book but it seemed to stop short of being a great read for me. Like some other readers, I felt that the trips around the world were too similar to the book Eat, Pray, Love. All in all, it was an okay book and I enjoyed the stories of the women's frienship with one another more so than their quest for love.

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Great writer...not-so-great-novelist.

When I first began reading this book, I raved about her talent on my blog.

Somewhere between the beginning and the end, it all got away from the author, big-time stylee.

I'm guessing that she made the decision to write this in novel form instead of as another non-fiction piece (co-writing 'He's Just Not That Into You') based on wanting to branch out. The problem is that while the core material possesses many strengths, when she tried to 'novelize' it, a lot got lost in translation.

Never mind the fact that what starts out as a perfectly written piece of chick-lit takes some pretty maudlin turns and ends up as... Well, as stuff that might have worked had it been 'true'. But because this is 'fiction', much of it falls flat on its face.

As I kept reading, my dread grew, my suspicions that what began so well would end badly confirmed with each turn of the page.

This project was beyond her. A novel is a piece of long-form *storytelling*. Ms Tuccillo's editor needs to be smacked...while Liz herself needs a refresher course in consistency of style and tone as well as the basic points of 'How To Write A Good Story'.

In the end, there was no 'there', there, despite her having shone the spotlight on some truths, and provided a good number of chuckles...and tears.

Better luck next time. (And a better editor, too.)

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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