Dating Big Bird: A Novel

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Laura Zigman writes excellently. Her characters are believable as woman with real-world issues, and she adds just the right about wry humor to the story to make you laugh aloud (I did!) The best thing about Zigman is I can relate to her characters, as I am sure many other woman can, too. This book (though once you get half way through the epilogue it becomes a bit predictable) will keep you wondering what is going to happen to Ellen Franck and will have you believing she is one of us.

I read this book in two sittings - in itself a testament to her skills. It was funny, smart, and real. I especially loved the MAMMO part, I myself would like a necklace like that. I look forward to her next work.....

Ellen Frank is a 35 year-old woman who likens her reproductive system to a gumball machine, and the gumballs are running out. Having devoted most of her adult life to a career in the fast-paced yet shallow world of fashion, Ellen now finds a little voice telling her theyre just clothes more often than she is comfortable with. Moreover, she finds herself absolutely smitten with her 3 year old niece, whom she affectionately refers to as The Pickle. Ellen desperately longs for a Pickle of her own, but her Pickle-producing-profile is not promising. Malcolm, The man in her life is a compassionate and funny companion. The best one Ellens ever had. Except hes a Prozac-induced impotent. Oh yeah, and her doesnt want kids. His lifes is your basic tragedy: his only son died of leukemia, he became an alcoholic and his wife left him. Hes frozen, unable to escape the dark shadows of his past. And yet Ellen loves him.She just doesnt know if she can get a baby out of him. I had trouble putting down this funny, lively book. Zigman does a wonderful job navigating Ellens emotional roller coaster as she tries to determine how to become a mother, and who to include on her journey. It is a satisfying, feel-good read.

For whatever reason, I find myself reading a lot of chick lit lately. Considering that my first love is horror, Im finding it interesting to read the same things that so many of my friends are reading. I got this book without ever intending to read it, but I opened it and had to finish it. Ellen Franck is yet another in a long line of successful, single, and neurotic New York City residents to grace the pages of novels in recent years. She works for a world-famous designer, and she dates Malcolm, a professor who is profound, kind, and impotent in more ways than one as a result of the death of his son. Now Ellen finds herself staring down the dark side of thirty-five and contemplating her future. She knows one thing: She wants a baby. She is crazy for her niece, Nicole (The Pickle), and she experiences heartbreak everytime she sees someone pushing a stroller on the street. What is a thirty-something gal to do when she doesnt have a viable partner to help her create a Little Pickle of her own? Well, if youre Ellen, you give yourself nine months to thoroughly research all your options, to drive everyone around you insane with baby talk, and to continue to obsess about every small detail of your life. This is a super-fast read (I finished it in just a few hours), and it doesnt require a lot of deep thought. There are no life mysteries resolved in these pages, but Zigman manages to make this an amusing, fun read that is probably perfect to read on a day at the beach or in a few hours curled up on your sofa on a rainy day. Aside from Ellens own obsessions, there arent a lot of complex issues at work here. Also, if you are one of the women in her 30s who has never felt that desire to create a Little Pickle (like me), you might find it difficult to relate to Ellens quest. Warning: This is the epitome of Chick Lit, and I dont think testosterone is allowed to open the cover. (mellion108 from Michigan)

Only read this book if you are single and consider having babies to be the meaning of life. The books protagonist is completely obsessed with having a baby, with or without a man, and the entire book focuses on her baby obsession. Her view is that nothing else in life is more important than having a baby and that its not worth waiting for the right man to have a baby with. To enjoy this book you would have to buy into the philosophy that a baby is panacea for a disappointing career and bad relationships with men. This fueled an anti-baby obsession in me, the whole time I was reading the book I was thinking, there is so much more to life than having babies... Laura Zigmans first book, Animal Husbandry, was excellent and remains a favorite for its dry humor and applicability to single life.

This is a good beach read. Expect to fly through the easy to handle prose, laugh at many jokes, and not have your life changed in any significant way. This is hardly fine literature, but a good break from more challenging writing. Animal Husbandry was much better.

From the title of this book, I figured it would be a light summer read, just what I was looking for. After all, when The Pickle told Auntie La-La that Big Bird was just what the 35-year-old needed when she was lonely at night, I could relate. A three year old sometimes knows what is best for her! It was a mostly funny and sometimes poignant look at the old ticking clock theme with a totally fantasy ending. Ah! Just what we romantics need once in awhile to break up the monotony of all that cynicism.

I found the language very offensive, gratuitously so in a way that did not move the plot forward. Specific to one minority, using slurs.

This novel strived for a deep message but seemed to miss the mark, at least to me. I would suppose that it could be considered empowering, in a sense, but it had the same Hollywood fairytale ending they all do. It was a decent book, and I finished it in one night. I have nothing really bad to say about it, but its certainly not thought provoking literature or worthy of excessive praise. If you need a little escapism fluff to read on the beach or while waiting at the docs office, here it is.