Too narrow. Very funny, though. I think the really great parts - strange narrative structure and the individual hang-ups and quirks of each family member - end up making too many walls, and Murphy doesn't have the precision to execute without any [b:elbow room|538059|Elbow Room|James Alan McPherson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175628629s/538059.jpg|183367]. ( )

Another one of those books about New York, but this one isn't lame. The narrative voice is strong and individual, the detail sparse and effective, and the feeling understated and a little raw. Worth it. ( )

Three stars? Four stars? It was a difficult choice. While it contained some exceptional writing, I searched in vain for a plot. Perhaps that was the intention of the author. The narrator is a young girl growing up in poverty in New York City in the 1970's. She is never given a name and many others also remain nameless. The mother is always "our mother." While her sisters have names, I never recall the brother being anyone other than "our brother." Rather humorously, the father's girlfriend, who is a rather significant character in the book, is always referred to as "the slut." The book is worth four stars for literary value, but since I really did not enjoy reading it and was glad when I finished it, the final verdict was three stars. (For those who may be interested, it is a McSweeney's publication.) ( )

I almost put this down after the first 20 pages; it read like a spoof of an mfa fiction thesis. But I'm very very happy I didn't. So ably written -- we never learn the name of the young girl protagonist but she appears almost in negative as the space around her is filled in: an apartment filled with sacks of garbage, lecherous hot-dog sellers, a majestic police horse whose connection with our narrator highlights the distance between her and horse-loving literary girls before her. ( )

A story of a dysfunctional family, New York City, 1970s. Narrated by a 13 year old, intelligent, precocious girl. If you liked "Lullabies for Little Criminals", you will probably like this one, too.

I enjoyed this book, and the writing kept me turning those pages, waiting to see how everyone would make out in the end. In retrospect, this is somewhat surprising, since most of the characters are not well developed ... I don't even know how old the narrator's two sisters are! But, the voice of the 13-year-old narrator rang true, whether dealing with mundane issues, or with divorce, sexual abuse or attempted suidice. That is the real strength of this writing -- the portrayal of the main character -- which was able to compensate for the fact that every other character was a bit "fuzzy". ( )