I remember once, years ago, I couldn't finish a book. That book was "Daniel Deronda" (over 800 pages) by George Eliot, and I was about 11. Years later, it still rankled that I hadn't managed to finish that book, so I tackled Eliot's multi-plot Victorian novel and finished it in the late 80s when I was old enough to appreciate it. Finishing a book is a point of pride with me, so I am ashamed to say that I couldn't finish "Maiden." I tried, believe me, I tried. I either fell asleep, lost my place on the page, or thought of the many, many excuses why I had to put the book down. I thought this book was supposed to be funny--it was tedious and boring. It was so abstract, it really abstracted itself into oblivion. My conclusion was that there are so many good books out there, why did I have to put myself through reading this! Yawn!!!

I couldn't even bring myself to get past the first few chapters of this book. I haven't not finished a book in so long, but the writing style was so choppy and uneven, the plot was hard to get into. I found myself not really caring what happened to the characters, so I gave up. I'm not saying it was a bad book...evidently there are a few people who enjoyed it, but it just wasn't for me. I have read too many great books in the chick-lit genre lately that started great and got me hooked the first few pages. This one didn't.

I can agree with the criticism of "Maiden"....the prose was a little grating, the writing style a little annoying, the era a little dated. But in the end, despite all its irritating qualities (and there were many), there was something about "Maiden" that I liked......somewhere underneath its gimmicky and disjointed style, it had a beating heart, and told a story of lonely spinsterhood (set against the back drop of the swinging seventies) with humor and sensitivity. As far as recomendations go, this book is definately not for everybody, but if you're up for something different and have the patience for less-than-linear storytelling, then its definatly worth a look.