Reviews

I found this a very interesting and refreshing read after [b:Moll Flanders|38262|Moll Flanders|Daniel Defoe|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169091208s/38262.jpg|3214982], especially as the protagonists of both were isolated women without families who share an affinity for men. WHat differs is the fact that Mabel finds herself a purpose to her life, which Moll fails to do.
Mabel's journey takes many twists and turns which in every example prove charming and all the moreso due to their true inspiration/basis. Mabel truly is a character I found likeable as well as quirky and full of life - exactly the kind of woman that would have been inspirational in the 1920s antebellum.

QUOTATIONS I LIKED:
"Seems we don't have one mind but two, one we know about and one we don't, and the one we know about isn't necessarily the one in charge."

"Often I feel like I've got two angels following me around, one good and one bad, neither one of them gentle, and they were duking it out that day. Question is, was it the good angel decided I was going to live, or was it the bad one?"

amotisse's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Audio books have definitely enhanced my appreciation of reading and good reader transforms a story into an experience!

Mabel Stark's life was certainly exceptional and Betty Bobbitt brings it to life with humour and emotion, in a way not possible had I read it myself.

Extraordinary!

jasmines_nook's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

4.0

saroz162's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

What a very peculiar novel. For one thing, when I bought it, I didn't realize Mabel Stark was a real person - and that kind of threw a shadow over the whole book. This is just too salacious and crazy a story to feel entirely comfortable as a fictionalized autobiography, especially when the subject is A) only moderately well-known, and B) only recently dead. 1968 isn't yesterday, but I'm sure there are still people alive who knew and maybe even worked with Mabel Stark. Since the author admits in the afterword that he changed certain things to fit the story, as well as filling in blanks, how much of this is real? What about the numerous, and rather descriptive sexual details? As a piece of fiction it's an enjoyable, if episodic book, with a unique narrative voice - but as "fictional non-fiction" it's a bit...iffy.

dontpanic42's review against another edition

Go to review page

I don't see what the fuss is about on this one. To my eye, the author lacks any real sense of narrative and character development. The narrator herself doesn't even seem to register as a player in her own life. There's nothing in the first 30 or so pages to make the reader wonder or care about the story-teller or what happens in her life. After all, it's hard to take interest when she herself hardly seems to take interest. Myself, I gave up on her; too many good books in the world still to read.

meganstreb's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I loved this book. I don't know why it took me so long to pick it back up. Mabel is fascinating, I wonder what she'd think of the book, and what other stories she'd have to tell.

gjmaupin's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Good stuff - circus novel based on the life of a KY native. A terrific character and a nice combination of well-researched & imaginative.

More...