What do you think?
Rate this book
Penelope
When Penelope O'Shaunessy steps into Harvard Yard for the first time she has lots of advice from her mother. "Don't be too enthusiastic, don't talk to people who seem to be getting annoyed, and for heaven's sake, stop playing Tetris on your phone at parties." Penelope needs this advice. She is the kind of girl who passes through much of her life with coffee spilled on her white shirt, who can't quite tell when people are joking, and who, inevitably, always says the wrong thing. But no amount of coaching will prepare Penelope for the people she meets at school.
Capturing the social hierarchy of Harvard, gloriously skewing the various college types, and skillfully parodying the pretentiousness of academia, Penelope is the ridiculous, snarky, brilliantly funny story of one of the most singular, memorable heroines in recent fiction.
Capturing the social hierarchy of Harvard, gloriously skewing the various college types, and skillfully parodying the pretentiousness of academia, Penelope is the ridiculous, snarky, brilliantly funny story of one of the most singular, memorable heroines in recent fiction.
274 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2012
About the author
Rebecca Harrington
8 books132 followersRebecca Harrington is a writer living in New York City.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 599 reviews
July 29, 2013
Get this book the fuck out of my life.
I made it through 80 pages—80 pages of aimless meandering, of uninteresting descriptions, of the worst, most stilted dialogue (she doesn't use any goddamn contractions in her dialogue!), 80 pages of wondering if the main character is autistic or just completely unrealistically obtuse, of waiting for something—ANYTHING—to happen.
And then I got to this:
"Isn't that kind of like Marathon Man or something?" She started laughing her silent laugh.
Penelope waited until she finished. Then she said, "But I just do not like literary magazines."
Why is that so bad? Because they are talking on the phone.
Therefore: How did Penelope know that she was silently laughing? How did she know when the silent laugh was finished??
She didn't. She couldn't.
This is beyond sloppy writing, this is just not giving a flying fuck about how sloppy your writing is. Did this book even have an editor, or a copyeditor, or a proofreader? Did Ms. Harrington not even have a close-reading friend or even her goddamn mother to run this by before publication??
I'm embarrassed for Vintage. I'm embarrassed for Rebecca Harrington. I'm embarrassed that I wasted 80 pages of my reading life on this shitty fucking book.
I made it through 80 pages—80 pages of aimless meandering, of uninteresting descriptions, of the worst, most stilted dialogue (she doesn't use any goddamn contractions in her dialogue!), 80 pages of wondering if the main character is autistic or just completely unrealistically obtuse, of waiting for something—ANYTHING—to happen.
And then I got to this:
"Isn't that kind of like Marathon Man or something?" She started laughing her silent laugh.
Penelope waited until she finished. Then she said, "But I just do not like literary magazines."
Why is that so bad? Because they are talking on the phone.
Therefore: How did Penelope know that she was silently laughing? How did she know when the silent laugh was finished??
She didn't. She couldn't.
This is beyond sloppy writing, this is just not giving a flying fuck about how sloppy your writing is. Did this book even have an editor, or a copyeditor, or a proofreader? Did Ms. Harrington not even have a close-reading friend or even her goddamn mother to run this by before publication??
I'm embarrassed for Vintage. I'm embarrassed for Rebecca Harrington. I'm embarrassed that I wasted 80 pages of my reading life on this shitty fucking book.
August 16, 2012
I went into reading this book with an open mind. Sure, I wasn't socially awkward and incapable of making friends in college, but I did have some issues that I had to adapt to and that is entirely what I expected of Penelope. I expected her to adapt. She didn't. She spends the entire novel getting steamrolled over by her "friends" and her mother--she never stands up for herself or disagrees vehemently with anyone, she just gives up and acquiesces, every SINGLE TIME.
I'm finding this disturbing theme running throughout modern adolescent/adult literature where female lead characters have little to no discernible personality traits, and I find the same problem all throughout Penelope. She likes a few movies and Whitney Houston, but what does she like to DO? Who does she like to be around? It's like she's detached herself so violently from the real world that she'll have company just for the sake of having company, even if she doesn't like the people she's with. Does she like Ted? Does she like Catherine? Does she like living!?
The novel infuriated me. I was expecting something to happen, for Penelope to wake the F%&$ up and start asserting herself, for her to tell Emma off, for her to tell Gustav where to shove his pipe. It never happened. The novel ended as it began--with socially awkward Penelope making socially awkward statements and acting like she doesn't know how to be around people.
God, it was terrible. I will give Harrington credit in one aspect, however. Her portrayal of the stuck-up bourgeois elite of Harvard was spot-on, and the things they said was laugh-out-loud accurate. Well done.
Other than that, I spiked the book into the floor with vehemence after it was finished, and I won't recommend it to anyone.
I'm finding this disturbing theme running throughout modern adolescent/adult literature where female lead characters have little to no discernible personality traits, and I find the same problem all throughout Penelope. She likes a few movies and Whitney Houston, but what does she like to DO? Who does she like to be around? It's like she's detached herself so violently from the real world that she'll have company just for the sake of having company, even if she doesn't like the people she's with. Does she like Ted? Does she like Catherine? Does she like living!?
The novel infuriated me. I was expecting something to happen, for Penelope to wake the F%&$ up and start asserting herself, for her to tell Emma off, for her to tell Gustav where to shove his pipe. It never happened. The novel ended as it began--with socially awkward Penelope making socially awkward statements and acting like she doesn't know how to be around people.
God, it was terrible. I will give Harrington credit in one aspect, however. Her portrayal of the stuck-up bourgeois elite of Harvard was spot-on, and the things they said was laugh-out-loud accurate. Well done.
Other than that, I spiked the book into the floor with vehemence after it was finished, and I won't recommend it to anyone.
August 12, 2012
Not sure why I invested the time to read this - the main character is more painful to follow than sticking needles in your eyeballs.
Shelved as 'wishlist'
April 20, 2020The ratings for this book are abysmal and that makes me want to read it more
June 9, 2024
My college had its freshman orientation over one weekend in the summer, and they had it in waves according to where you fell in the alphabet. You showed up, took your placement exams, met with an advisor, planned your schedule, and then stayed in the dorms to socialize with soon-to-be fellow classmates. It was snack-sized college experence, in preparation for the big collegiate candy bar that, I assumed, would be chockablock with exciting Nuts of Life Experience. (If you are allergic to nuts, then chocablock with life-experience marshmallows or . . . sea salt. Toffee? Doesn't matter.)
I remember taking the placement exams and poring over the course book, probably because that was the most fun I had all weekend. And I mean that--it was legitimately fun, and I was legitimately good at it; if success meant figuring out how to find a fluffy science requirement like The Wide World of Birds, then pssshhhht! This life thing was in the bag.
But that weekend wasn't about just finding science requirements and testing out of French. It was also about making friends. That's where things started to get dicey. I ended up in a single room, but you know what, nbd, I would go to the friends! The friends were just waiting to be found. And yet as I walked around the campus, there was a problem I had not foreseen--everyone already seemed to HAVE friends. Some people had entire dorm rooms of friends, dinner tables of friends. Some had entire VOLLEYBALL TEAMS of friends, and no one seemed to need one more.
I lingered in a lot of doorways that weekend and introduced myself to people who didn't care. I sat around looking invested in things in the hopes it would seem like I had a vivid and exciting internal life so someone would come up and chat, but no one did. It remains one of the most profoundly lonely weekends of my life, and one of the most terrifying, because it was the weekend I realized that things don't automatically change because you made it through high school. Why, oh why, had I not made more friends from high school who had also chosen this state school and whose last name also, coincidentally, began with R? No one told me!
I am forcing everyone down memory lane like this because I don't know if I've ever read a book that captures this feeling of expectations vs. reality as well as PENELOPE, an absolutely delightful and highly absurdist caricature of one girl's freshman year at Harvard that also manages to hit a whole lot of truths about the college experience in general. In many ways, Penelope works like a mini-Liz Lemon; she's profoundly odd--just ask her about the car seat, about which she wrote her application essay, or Hercule Poirot, the fictional detective she has a crush on--but she's also an everygirl with a keen observational eye.
The book is mostly structured as Penelope's picaresque adventures through the clubs and various social groups of Harvard. She sings Aliyah's "Try Again" at chorus tryouts, dresses as a Lost Boy for the literary magazine's Peter Pan-themed annual party, and is somehow sucked into the school's modern reinterpritation of Caligula, in which there are two Caligula's--one male, one female--marionettes, and a scene where people hit pianos with belts. Throughout it all, there are several romantic prospects, including the mysterious Gustav, who is incredibly handsome, although his grandparents were probably Nazis. Guys, I love him. I love him, okay? The scene where he and Penelope are pulling an all-nighter and writing many Red-Bull inspired paragraphs about the forests of Luxembourg may be my favorite scene, ever.
It is hard to pull off this level of satire without stumbling into parody, but Harrington does it with style to spare. This is another book that I was sad to see end, mostly because I was having so much fun with the jokes and one-liners. There is no statistical way that I won't get giddy about a book that includes the following lines:
Even if pilgrims didn't actually live in this building in particular, it still looked as if they could have. That was all that Penelope could have desired.
She put up her posters, which mainly consisted of one five-foot-wide panorama of Diego Luna doing a split on the set of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights--which Penelope had decided would be an excellent conversation topic, because that is a movie that everone likes.
He was sort of good-looking too, like a Roman senator who was sensitive and unused to fighting wars.
Ted asked her about Gustav all the time. He seemed to take great triumph in being right about him, like the narrator in Tess of the D’Ubervilles.
And there are about twenty million others--but I probably need to wrap up this review sometime, so I will say this.
My college life turned into something okay, but not perfect. And that's where Harrington decides to leave Penelope, too, and the book feels more universal for it, even if by that time I had fallen so much in love with the character that a part of me wanted more resolution. But I guess college is not about resolution, more about beginnings, and that's what we have here.
In conclusion, this book is great; frothy and fun and keenly smart all at the same time.
I remember taking the placement exams and poring over the course book, probably because that was the most fun I had all weekend. And I mean that--it was legitimately fun, and I was legitimately good at it; if success meant figuring out how to find a fluffy science requirement like The Wide World of Birds, then pssshhhht! This life thing was in the bag.
But that weekend wasn't about just finding science requirements and testing out of French. It was also about making friends. That's where things started to get dicey. I ended up in a single room, but you know what, nbd, I would go to the friends! The friends were just waiting to be found. And yet as I walked around the campus, there was a problem I had not foreseen--everyone already seemed to HAVE friends. Some people had entire dorm rooms of friends, dinner tables of friends. Some had entire VOLLEYBALL TEAMS of friends, and no one seemed to need one more.
I lingered in a lot of doorways that weekend and introduced myself to people who didn't care. I sat around looking invested in things in the hopes it would seem like I had a vivid and exciting internal life so someone would come up and chat, but no one did. It remains one of the most profoundly lonely weekends of my life, and one of the most terrifying, because it was the weekend I realized that things don't automatically change because you made it through high school. Why, oh why, had I not made more friends from high school who had also chosen this state school and whose last name also, coincidentally, began with R? No one told me!
I am forcing everyone down memory lane like this because I don't know if I've ever read a book that captures this feeling of expectations vs. reality as well as PENELOPE, an absolutely delightful and highly absurdist caricature of one girl's freshman year at Harvard that also manages to hit a whole lot of truths about the college experience in general. In many ways, Penelope works like a mini-Liz Lemon; she's profoundly odd--just ask her about the car seat, about which she wrote her application essay, or Hercule Poirot, the fictional detective she has a crush on--but she's also an everygirl with a keen observational eye.
The book is mostly structured as Penelope's picaresque adventures through the clubs and various social groups of Harvard. She sings Aliyah's "Try Again" at chorus tryouts, dresses as a Lost Boy for the literary magazine's Peter Pan-themed annual party, and is somehow sucked into the school's modern reinterpritation of Caligula, in which there are two Caligula's--one male, one female--marionettes, and a scene where people hit pianos with belts. Throughout it all, there are several romantic prospects, including the mysterious Gustav, who is incredibly handsome, although his grandparents were probably Nazis. Guys, I love him. I love him, okay? The scene where he and Penelope are pulling an all-nighter and writing many Red-Bull inspired paragraphs about the forests of Luxembourg may be my favorite scene, ever.
It is hard to pull off this level of satire without stumbling into parody, but Harrington does it with style to spare. This is another book that I was sad to see end, mostly because I was having so much fun with the jokes and one-liners. There is no statistical way that I won't get giddy about a book that includes the following lines:
Even if pilgrims didn't actually live in this building in particular, it still looked as if they could have. That was all that Penelope could have desired.
She put up her posters, which mainly consisted of one five-foot-wide panorama of Diego Luna doing a split on the set of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights--which Penelope had decided would be an excellent conversation topic, because that is a movie that everone likes.
He was sort of good-looking too, like a Roman senator who was sensitive and unused to fighting wars.
Ted asked her about Gustav all the time. He seemed to take great triumph in being right about him, like the narrator in Tess of the D’Ubervilles.
And there are about twenty million others--but I probably need to wrap up this review sometime, so I will say this.
My college life turned into something okay, but not perfect. And that's where Harrington decides to leave Penelope, too, and the book feels more universal for it, even if by that time I had fallen so much in love with the character that a part of me wanted more resolution. But I guess college is not about resolution, more about beginnings, and that's what we have here.
In conclusion, this book is great; frothy and fun and keenly smart all at the same time.
December 4, 2012
"Brilliantly funny? Unique? Refreshing?"
Please.
It took me days to finish this book. I usually give up on books when 1/3 through nothing is happening, but for the life of me, I don't know why I kept coming back to this dud.
I'm convinced that there was something wrong with Penelope. Or was this book supposed to be satirical humour? Did I miss something?
She was a dull kid who had NO interesting quality about her, a girl who seemed to be a blank canvas and had no ideas of her own, a girl who let people walk all over her.
Okay...Sure...OK...Oh...OK...
More so, what was the plot? Was it a love triangle? Penelope to discover herself? Penelope to figure out what the hell was wrong with her roommates?
Worst of all, the dialogue leaves A LOT to be desired. It was just...shitty.
The author should have used alternative words to "said" and "asked". There's a list somewhere on the Internet that assists writers in refraining from overusing these two words!
asked Ted...said Penelope...said Ted...asked Penelope...said Gustav...asked Catherine...said Emma...
It got on my nerves.
Some bits in the book were funny, but they did nothing to redeem the rest of it, considering the female lead came off as a vapid bimbo with no personality from start to finish.
The supporting characters were nothing remarkable, either, because Penelope didn't find them remarkable. Her roommates sucked, her dormmates were assholes, Ted was a stalker, Gustav was a rich airhead, and I hated every one of those snobby stuffed shirts.
Please.
It took me days to finish this book. I usually give up on books when 1/3 through nothing is happening, but for the life of me, I don't know why I kept coming back to this dud.
I'm convinced that there was something wrong with Penelope. Or was this book supposed to be satirical humour? Did I miss something?
She was a dull kid who had NO interesting quality about her, a girl who seemed to be a blank canvas and had no ideas of her own, a girl who let people walk all over her.
Okay...Sure...OK...Oh...OK...
More so, what was the plot? Was it a love triangle? Penelope to discover herself? Penelope to figure out what the hell was wrong with her roommates?
Worst of all, the dialogue leaves A LOT to be desired. It was just...shitty.
The author should have used alternative words to "said" and "asked". There's a list somewhere on the Internet that assists writers in refraining from overusing these two words!
asked Ted...said Penelope...said Ted...asked Penelope...said Gustav...asked Catherine...said Emma...
It got on my nerves.
Some bits in the book were funny, but they did nothing to redeem the rest of it, considering the female lead came off as a vapid bimbo with no personality from start to finish.
The supporting characters were nothing remarkable, either, because Penelope didn't find them remarkable. Her roommates sucked, her dormmates were assholes, Ted was a stalker, Gustav was a rich airhead, and I hated every one of those snobby stuffed shirts.
January 27, 2014
I loved this book. I realize that it is not for everyone, and I almost let the reviews deter me from reading it. If you don't appreciate dry humor, do not purchase this book.
I loved every character in this story because they represented the types of people that ACTUALLY EXIST. These were flawed, pretentious, self-involved individuals and at the end of the story you're left with the thought that maybe Penelope, who is meant to be the most awkward person in the entire story, is actually the only NORMAL one of them all.
It drew from college experiences that made me cringe because I remember living through them.
I laughed out loud multiple times throughout this book because Rebecca Harrington set up the humor and crassness flawlessly. It was subtle and easy to miss, but so freaking funny when you caught the moments. Each sentence fed the reader an idea and Harrington didn't force it down your throat, she let you draw from the story yourself.
I loved every character in this story because they represented the types of people that ACTUALLY EXIST. These were flawed, pretentious, self-involved individuals and at the end of the story you're left with the thought that maybe Penelope, who is meant to be the most awkward person in the entire story, is actually the only NORMAL one of them all.
It drew from college experiences that made me cringe because I remember living through them.
I laughed out loud multiple times throughout this book because Rebecca Harrington set up the humor and crassness flawlessly. It was subtle and easy to miss, but so freaking funny when you caught the moments. Each sentence fed the reader an idea and Harrington didn't force it down your throat, she let you draw from the story yourself.
March 31, 2013
How can a book make you sad and feel so wonderful at the same time?
First of all, disregard the synopsis. It gives you a wrong impression of what to expect. Penelope is funny, sure, but it's also perversely non-conformist. I've looked at other people's ratings on Goodreads, and you're either love it or hate it, because people don't get it in the same way they don't get Penelope herself in the book.
Penelope is a freshman at Harvard and she is considered nerdy and weird, this one quiet, agreeable and entirely forgettable girl. You know why? She is an odd duck in love with Hercule Poirot and has a very subtle sense of humour that nobody seems to get. Nobody seems to hear what she's saying to them either, not even her mother.
Everyone around her is entirely self-absorbed and full of crap. They talk about their careers, being edgy and modern, they are empty over-achievers and unfortunately Penelope can't make sense of the life happening around her. She tries to go with the flow and gravitates towards this group and the other, but nothing helps her to feel as someone who belongs. The sense of loneliness in the sea of people and pointlessness of it all is incredible.
Then she meets this fascinating European rich boy, Gustav, mad as a hatter and with a peculiar sense of humour. She has it in her head that if only they had some sort of relationship she can go on this great adventure, because she honestly doesn't have any certainty or goals in her life unlike her fellow freshmen.
Gustav... I can't even get angry with him, because he is rich, spoiled and utterly scatterbrained. He is very charming when he is with Penelope and forgets her when she is out of his line of sight. Crazy, flitting and delightfully bizarre. However, the relationship or shall I say non-relationship/make out sessions with him force Penelope little by little out of her shell, and by the end of the book the whole situation and how she deals with it gives her personality better definition.
I wish Rebecca Harrington wrote more books because I'm dying to know what will become of Penelope, and I just dearly loved the author's style of writing, subtle, ironic, out of the box and melancholy.
Very much recommended.
First of all, disregard the synopsis. It gives you a wrong impression of what to expect. Penelope is funny, sure, but it's also perversely non-conformist. I've looked at other people's ratings on Goodreads, and you're either love it or hate it, because people don't get it in the same way they don't get Penelope herself in the book.
Penelope is a freshman at Harvard and she is considered nerdy and weird, this one quiet, agreeable and entirely forgettable girl. You know why? She is an odd duck in love with Hercule Poirot and has a very subtle sense of humour that nobody seems to get. Nobody seems to hear what she's saying to them either, not even her mother.
Everyone around her is entirely self-absorbed and full of crap. They talk about their careers, being edgy and modern, they are empty over-achievers and unfortunately Penelope can't make sense of the life happening around her. She tries to go with the flow and gravitates towards this group and the other, but nothing helps her to feel as someone who belongs. The sense of loneliness in the sea of people and pointlessness of it all is incredible.
Then she meets this fascinating European rich boy, Gustav, mad as a hatter and with a peculiar sense of humour. She has it in her head that if only they had some sort of relationship she can go on this great adventure, because she honestly doesn't have any certainty or goals in her life unlike her fellow freshmen.
Gustav... I can't even get angry with him, because he is rich, spoiled and utterly scatterbrained. He is very charming when he is with Penelope and forgets her when she is out of his line of sight. Crazy, flitting and delightfully bizarre. However, the relationship or shall I say non-relationship/make out sessions with him force Penelope little by little out of her shell, and by the end of the book the whole situation and how she deals with it gives her personality better definition.
I wish Rebecca Harrington wrote more books because I'm dying to know what will become of Penelope, and I just dearly loved the author's style of writing, subtle, ironic, out of the box and melancholy.
Very much recommended.
February 6, 2013
First Thoughts:
I liked Penelope a lot. Sweet, funny and charming, Penelope has this delightfully oddball naivety, and she's a joy to read.
It’s not every day a book like Penelope finds itself in one’s hands – or mailbox. Accompanied not by a press release, but by a personalised note singing its praises and a double-sided page of gushing commendations from the staff of its Australian publisher, Penelope made grand promises, and charmed me from page one.
The Story:
Those of us who didn’t have our day in high school, are often advised to wait. That high school isn’t everything. That, eventually, the popular kids will wind up selling cars or hamburgers, while for us, the awkward, the quiet and the outsiders, the best is yet to come. As Elizabeth Halsey sagely advises in Bad Teacher, “I’m thinking college is your window.”
So it is, with years spent cultivating personality, peculiar anecdotes about car seats and a Tetris addiction to rival Elvis’ love of cheeseburgers, Penelope arrives at Harvard ready for her day. And her first year is going to be a very long day.
The 101:
Now. I loathe the word ‘quirky’ with an irrational intensity. Yet I can think of no term which better suits Penelope and its titular protagonist. With its sweet, intellectual humour and matter of fact whimsy, there is a touch of fairytale to its pages.
Penelope herself is a peculiar character, hapless and naïve, yet practical – somewhat. There’s something of Amelie to her and, despite claiming to loathe whimsy in all its forms at one point in the novel, she’s possessed of a certain matter-of-fact dreaminess which fits the word perfectly. What makes her so utterly charming is how relatable she is as a character. From her social awkwardness and proclivity for playing Tetris on her phone instead of talking to her vaguely neurotic way of seeing any given situation, I rather felt I knew Penelope as I know myself.
With the familiar tone of a humorous observer and a plot concerned not with what is happening, so much as to whom, Penelope has been likened to the work of Wes Anderson, and it is not difficult to see why. There’s a delightful incongruity between Harrington’s writing and the book’s semi-adult subject, and it is this which lends the book its fairytale leanings. After all, infant-eating witches are not light reading, but when told with childlike honesty it lends new perspective. Penelope is hardly this dark, but the deceptive simplicity and levity of its tone hides something sweeter and deeper.
The Verdict:
Penelope is not a love story, nor a coming of age story, but a simple insight into Penelope and her friends' life with often humorous honesty. With an affable and ‘quirky’ protagonist and Rebecca Harrington’s charming prose, Penelope's delightful naïveté will prove a welcome balm to all who have ever felt out of place.
I liked Penelope a lot. Sweet, funny and charming, Penelope has this delightfully oddball naivety, and she's a joy to read.
It’s not every day a book like Penelope finds itself in one’s hands – or mailbox. Accompanied not by a press release, but by a personalised note singing its praises and a double-sided page of gushing commendations from the staff of its Australian publisher, Penelope made grand promises, and charmed me from page one.
The Story:
Those of us who didn’t have our day in high school, are often advised to wait. That high school isn’t everything. That, eventually, the popular kids will wind up selling cars or hamburgers, while for us, the awkward, the quiet and the outsiders, the best is yet to come. As Elizabeth Halsey sagely advises in Bad Teacher, “I’m thinking college is your window.”
So it is, with years spent cultivating personality, peculiar anecdotes about car seats and a Tetris addiction to rival Elvis’ love of cheeseburgers, Penelope arrives at Harvard ready for her day. And her first year is going to be a very long day.
The 101:
Now. I loathe the word ‘quirky’ with an irrational intensity. Yet I can think of no term which better suits Penelope and its titular protagonist. With its sweet, intellectual humour and matter of fact whimsy, there is a touch of fairytale to its pages.
Penelope herself is a peculiar character, hapless and naïve, yet practical – somewhat. There’s something of Amelie to her and, despite claiming to loathe whimsy in all its forms at one point in the novel, she’s possessed of a certain matter-of-fact dreaminess which fits the word perfectly. What makes her so utterly charming is how relatable she is as a character. From her social awkwardness and proclivity for playing Tetris on her phone instead of talking to her vaguely neurotic way of seeing any given situation, I rather felt I knew Penelope as I know myself.
With the familiar tone of a humorous observer and a plot concerned not with what is happening, so much as to whom, Penelope has been likened to the work of Wes Anderson, and it is not difficult to see why. There’s a delightful incongruity between Harrington’s writing and the book’s semi-adult subject, and it is this which lends the book its fairytale leanings. After all, infant-eating witches are not light reading, but when told with childlike honesty it lends new perspective. Penelope is hardly this dark, but the deceptive simplicity and levity of its tone hides something sweeter and deeper.
The Verdict:
Penelope is not a love story, nor a coming of age story, but a simple insight into Penelope and her friends' life with often humorous honesty. With an affable and ‘quirky’ protagonist and Rebecca Harrington’s charming prose, Penelope's delightful naïveté will prove a welcome balm to all who have ever felt out of place.
January 2, 2013
The college experience has always been a popular premise for a lot of novels, but Penelope is one of the more clever and funny takes on it that I’ve read.
Here’s the publisher’s description:
When Penelope O’Shaunessy, “an incoming freshman of average height and lank hair” steps into Harvard Yard for the first time she has lots of advice from her mother: “Don’t be too enthusiastic, don’t talk to people who seem to be getting annoyed, and for heaven’s sake, stop playing Tetris on your phone at parties.” Penelope needs this advice. She is the kind of girl who passes through much of her life with coffee spilled on her white shirt, who can’t quite tell when people are joking, and who, inevitably, always says the wrong thing. But no amount of coaching will prepare Penelope for the people she meets at school.
If you didn’t gather this from the description above, Penelope has some social awkwardness. (During a meeting to find new members for the Harvard literary magazine, the editors ask the candidates what literary character they’d like “to fuck.” Penelope says “Moby-Dick.”) If you were in a class with her in college, you might not even notice her…except that when you did, you’d probably say she was weird. She’s earnest, but uncertain, and avoids saying too much because it seems to be more clever or logical in her head than it is out of her mouth. Some of the interactions between her and other students are so cringeworthy that I actually did cringe. Other times, the situations were so similar to ones that happened to me in school that it felt like a sick kind of deja vu.
No matter where you go to school, your freshman year is ripe for periods of loneliness or awkwardness. Roommates become best friends because there is strength in numbers and banding together is easier than the lone ranger alternative. Unfortunately, Penelope ends up with two of the most ridiculous roommates, each drawn from familiar college student stereotypes. One is borderline psychotic from parental pressure and the need to be accepted by the popular students, while the other doesn’t care at all—about anything or anyone. (Except for the feral cat she sneaks into the dorm.)
While the novel takes place at Harvard, it really could have been set anywhere. There are a few things that were Harvard-centric (or were maybe Ivy League satire?), but many of Penelope’s experiences seem universal. The absurd dramas, the angst about choosing a major, the does-he-or-doesn’t-he-like-me games and the stress about where to sit in the dining hall are all too familiar. But, those things could have been in a standard, semi-witty book about college being a rite of passage, blah blah blah. What’s different about this book—and what makes it so readable and likable—is Penelope being an unintentionally hilarious and unique heroine.
Here’s the publisher’s description:
When Penelope O’Shaunessy, “an incoming freshman of average height and lank hair” steps into Harvard Yard for the first time she has lots of advice from her mother: “Don’t be too enthusiastic, don’t talk to people who seem to be getting annoyed, and for heaven’s sake, stop playing Tetris on your phone at parties.” Penelope needs this advice. She is the kind of girl who passes through much of her life with coffee spilled on her white shirt, who can’t quite tell when people are joking, and who, inevitably, always says the wrong thing. But no amount of coaching will prepare Penelope for the people she meets at school.
If you didn’t gather this from the description above, Penelope has some social awkwardness. (During a meeting to find new members for the Harvard literary magazine, the editors ask the candidates what literary character they’d like “to fuck.” Penelope says “Moby-Dick.”) If you were in a class with her in college, you might not even notice her…except that when you did, you’d probably say she was weird. She’s earnest, but uncertain, and avoids saying too much because it seems to be more clever or logical in her head than it is out of her mouth. Some of the interactions between her and other students are so cringeworthy that I actually did cringe. Other times, the situations were so similar to ones that happened to me in school that it felt like a sick kind of deja vu.
No matter where you go to school, your freshman year is ripe for periods of loneliness or awkwardness. Roommates become best friends because there is strength in numbers and banding together is easier than the lone ranger alternative. Unfortunately, Penelope ends up with two of the most ridiculous roommates, each drawn from familiar college student stereotypes. One is borderline psychotic from parental pressure and the need to be accepted by the popular students, while the other doesn’t care at all—about anything or anyone. (Except for the feral cat she sneaks into the dorm.)
While the novel takes place at Harvard, it really could have been set anywhere. There are a few things that were Harvard-centric (or were maybe Ivy League satire?), but many of Penelope’s experiences seem universal. The absurd dramas, the angst about choosing a major, the does-he-or-doesn’t-he-like-me games and the stress about where to sit in the dining hall are all too familiar. But, those things could have been in a standard, semi-witty book about college being a rite of passage, blah blah blah. What’s different about this book—and what makes it so readable and likable—is Penelope being an unintentionally hilarious and unique heroine.
September 18, 2012
This is an enjoyable satire of Harvard and its Ivy League and uber entitled students. Penelope is a middle class oddball who recounts her freshman year at the big H. Penelope is completely out of touch with the elitist atmosphere of Harvard, whether it be academic or class elitism. She is a fish out of water and her mother is constantly nagging her to "join things" so she can find some friends. Penelope does connect somewhat reluctantly with some of her dorm mates and manages to get dragged in to an "existential" theater production of Caligula, directed by a very twee and aristocratic alumnus. She also begins hooking up with a Harvard princeling named Gustav, who indifferently calls her late at night for get-togethers. But Penelope does end up (sort of) getting it together by the end of freshman year.
The satire is great fun, although the chacterizations, although sharply drawn, lack depth. Penelope speaks in an oddly formal way, which does add to her oddball appeal, but is hardly realistic. The novel never really gets past the clever satire, which is sad, because Penelope could really have been a memorable character.
I'd recommend this one to fans of satire, especially academic satire. High school students would get a kick out of it too, especially those preparing for college.
The satire is great fun, although the chacterizations, although sharply drawn, lack depth. Penelope speaks in an oddly formal way, which does add to her oddball appeal, but is hardly realistic. The novel never really gets past the clever satire, which is sad, because Penelope could really have been a memorable character.
I'd recommend this one to fans of satire, especially academic satire. High school students would get a kick out of it too, especially those preparing for college.
September 9, 2012
Oh, cool
Oh, thanks
Oh, awesome
Oh, OK
Oh, bye
Oh, really
Oh, hi
Oh, yes
Oh, gee
Oh, nothing
Oh, pretty well
Oh, I don't know
Oh, good
Oh, well
Oh, you know
Oh, right
Oh, why
Oh, maybe
Oh, you
Oh, Penelope
Oh, thanks
Oh, awesome
Oh, OK
Oh, bye
Oh, really
Oh, hi
Oh, yes
Oh, gee
Oh, nothing
Oh, pretty well
Oh, I don't know
Oh, good
Oh, well
Oh, you know
Oh, right
Oh, why
Oh, maybe
Oh, you
Oh, Penelope
January 21, 2013
I really wanted to like this book but it was terrible.
I thought it would be a lovely and comical tale about a girl in Harvard and instead it became a book about absolutely nothing. All of the characters were flat, including Penelope. Yes, she is socially awkward and doesn’t understand social etiquettes which is adorable and marvelous at first. That grew old quickly. Essentially she is a freshman at Harvard who is put in a crappy dorm above a radio-station that she never visits (I couldn’t express enough the unnecessary emphasis placed on this fact). Her roommates are strange; Emma is an annoying valley girl who wants to get into some rich people’s club and Lan is some “hipster/rocker/whatever” chick who appears infrequently and you learn nothing much other than she is “brilliant” and keeps a cat illegally in the dorm-how cliché. So Penelope sees this really hot “European” guy the first day she is there and fantasizes about him. There is a guy named Ted who lives in her same dormitory who likes Penelope (not because he tells her) but just with how ridiculous his actions are and he tries to get into her pants. That ultimately fails because Penelope doesn’t know what to do with herself in that sticky situation other than run away and overthink it. Miraculously half way through the book Gustav (hot Euro guy) acknowledges Penelope’s existence. They hook up-which was the only surprising thing that happened in the book. Their hookups were casual and meaningless to him. Gustav’s character was unbelievable, unlikeable and just flat out ridiculous. It seems that Rebecca Harrington has never been to Europe nor ever met a European and thought it would be adorable to think of every cliché imaginable to create Gustav. He was beautiful with long hair and wore tackily expensive clothes. He would disappear randomly on trips in some worldly place and would not return for weeks on end. He was “hilarious” with strange idioms and never a sentence spout out without it ending in “old chap”, “darling” and “rubbish”. I am absolutely astonished he didn’t say “cheerio”. Penelope went along with their relationship indifferently until at the end it came crashing down on her that this meant nothing to him. I believe this is the point in which the author believed was Penelope’s coming of age and Penelope resolved nothing with herself other than to keep going. And if she did resolve anything it is never shown nor does Penelope state it.
I really wanted to like this book and it was a disappointment. I did not care for a single character. Not Penelope, not Gustav or Ted. They can all burn. Seriously, don’t read this book. The only reason I finished it is because I forced myself to. I normally drop books within 50 pages if they do not interest me but I am trying to stop doing that because it is a bad habit. I should read all books so I am in better position to bash it, as I am now. Again, don’t read it.
I thought it would be a lovely and comical tale about a girl in Harvard and instead it became a book about absolutely nothing. All of the characters were flat, including Penelope. Yes, she is socially awkward and doesn’t understand social etiquettes which is adorable and marvelous at first. That grew old quickly. Essentially she is a freshman at Harvard who is put in a crappy dorm above a radio-station that she never visits (I couldn’t express enough the unnecessary emphasis placed on this fact). Her roommates are strange; Emma is an annoying valley girl who wants to get into some rich people’s club and Lan is some “hipster/rocker/whatever” chick who appears infrequently and you learn nothing much other than she is “brilliant” and keeps a cat illegally in the dorm-how cliché. So Penelope sees this really hot “European” guy the first day she is there and fantasizes about him. There is a guy named Ted who lives in her same dormitory who likes Penelope (not because he tells her) but just with how ridiculous his actions are and he tries to get into her pants. That ultimately fails because Penelope doesn’t know what to do with herself in that sticky situation other than run away and overthink it. Miraculously half way through the book Gustav (hot Euro guy) acknowledges Penelope’s existence. They hook up-which was the only surprising thing that happened in the book. Their hookups were casual and meaningless to him. Gustav’s character was unbelievable, unlikeable and just flat out ridiculous. It seems that Rebecca Harrington has never been to Europe nor ever met a European and thought it would be adorable to think of every cliché imaginable to create Gustav. He was beautiful with long hair and wore tackily expensive clothes. He would disappear randomly on trips in some worldly place and would not return for weeks on end. He was “hilarious” with strange idioms and never a sentence spout out without it ending in “old chap”, “darling” and “rubbish”. I am absolutely astonished he didn’t say “cheerio”. Penelope went along with their relationship indifferently until at the end it came crashing down on her that this meant nothing to him. I believe this is the point in which the author believed was Penelope’s coming of age and Penelope resolved nothing with herself other than to keep going. And if she did resolve anything it is never shown nor does Penelope state it.
I really wanted to like this book and it was a disappointment. I did not care for a single character. Not Penelope, not Gustav or Ted. They can all burn. Seriously, don’t read this book. The only reason I finished it is because I forced myself to. I normally drop books within 50 pages if they do not interest me but I am trying to stop doing that because it is a bad habit. I should read all books so I am in better position to bash it, as I am now. Again, don’t read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2016
I really tried to like this book. Like Rebecca Harrington, I went to Harvard, studied history and literature, and worked on the Harvard Crimson. Plus, I loved the Veritas waffles depicted on the cover of this book (which the dining halls would serve every Sunday).
If you went to Harvard, you will read the book with pangs of recognition (the author refers to numerous Harvard classes, dormitories, and extracurriculars by name). But the characters are practically unrecognizable to me. Every character is depicted as a shallow stereotype who acts with blatant selfishness and speaks in rude, nonsensical dialogue. The worst offender is Penelope herself. How she ever got into Harvard is a mystery that only deepens with each page. I kept expecting Penelope to reveal herself as some sort of hidden genius, but instead she just persisted in being a passive, boring doormat.
None of the other characters ever evolve beyond stereotype, either. Yes, there are Math 55 geeks, final club Lotharios, NYC preppies, and scores of other such "types" at Harvard, but Harrington does not make her characters sufficiently humane or interesting enough for us to care.
I believe that Harrington had literary ambitions for this book. At least one of the chapter titles alludes to a 1740 novel by Samuel Richardson in which the virtue of a naif named Pamela is rewarded after persistent trials and tribulations. However, it is not readily apparent to me as to why this would be an apropos comparison to the protagonist Penelope (as nothing very much happens to Penelope throughout the book).
Also, please do not be fooled by the bright pink cover of this book into thinking that this is a fun, chick lit read. It is neither fun nor funny. I compare this book unfavorably to Tom Perrotta's Joe College, an actually fun and funny book about a middle-class Connecticut native who enters a privileged Ivy League university.
If you went to Harvard, you will read the book with pangs of recognition (the author refers to numerous Harvard classes, dormitories, and extracurriculars by name). But the characters are practically unrecognizable to me. Every character is depicted as a shallow stereotype who acts with blatant selfishness and speaks in rude, nonsensical dialogue. The worst offender is Penelope herself. How she ever got into Harvard is a mystery that only deepens with each page. I kept expecting Penelope to reveal herself as some sort of hidden genius, but instead she just persisted in being a passive, boring doormat.
None of the other characters ever evolve beyond stereotype, either. Yes, there are Math 55 geeks, final club Lotharios, NYC preppies, and scores of other such "types" at Harvard, but Harrington does not make her characters sufficiently humane or interesting enough for us to care.
I believe that Harrington had literary ambitions for this book. At least one of the chapter titles alludes to a 1740 novel by Samuel Richardson in which the virtue of a naif named Pamela is rewarded after persistent trials and tribulations. However, it is not readily apparent to me as to why this would be an apropos comparison to the protagonist Penelope (as nothing very much happens to Penelope throughout the book).
Also, please do not be fooled by the bright pink cover of this book into thinking that this is a fun, chick lit read. It is neither fun nor funny. I compare this book unfavorably to Tom Perrotta's Joe College, an actually fun and funny book about a middle-class Connecticut native who enters a privileged Ivy League university.
February 21, 2013
I'm uncertain as to what this book was aspiring to be, and it read as if the author was as ill-equipped to answer that question as I was. It seemed to walk an uneasy line between satire and a more sincere novel, somehow succeeding as neither. I didn't find it incisive, witty or clever enough to qualify as a satire (or at least not an effective one), but nor was it nuanced enough to work as a resonant tale about a girl's transformative---or even moderately interesting---first year at Harvard. It can't be considered plot-driven, as there's a conspicuous lack of plot beyond 'awkward girl spends a year at Harvard', but the characterizations and relationships are so relentlessly shallow and undeveloped that the 'character-driven' descriptor also fails to apply. The writing style is clear and at times sharp, though not especially distinct.
It's a book that never delves even an inch or two beneath the surface, but nor is it joyful enough to qualify as fluffy fun.
Overall, I was left wishing Penelope had been more humorous, more poignant, and just generally MORE than the forgettable time-passer that it was.
Penelope is not an unpleasant read. (I know, I know....could I damn with fainter praise?!) There were a few witty lines and a couple of vaguely relatable, though not especially novel (lame pun intended!) insights into college life. It's the sort of book about which you can objectively acknowledge a few positive attributes without ever actually caring or feeling invested. For readers as financially-challenged as I am, I can't in good faith claim this is worth the $9.99 price tag. Personally, I'd put it in that category of books that one can just eventually get from the library...and given how many other wonderful books are out there waiting to be devoured, there's no rush in ever doing so!
It's a book that never delves even an inch or two beneath the surface, but nor is it joyful enough to qualify as fluffy fun.
Overall, I was left wishing Penelope had been more humorous, more poignant, and just generally MORE than the forgettable time-passer that it was.
Penelope is not an unpleasant read. (I know, I know....could I damn with fainter praise?!) There were a few witty lines and a couple of vaguely relatable, though not especially novel (lame pun intended!) insights into college life. It's the sort of book about which you can objectively acknowledge a few positive attributes without ever actually caring or feeling invested. For readers as financially-challenged as I am, I can't in good faith claim this is worth the $9.99 price tag. Personally, I'd put it in that category of books that one can just eventually get from the library...and given how many other wonderful books are out there waiting to be devoured, there's no rush in ever doing so!
January 20, 2015
I find it depressing that this book has so many negative reviews, many by people who "wanted a light funny read" and were bewildered by this clever, biting satire. (Many of the reviewers even say they went to Harvard and then proceed to pan the novel, which is doubly depressing, as I would hope that Harvard was churning out grads who could detect irony and absurdism instead of just reducing the story to 'nonsense'. But I digress.)
At any rate, this is a smart, funny book, one with a wry wit that had me chuckling consistently. If you want some overwrought romance, this is not the place to look, but it you want to read about a girl who is mystified by the absurdities of college, by social conventions, and who stands apart as a one-woman bullshit detector, this may be the book for you.
At any rate, this is a smart, funny book, one with a wry wit that had me chuckling consistently. If you want some overwrought romance, this is not the place to look, but it you want to read about a girl who is mystified by the absurdities of college, by social conventions, and who stands apart as a one-woman bullshit detector, this may be the book for you.
October 12, 2012
Never judge a book by its cover. I saw the cover of this book advertised on Goodreads, which features a waffle with the Harvard insignia in the center, and thought it would be a fun, light read that would let me reminisce about my time at Harvard. Waffles in the dining hall were a special Sunday treat that my friends and I loved, and that memory motivated me to get this book from the library. Oh boy. I knew it was going to be bad after the first 10 pages, but I persevered.
Penelope is the most boring protagonist I have ever encountered. She has no passions nor interests and is “rather deficient in natural curiosity”. She is also not very bright, so it is hard to believe that she is a Harvard student. When she is going to a new place, she looks up the address using Wikipedia. What?!? Who does that? Or is this supposed to be some funny, unique quirk? Has she never seen the instructive SNL video “Lazy Sunday”? (Well, let's hit up Yahoo Maps to find the dopest route. I prefer MapQuest, that's a good one too. Google maps is the best, true that, double true.)
She also tells her friend Ted “But I don’t even know how many senators there are.” (pg. 235) How is that possible? Does she have no idea how our legislative system works? Or does she not know how many states are in the U.S.? I told Pierre about that line, and he asked me how this book got published. I have no idea. As my friend Christine says, there is a nostalgia factor of reading these Harvard books, knowing the places and events that are portrayed in the book. But I don’t think that fully explains how this project was greenlighted. I did enjoy reliving some of my freshman year, but there must be better Harvard books out there.
Penelope is the most boring protagonist I have ever encountered. She has no passions nor interests and is “rather deficient in natural curiosity”. She is also not very bright, so it is hard to believe that she is a Harvard student. When she is going to a new place, she looks up the address using Wikipedia. What?!? Who does that? Or is this supposed to be some funny, unique quirk? Has she never seen the instructive SNL video “Lazy Sunday”? (Well, let's hit up Yahoo Maps to find the dopest route. I prefer MapQuest, that's a good one too. Google maps is the best, true that, double true.)
She also tells her friend Ted “But I don’t even know how many senators there are.” (pg. 235) How is that possible? Does she have no idea how our legislative system works? Or does she not know how many states are in the U.S.? I told Pierre about that line, and he asked me how this book got published. I have no idea. As my friend Christine says, there is a nostalgia factor of reading these Harvard books, knowing the places and events that are portrayed in the book. But I don’t think that fully explains how this project was greenlighted. I did enjoy reliving some of my freshman year, but there must be better Harvard books out there.
April 26, 2016
I'm sort of in love with this book. I even braved looking like a crazy person on public transit while reading this book. Although, perhaps it's more a comment on myself, but I'm not certain that Penelope is as awkward as others seem to believe. Sure, she's silly, insecure, and at the same time opinionated, but that hardly makes her any more awkward than any 18-year-olds I've ever known.
The humor is a bit on the dry side, and the character studies are rather dead-on, even if sometimes over the top. Then again, a place like Harvard is a bit over the top, and the people who go there are going to be wound tight and possibly differently than the average 18-year-old.
The depictions of Catherine and Ted were so accurate that it hurt a little reading them and watching them be as lost and self-involved as they were. But the thing that is fantastic about Penelope is how true our protagonist to herself and her thoughts. She will lie to conceal what her mother thinks is inappropriate (having a crush on Poirot), but she will not pretend that the boys in her life are really worth her effort.
For once, I long for a sequel, although I don't actually expect one. And I will again risk laughing out loud on public transit for it.
The humor is a bit on the dry side, and the character studies are rather dead-on, even if sometimes over the top. Then again, a place like Harvard is a bit over the top, and the people who go there are going to be wound tight and possibly differently than the average 18-year-old.
The depictions of Catherine and Ted were so accurate that it hurt a little reading them and watching them be as lost and self-involved as they were. But the thing that is fantastic about Penelope is how true our protagonist to herself and her thoughts. She will lie to conceal what her mother thinks is inappropriate (having a crush on Poirot), but she will not pretend that the boys in her life are really worth her effort.
For once, I long for a sequel, although I don't actually expect one. And I will again risk laughing out loud on public transit for it.
December 12, 2013
*Received through a goodreads giveaway*
Penelope is an allright novel. The word quirky kept flashing through my mind as I read it. The coming of age story about Penelope and her first year at Harvard. She's weird, ackward, and quirky. She's not cool and at times it's as if she socially has no clue. Initially Penelope just seemed to go with the flow of things. She wandered around aimlessly with the small circle she didn't even really like. And I think most people do that when they initially step onto campus for the first time.
The sarcasm and interactions between Penelope and the supporting crew were pretty funny. My main problem with this book is that it seemed like a series of conversations. And every conversation ended with 'said' or 'asked'. There were no emotions in their conversations and all the characters were pretty flat. I thought maybe there could've been a little more imagination for my liking.
Overall, I would really like to see what else Rebecca Harrington writes in the future.
Penelope is an allright novel. The word quirky kept flashing through my mind as I read it. The coming of age story about Penelope and her first year at Harvard. She's weird, ackward, and quirky. She's not cool and at times it's as if she socially has no clue. Initially Penelope just seemed to go with the flow of things. She wandered around aimlessly with the small circle she didn't even really like. And I think most people do that when they initially step onto campus for the first time.
The sarcasm and interactions between Penelope and the supporting crew were pretty funny. My main problem with this book is that it seemed like a series of conversations. And every conversation ended with 'said' or 'asked'. There were no emotions in their conversations and all the characters were pretty flat. I thought maybe there could've been a little more imagination for my liking.
Overall, I would really like to see what else Rebecca Harrington writes in the future.
September 7, 2012
This was a light, fun read, a satire of life on the college campus. It's not a serious read, it's not going to make you ponder life's great lessons, but I found that I really connected with the socially awkward Penelope who never seemed to click with college life.
As a satire, the kids are extreme versions of themselves. Penelope is on one hand frustrating as she allows others to push her around, yet she's clearly an intelligent self-assured kid on so many other levels that she doesn't come off as pathetic. As someone who didn't love her own college experience, I appreciated a book that doesn't paint that pretty "college is the best time of your life" picture. Perhaps I identified with Penelope a little too much. I remember those groups of kids sitting around as if they'd known each other forever, wondering how they got to be that way. I eventually found my place, and I feel confident that Penelope in future years will as well, but the portrayals seemed pretty honest to me. This is a good vacation read.
As a satire, the kids are extreme versions of themselves. Penelope is on one hand frustrating as she allows others to push her around, yet she's clearly an intelligent self-assured kid on so many other levels that she doesn't come off as pathetic. As someone who didn't love her own college experience, I appreciated a book that doesn't paint that pretty "college is the best time of your life" picture. Perhaps I identified with Penelope a little too much. I remember those groups of kids sitting around as if they'd known each other forever, wondering how they got to be that way. I eventually found my place, and I feel confident that Penelope in future years will as well, but the portrayals seemed pretty honest to me. This is a good vacation read.
January 24, 2013
Penelope O'Shaughnessy is a quirk of a girl; she still harbours her childhood crush on Hercule Poirot, prefers playing Tetris on her phone to social encounters, feels a spiritual kinship with Whitney Houston and knows Morse code by heart. It’s no wonder her mother is concerned that Penelope is now a freshman at Harvard; where she’ll have to share a dorm with other girls, make new friends and generally ‘interact’. . . so she gives Penelope the advice to be herself (but not too much).
Now Penelope is at Harvard – the beginning of the rest of her life. Except she’s been roomed in Pennypacker; a notorious ‘outcast’ dorm above a radio station with a girl called Lan who harbours a feral cat and continually paints her room, plus a social butterfly with a barking laugh called Emma.
Across the hall are a collection of boys who have ‘pre-games’ every night and drink whisky from morning till noon. One of the boys is Ted, of the curling Roman bangs, who latches onto Penelope early on, much to her curious surprise.
Penelope expected Harvard to look like it did in the catalogues – with Abercrombie models playing rugby on the quad, where men dress down in bowties and boat hats to stroll around leisurely with their sweaters tied around their shoulders and girls participate in random games of croquet. Just about the only person who fits this description is a mysterious and handsome student called Gustav, a wanderlusting sophomore who wears white linen suits and talks about his family’s arboretum (they have wheelbarrows decorated with a crest!).
Just about the only thing that saves Penelope from a semester of isolated boredom is her participation in a modern interpretation of the absurdist play ‘Caligula’ – questionably improved to include a marionette act and light show.
Penelope may have no people skills to speak of. She may be a social outcast of the highest order – but that doesn’t mean everyone around her isn’t absolutely absurd.
‘Penelope’ is the debut novel by Rebecca Harrington.
This book is a pretty impressive amalgamation of wonderful. The omniscient narrator reminded me of the voice in ‘500 Days of Summer’, with a pinch of Wes Anderson storytelling style (think: ‘Rushmore’). There’s a certain whiff of ‘Gilmore Girls’ for Rory’s college days, particularly her interactions with the ‘Life and Death Brigade’ (http://goo.gl/1sIqf). It’s also a modern spin on the ‘Brideshead Revisited’, but instead of depicting a Golden Age, Harrington is more pointing out the insipid, over-educated middle-classers of the modern Ivy League era (there's a character called Bitty, nuff' said). In short: this book is brilliant, I think Penelope is my fictional soul-mate and I pretty much want to live inside Rebecca Harrington’s brain, (if that isn’t too weird).
I’m calling this book ‘New Adult Satire' – because it’s really the first young adult/new adult book I’ve read that isn’t all about the complications of love and sex in your early 20’s, but is rather an absurdist look at the entire university experience, through the eyes of an astute social outcast who is thrown into the societal deep-end at University. Needless to say, shenanigans follow.
One of Penelope’s more unfortunate qualities was her tendency to view social occasions, such as parties, as cataclysmic events that would shape her destiny. She was often disappointed. Disappointment, however, did not lead to greater insight. Penelope still applied her eyeliner with a certain fatalism even before the most banal of activities, such as grocery shopping.
Penelope is sublime. She’s an exaggerated version of me (and every other bookworm misfit) who deadpans to perfection, has a ‘Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights’ poster (P.S. – I own the DVD and soundtrack!) and has never really understood the concept of ‘friends’ or how to acquire them. And, really, Harvard is the worst possible place for Penelope to learn the in’s and out’s of human interaction – because all her fellow classmates are high-strung over-achievers who have been planning their careers since they were in the womb.
“Did you hear about Nikil?” asked Catherine, encasing Penelope’s arm in a viselike grip.
“Um, no?” said Penelope.
“He didn’t get on the Crimson Business Board. He got cut.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” said Penelope.
“He’s really upset,” said Catherine with relish. “I feel awful for him.”
“It’s too bad that even things that seem so un-fun are also so competitive,” said Penelope, “This was why I have always been against the Olympics, as a rule.”
Then there are the upper-crust darlings for whom Harvard is a pleasant jaunt between gap-years and settling into a cosy job in their parents business, never to work again. Unfortunately, Penelope falls for such a character in the illusive-fop, Gustav, and with him she encounters her first stirrings of lust and wanting; she hasn’t felt this intensely about a person of the opposite sex since Poirot!
But, really, ‘Penelope’ is all about mapping the rough terrain of friendship. It’s blown hilariously out of proportion for Penelope, who’d rather play Tetris than interact with people at a party, but everyone who has made the transition from high school to university can appreciate that dreaded moment when you ask yourself; “how do you make friends again? Do handshakes work? What did I do on the playground in primary school? Should I hold up a sign? Put out an ad?”
What was the secret? How do you have friends? How do you make people want you around? Penelope always thought that if a person just said “Hello!” and “Cool” and “Awesome” and didn’t get mad that everyone would like that person, because what can you say about them except for positive things? They were inoffensive, like a beloved butler or cook. But even that didn’t guarantee anything. Maybe you were just the type of person that people liked well enough but not well enough to invite you to an arboretum. It was almost as if they didn’t like you at all.
Harrington’s writing is sublime – her absurd characters are pitch-perfect and it’s not at all surprising to discover that she is Harvard alum. She’s sometimes uncomfortably astute, particularly when it comes to capturing voice, so you’ll find yourself wincing from the accurate overuse of words ‘like’ and ‘literally’. Example: “I literally don’t even know why. They were like my really good friends.”
I’m recommending this book to all my friends as a must-read for the sake of our friendship. Seriously; ‘Penelope’ is the sort of divisive book to obsess over that will make-or-break a friendship if they don’t love it as much as you do. I’m calling it as a favourite book of 2013, and I’m crossing my fingers for a trilogy (Penelope as sophomore and senior – just MORE PENELOPE, please!)
Now Penelope is at Harvard – the beginning of the rest of her life. Except she’s been roomed in Pennypacker; a notorious ‘outcast’ dorm above a radio station with a girl called Lan who harbours a feral cat and continually paints her room, plus a social butterfly with a barking laugh called Emma.
Across the hall are a collection of boys who have ‘pre-games’ every night and drink whisky from morning till noon. One of the boys is Ted, of the curling Roman bangs, who latches onto Penelope early on, much to her curious surprise.
Penelope expected Harvard to look like it did in the catalogues – with Abercrombie models playing rugby on the quad, where men dress down in bowties and boat hats to stroll around leisurely with their sweaters tied around their shoulders and girls participate in random games of croquet. Just about the only person who fits this description is a mysterious and handsome student called Gustav, a wanderlusting sophomore who wears white linen suits and talks about his family’s arboretum (they have wheelbarrows decorated with a crest!).
Just about the only thing that saves Penelope from a semester of isolated boredom is her participation in a modern interpretation of the absurdist play ‘Caligula’ – questionably improved to include a marionette act and light show.
Penelope may have no people skills to speak of. She may be a social outcast of the highest order – but that doesn’t mean everyone around her isn’t absolutely absurd.
‘Penelope’ is the debut novel by Rebecca Harrington.
This book is a pretty impressive amalgamation of wonderful. The omniscient narrator reminded me of the voice in ‘500 Days of Summer’, with a pinch of Wes Anderson storytelling style (think: ‘Rushmore’). There’s a certain whiff of ‘Gilmore Girls’ for Rory’s college days, particularly her interactions with the ‘Life and Death Brigade’ (http://goo.gl/1sIqf). It’s also a modern spin on the ‘Brideshead Revisited’, but instead of depicting a Golden Age, Harrington is more pointing out the insipid, over-educated middle-classers of the modern Ivy League era (there's a character called Bitty, nuff' said). In short: this book is brilliant, I think Penelope is my fictional soul-mate and I pretty much want to live inside Rebecca Harrington’s brain, (if that isn’t too weird).
I’m calling this book ‘New Adult Satire' – because it’s really the first young adult/new adult book I’ve read that isn’t all about the complications of love and sex in your early 20’s, but is rather an absurdist look at the entire university experience, through the eyes of an astute social outcast who is thrown into the societal deep-end at University. Needless to say, shenanigans follow.
One of Penelope’s more unfortunate qualities was her tendency to view social occasions, such as parties, as cataclysmic events that would shape her destiny. She was often disappointed. Disappointment, however, did not lead to greater insight. Penelope still applied her eyeliner with a certain fatalism even before the most banal of activities, such as grocery shopping.
Penelope is sublime. She’s an exaggerated version of me (and every other bookworm misfit) who deadpans to perfection, has a ‘Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights’ poster (P.S. – I own the DVD and soundtrack!) and has never really understood the concept of ‘friends’ or how to acquire them. And, really, Harvard is the worst possible place for Penelope to learn the in’s and out’s of human interaction – because all her fellow classmates are high-strung over-achievers who have been planning their careers since they were in the womb.
“Did you hear about Nikil?” asked Catherine, encasing Penelope’s arm in a viselike grip.
“Um, no?” said Penelope.
“He didn’t get on the Crimson Business Board. He got cut.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” said Penelope.
“He’s really upset,” said Catherine with relish. “I feel awful for him.”
“It’s too bad that even things that seem so un-fun are also so competitive,” said Penelope, “This was why I have always been against the Olympics, as a rule.”
Then there are the upper-crust darlings for whom Harvard is a pleasant jaunt between gap-years and settling into a cosy job in their parents business, never to work again. Unfortunately, Penelope falls for such a character in the illusive-fop, Gustav, and with him she encounters her first stirrings of lust and wanting; she hasn’t felt this intensely about a person of the opposite sex since Poirot!
But, really, ‘Penelope’ is all about mapping the rough terrain of friendship. It’s blown hilariously out of proportion for Penelope, who’d rather play Tetris than interact with people at a party, but everyone who has made the transition from high school to university can appreciate that dreaded moment when you ask yourself; “how do you make friends again? Do handshakes work? What did I do on the playground in primary school? Should I hold up a sign? Put out an ad?”
What was the secret? How do you have friends? How do you make people want you around? Penelope always thought that if a person just said “Hello!” and “Cool” and “Awesome” and didn’t get mad that everyone would like that person, because what can you say about them except for positive things? They were inoffensive, like a beloved butler or cook. But even that didn’t guarantee anything. Maybe you were just the type of person that people liked well enough but not well enough to invite you to an arboretum. It was almost as if they didn’t like you at all.
Harrington’s writing is sublime – her absurd characters are pitch-perfect and it’s not at all surprising to discover that she is Harvard alum. She’s sometimes uncomfortably astute, particularly when it comes to capturing voice, so you’ll find yourself wincing from the accurate overuse of words ‘like’ and ‘literally’. Example: “I literally don’t even know why. They were like my really good friends.”
I’m recommending this book to all my friends as a must-read for the sake of our friendship. Seriously; ‘Penelope’ is the sort of divisive book to obsess over that will make-or-break a friendship if they don’t love it as much as you do. I’m calling it as a favourite book of 2013, and I’m crossing my fingers for a trilogy (Penelope as sophomore and senior – just MORE PENELOPE, please!)
January 9, 2022
2.5 stars
Socially-awkward/inept Penelope is off to Harvard, her mom providing tips for her to make friends, etc. Her roommates don’t seem interested in becoming friends, so Penelope tends to hang out with some of the boys a couple of floors below in their dorm. Eventually, she is roped into helping with a non-speaking part in an experimental/absurdist play.
Everybody in this book was weird. Penelope seems a bit clueless as to academic life (not quite sure how she got into Harvard…). There was a lot of crushes that everyone was having on everyone else; it rarely seemed to be reciprocated. None of the characters were likeable, in my opinion, so I didn’t really care all that much what happened and if they ever got together.
Socially-awkward/inept Penelope is off to Harvard, her mom providing tips for her to make friends, etc. Her roommates don’t seem interested in becoming friends, so Penelope tends to hang out with some of the boys a couple of floors below in their dorm. Eventually, she is roped into helping with a non-speaking part in an experimental/absurdist play.
Everybody in this book was weird. Penelope seems a bit clueless as to academic life (not quite sure how she got into Harvard…). There was a lot of crushes that everyone was having on everyone else; it rarely seemed to be reciprocated. None of the characters were likeable, in my opinion, so I didn’t really care all that much what happened and if they ever got together.
August 12, 2012
I admit, the book itself was incredibly addicting; I completed it within a day. I do acknowledge the fact that Penelope is portrayed as a socially awkward, naive character. But by the end of the novel, I was literally counting down how many times Penelope replied with "OK"s and "I don't know"s, which turned out to be incredibly distracting. Is Penelope incapable of expressing emotion, or does she not have a personality altogether? I saw growth in neither Penelope nor any of the other minor characters; the author merely brisked through them. The author rushed the story towards the end (not that lengthening this novel would make it any less horrendous). I completed the novel unsatisfied, and almost angry for its lack of character development and author's dull choice of words. Frankly, it was simply a depressing novel where all the women are portrayed as pathetic and "easy". Don't waste your time reading this.
May 8, 2013
Are you sick of reading books about where the college students head off to College and are perfect and fall in love with hunky guys and all is merry with them as they skip along their ways ? Then you need to read Penelope which stars Penelope, a normal Plain Jane type of girl who is somewhat of a loner and doesn't know exactly what she wants from her life. Penelope follows well... Penelope through her freshman year of college at Harvard where she meets her roommates, gets hit on by several guys including her TA Jason , experiences friendships and several fleeting moments of hook-ups and dancing . We follow Penelope as she tries to find a clique from Chorus to the Literary Magazine to starring in a theatre production as a Guard. From Parties to Ice-Cream Socials to Classes to Exams and Harvard-Yale Football games. Penelope has it all. This is the book that really shows the college experience from a 'normal' person's point of view.
June 29, 2012
I picked up the proof of this book based purely on the Wes Anderson referencing quote on the back and ummed and ahhed and "Do I like it? Don't I like it?" for about a week. It turns out I didn't really like it and Anderson's name should be nowhere near it. The name, Zooey Deschanel, however, should be ALL OVER IT. In fact it should just be repeatedly printed over and over and over again on every single page until the book is full, leaving just enough space to end with "It should just be a Zooey Deschanel film". And perhaps also a photo of Zooey Deschanel printed on the jacket looking particularly Zooey Deschanel-y in it. I couldn't care less what happens to Penelope and didn't read far enough to know if maybe that was the point of the book. I do however have an unquenchable need to watch New Girl forever until I die.
November 13, 2015
Ah Penelope, you had me at hello: with your Harvard stamped waffle on the cover* and your promise of unabashed, masturbatory nostalgia, how could I not read you? And with your first lines, you took me way back to 2002, to when I stepped on the Harvard campus (having never visited) and thought: well shit, this is pretty nifty.
Penelope, there are things about you that are delightful, though I fully admit they are only delightful for their reminiscent quality. I love that you describe the food that alternately fed/disgusted me for four years:
“she toyed with her fried chicken, which she now realized was stuffed with broccoli,”
and I love your wry observations of how weird and magical student life at Harvard is:
“Another night she stood on her stoop for a couple of hours. A homeless man carrying a grease-stained paper bag approached the stoop and started playing the harmonica. Several people came out on the stoop when they heard the harmonica and started playing their own instruments, including Adorno Eric, who brought out a cello. The homeless man starting singing about fisting a woman and everyone went inside.”**
So, Penelope, I believe we have an understanding – you are like me, a deeply neurotic, awkward individual who left home to go to this magical place called Harvard and found a group of similarly odd people who would understand your obscure references while feeling smugly self-important. Penelope, I understand how this would be the natural topic to return to when you moved to New York to become a novelist. For one, everyone (or at least a couple billion Asians and south Asians) are obsessed with Harvard – so why not write about your formative years and make some money while you’re at it?
But, Penelope, here is where we have our differences. Why did you have to indulge in so many faulty stereotypes? For one, while we as a collective group were weird as fuck, the number of horrid recluses is relatively limited***.
Why does your title character think that “if Penelope ran the world, it would be filled with benign misunderstandings, but no one would ever talk for more than five minutes at a time.” Why is everyone aggressively motivated (which you know was not the case) or so obviously sensationalist depictions or legacy admits (please, don’t start rumors- the balance of us were pretty middle class). And even more than that, why on earth did the male lead have to be an Argentine ex Nazi who walks around wearing ascots? Why would you take this magical place and debase it to the lowest common denominator (math joke).
Penelope, I loved your observations and your tone. I enjoyed your description an odd young woman coming into her own in an extraordinary place. But next time, cool it on the hyperbole. I looked up your picture – you’re hot, so let’s not pretend you struggled so.
* True story, both in terms of cover art and Harvard waffles.
** Another true story: My first night, after our little group of dorm mates introduced ourselves, we sat in Harvard Yard and played blues. True to form, random strangers did go back to their dorm rooms and bring back instruments to join in. I cannot ever really remember being happier. Sadly, our blues line did not involve any descriptions of fisting.
*** Yeah, yeah, unibombers…
Penelope, there are things about you that are delightful, though I fully admit they are only delightful for their reminiscent quality. I love that you describe the food that alternately fed/disgusted me for four years:
“she toyed with her fried chicken, which she now realized was stuffed with broccoli,”
and I love your wry observations of how weird and magical student life at Harvard is:
“Another night she stood on her stoop for a couple of hours. A homeless man carrying a grease-stained paper bag approached the stoop and started playing the harmonica. Several people came out on the stoop when they heard the harmonica and started playing their own instruments, including Adorno Eric, who brought out a cello. The homeless man starting singing about fisting a woman and everyone went inside.”**
So, Penelope, I believe we have an understanding – you are like me, a deeply neurotic, awkward individual who left home to go to this magical place called Harvard and found a group of similarly odd people who would understand your obscure references while feeling smugly self-important. Penelope, I understand how this would be the natural topic to return to when you moved to New York to become a novelist. For one, everyone (or at least a couple billion Asians and south Asians) are obsessed with Harvard – so why not write about your formative years and make some money while you’re at it?
But, Penelope, here is where we have our differences. Why did you have to indulge in so many faulty stereotypes? For one, while we as a collective group were weird as fuck, the number of horrid recluses is relatively limited***.
Why does your title character think that “if Penelope ran the world, it would be filled with benign misunderstandings, but no one would ever talk for more than five minutes at a time.” Why is everyone aggressively motivated (which you know was not the case) or so obviously sensationalist depictions or legacy admits (please, don’t start rumors- the balance of us were pretty middle class). And even more than that, why on earth did the male lead have to be an Argentine ex Nazi who walks around wearing ascots? Why would you take this magical place and debase it to the lowest common denominator (math joke).
Penelope, I loved your observations and your tone. I enjoyed your description an odd young woman coming into her own in an extraordinary place. But next time, cool it on the hyperbole. I looked up your picture – you’re hot, so let’s not pretend you struggled so.
* True story, both in terms of cover art and Harvard waffles.
** Another true story: My first night, after our little group of dorm mates introduced ourselves, we sat in Harvard Yard and played blues. True to form, random strangers did go back to their dorm rooms and bring back instruments to join in. I cannot ever really remember being happier. Sadly, our blues line did not involve any descriptions of fisting.
*** Yeah, yeah, unibombers…
August 14, 2012
I don't remember the subject of my college application essay; if I had to hazard a guess, it was likely about overcoming something that probably didn't really need to be overcome, like long division. However, I don't think I will ever forget what Penelope O'Shaunessy wrote her college application about (a car seat), or the fictional character she has a crush on (Hercule Poiroit), or her favorite pastime at parties (playing Tetris on her phone). Because Penelope O'Shaunessy, the titular heroine of Rebecca Harrington's inimitably funny debut novel, is hard to forget and impossible not to love.
When Penelope arrives at Harvard University, she's a bright-eyed young English major whose longest conversation ever with a boy had to do with Charles Dickens' penchant for spiritualism. She's determined to make friends with her roommates, even though one is an overly ambitious social climber and the other is a misanthropic shut-in who insists to the allergic Penelope that her decidedly furry (and dorm-illegal) cat, Raymond, is hairless. Outside the dorm, things are just as complicated. Her classmates study for placement exams and stress over their pledges to various clubs as though they have the power to make or break entire futures, and Penelope is developing what can only be a crush on a mysterious and urbane German-Argentinean named Gustav.
Penelope makes a valiant attempt to fit in, pledging the literary magazine, auditioning for the choir, and joining a postmodernist production of "Caligula" that involves two Caligulas and a scene where everyone hits a piano with a belt. Her adventures through Harvard's various social strata and organizations makes for a keenly smart college satire -- think Lucky Jim as written by Tina Fey -- but I think what makes Penelope so special is how well Harrington grounds the quirkier aspects of her story with the very real, and very universal aspects of the college experience, like the constant battle between expectations and reality or of trying to be yourself when that self is constantly changing. Amid the zany humor, there are glimmers of truths that hit so hard I couldn't help but remember my own college experiences ... and now that there's a decade between me and them, I can look back fondly.
Penelope is all that you could hope for in a debut. It's ambitious but supremely polished, and introduces a distinctive voice that promises many more enjoyable books in the future. I can't wait to read them.
Head to www.EverydayeBook.com for more eBook reviews
When Penelope arrives at Harvard University, she's a bright-eyed young English major whose longest conversation ever with a boy had to do with Charles Dickens' penchant for spiritualism. She's determined to make friends with her roommates, even though one is an overly ambitious social climber and the other is a misanthropic shut-in who insists to the allergic Penelope that her decidedly furry (and dorm-illegal) cat, Raymond, is hairless. Outside the dorm, things are just as complicated. Her classmates study for placement exams and stress over their pledges to various clubs as though they have the power to make or break entire futures, and Penelope is developing what can only be a crush on a mysterious and urbane German-Argentinean named Gustav.
Penelope makes a valiant attempt to fit in, pledging the literary magazine, auditioning for the choir, and joining a postmodernist production of "Caligula" that involves two Caligulas and a scene where everyone hits a piano with a belt. Her adventures through Harvard's various social strata and organizations makes for a keenly smart college satire -- think Lucky Jim as written by Tina Fey -- but I think what makes Penelope so special is how well Harrington grounds the quirkier aspects of her story with the very real, and very universal aspects of the college experience, like the constant battle between expectations and reality or of trying to be yourself when that self is constantly changing. Amid the zany humor, there are glimmers of truths that hit so hard I couldn't help but remember my own college experiences ... and now that there's a decade between me and them, I can look back fondly.
Penelope is all that you could hope for in a debut. It's ambitious but supremely polished, and introduces a distinctive voice that promises many more enjoyable books in the future. I can't wait to read them.
Head to www.EverydayeBook.com for more eBook reviews
September 13, 2012
You know when you get a new pop CD and you put it in and it's fun, it's catchy, and you can't seem to stop listening to it over and over again. But then you know you should probably listen to that new indie record that you've had your eye on for awhile. You know it will be quality music and mean something more than that pop CD you've been listening to on repeat, so you give the indie a listen and really like it, but then the next day you've the pop CD back in the player? This book is a little like that. It's bubblegum sweet and a whole lot of fun to read, but you feel a little bit guilty when you've enjoyed it way more than some of the meatier novels you've read recently.
Penelope O'Shaunessy is the sort of person who flies under the radar. The sort of agree with everything and try very hard not to rock the boat but then don't understand why, though they're universally liked, they aren't befriended. At the start of her freshman year at Harvard University her mother drops her off with plenty of advice; don't play Tetris on your phone at social gatherings, join extracurriculars, and don't tell the story about how she sat in a car seat until forth grade (an old standby party anecdote, it seems). Still, Penelope has a hard time fitting in with the rest of the Freshman. She doesn't understand why everyone's studying for placement tests, she doesn't spend every waking moment with her homework, and she has no desire to ever join finals clubs or societies. As she makes her way through her freshman year she'll make a lose friends, attempt to befriend her opposite roommates, join the production of an absurdist play she doesn't understand, and hazard a crush on foreign, playboy, Gustav, all the while never really fitting in.
Penelope, the character, is not without her merits. She's bitingly witty, sometimes unintentionally, and manages to have a come back far more often than the the rest of us. She is kind and she honors her commitments. But she is the sort who believes she's often in people's way and doesn't want to be under foot. I am like this. Actually, I saw a lot of myself in Penelope (though I'm not sure that's a good thing). At times she's frustratingly naive and others shows an astute understanding of her surroundings. In other words she's as inconsistent as a real human being.
I had a really great time reading this book and often found myself laughing out loud, much to the chagrin of the people sitting in cafes around me. There was nothing groundbreaking about it and I can see someone shutting it at the end and wondering what the point was. But, to me, it wasn't about making any sort of point, it was about a certain type of person in a certain type of situation and in that it succeeded.
Penelope O'Shaunessy is the sort of person who flies under the radar. The sort of agree with everything and try very hard not to rock the boat but then don't understand why, though they're universally liked, they aren't befriended. At the start of her freshman year at Harvard University her mother drops her off with plenty of advice; don't play Tetris on your phone at social gatherings, join extracurriculars, and don't tell the story about how she sat in a car seat until forth grade (an old standby party anecdote, it seems). Still, Penelope has a hard time fitting in with the rest of the Freshman. She doesn't understand why everyone's studying for placement tests, she doesn't spend every waking moment with her homework, and she has no desire to ever join finals clubs or societies. As she makes her way through her freshman year she'll make a lose friends, attempt to befriend her opposite roommates, join the production of an absurdist play she doesn't understand, and hazard a crush on foreign, playboy, Gustav, all the while never really fitting in.
Penelope, the character, is not without her merits. She's bitingly witty, sometimes unintentionally, and manages to have a come back far more often than the the rest of us. She is kind and she honors her commitments. But she is the sort who believes she's often in people's way and doesn't want to be under foot. I am like this. Actually, I saw a lot of myself in Penelope (though I'm not sure that's a good thing). At times she's frustratingly naive and others shows an astute understanding of her surroundings. In other words she's as inconsistent as a real human being.
I had a really great time reading this book and often found myself laughing out loud, much to the chagrin of the people sitting in cafes around me. There was nothing groundbreaking about it and I can see someone shutting it at the end and wondering what the point was. But, to me, it wasn't about making any sort of point, it was about a certain type of person in a certain type of situation and in that it succeeded.
July 25, 2014
This has one of the lowest average ratings / the highest number of haters I've ever seen on Goodreads. But I don't think it's terrible. Sure, I see why people get frustrated in the first few pages... the main character is a doormat with a robotic way of speaking, who goes beyond the definition of awkward. The thing is, I couldn't bring myself to get angry at her, because I saw a little of me-in-my-first-semester in her.
Some have said they would have liked it more if Penelope had actually grown by the end of the book. This is no massive in-your-face Bildungsroman, and I think just by getting involved in the play Penelope was on her way somewhere. And the book is self-aware; when Gustav asks Penelope about her interests and activities and she says she doesn't really have any, he says that can't be true. Maybe her self-esteem is really that low and she is afraid of being judged or mocked if she's honest (because let's face it, her Poirot obsession is more than a little odd). And Penelope also daydreams about putting on a play about 'a plucky young heroine who always spoke her mind', i.e. the antithesis of her character and maybe what she hopes to become one day.
It moved slow, but I thought it was sweet enough and I enjoyed it.
As much as I am defending this book, a couple of things are playing on my mind:
1. I still can't understand how the fuck Penelope got into Harvard if she's apparently neither extraordinary/passionate in any area nor comes from a privileged educational background. There was no special reason this needed to be set at Harvard.
2. Why is this in the adults' section? I think it'd be much more widely appreciated if it had been marketed as YA, to be honest.
Some have said they would have liked it more if Penelope had actually grown by the end of the book. This is no massive in-your-face Bildungsroman, and I think just by getting involved in the play Penelope was on her way somewhere. And the book is self-aware; when Gustav asks Penelope about her interests and activities and she says she doesn't really have any, he says that can't be true. Maybe her self-esteem is really that low and she is afraid of being judged or mocked if she's honest (because let's face it, her Poirot obsession is more than a little odd). And Penelope also daydreams about putting on a play about 'a plucky young heroine who always spoke her mind', i.e. the antithesis of her character and maybe what she hopes to become one day.
It moved slow, but I thought it was sweet enough and I enjoyed it.
As much as I am defending this book, a couple of things are playing on my mind:
1. I still can't understand how the fuck Penelope got into Harvard if she's apparently neither extraordinary/passionate in any area nor comes from a privileged educational background. There was no special reason this needed to be set at Harvard.
2. Why is this in the adults' section? I think it'd be much more widely appreciated if it had been marketed as YA, to be honest.
August 28, 2012
This is the perfect summer beach read. If you're looking for something with depth and meaning, this is not the book, but if you want a stylish quick reading that perfectly captures its main character's voice, this is the one. The book remined me a lot of the style of a Wes Andersen movie, with all the characters speaking in short, clipped, simple but witty sentences. Penelope is hopelessly confused and compliant in how she deals with her life and social interactions. She doesn't say what she thinks or how she feels and in the process gets tramples a bit. She is a freshman at Harvard, where she doesn't fit in at all, even among the geek squad that comprise her dorm building, Pennypacker. She forms a close friendship with Ted, who seems to have a lot in common with her, and is obviously attracted to her, but kisses "like a dead fish." Penelope gets her hopes up when Gustav, a rich and handsome student, shows interest in her, but eventually realizes (only after her heart is trampled on) that Gustav is selfish and clueless about women. This book does a great job of capturing the learning process that occurs between being a mediocre girl who just wants to fit in, and being a successful woman with opinions of her own.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 599 reviews