Shopgirl

By: Steve Martin

Narrated by: Steve Martin

Length: 3 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the country's most acclaimed and beloved entertainers, Steve Martin has written a novella that is unexpectedly perceptive about relationships and life. Martin is profoundly wise when it comes to the inner workings of the human heart.

Mirabelle is the "shopgirl" of the title, a young woman, beautiful in a wallflowerish kind of way, who works behind the glove counter at Neiman Marcus "Selling things that nobody buys anymore..."

Slightly lost but not off-kilter, very shy, Mirabelle charms because of all that she is not: not glamorous, not aggressive, not self-aggrandizing. Still there is something about her that is irresistible.

Mirabelle captures the attention of Ray Porter, a wealthy businessman almost twice her age. As they tentatively embark on a relationship, they both struggle to decipher the language of love - with consequences that are both comic and heartbreaking. Filled with the kind of witty, discerning observations that have brought Martin critical success, Shopgirl is a work of disarming tenderness.

Don't miss Steve Martin, Christopher Buckley, and other humorists discussing their craft at the New Yorker Festival.

©2000 Steve Martin, All Rights Reserved (P)2000 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All Rights Reserved, AUDIOWORKS Is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Grammy Nominee for Best Spoken Word Album

"Martin's elegant, bleak, desolatingly sad first novella is in every sense his most serious work to date." (The New York Times Book Review)

Loved it

This was my first audible book to listen to and I am now hooked. I loved this book so much that I bought the bound version for 11 of my friends and relatives for Christmas, however I believe they may not enjoy it as much as I since they won't be fortunate enought to "hear" the author read it. I would love to see more from Steve Martin, as writer or narrator.

The only negative is that the book seems to end in the middle of Mirabelle's of a sub-plot. It was such a strange spot to stop that I thought my player was broken our hadn't downloaded the entire book. If I had been "reading" the book I would have anticipated how close I was to the end, but with audio you never really know, and this book did not end well. Still I enjoyed it a great deal, perhaps there will be a sequeal, to pick up where this one strangely stops.

Martin is such a keen observer...

Having majored in Comparative Literature at a well-known university, I admit to being something of a literary snob. I had uncertain expectations for this novella by an actor. I was very pleasantly surprised and impressed by this well-paced, original story. First of all, the narrative itself is an inventive twist on a conventional love triangle. In fact, it is not really a love triangle at all, but rather the simultaneous story of three intersecting lovers. Secondly, Mr. Martin enriches the tale by weaving in all sorts of precise and humorous observations on daily life, depression, relationships, love, ambition, inertia, and human eccentricities. Some reviewers have said Mr. Martin did not do a good job at expressing and developing the female point of view. Quite the contrary, I was amazed at how well he seemed to be able to crawl into the female psyche. All the characters, with the possible exception of Lisa, were interesting, well-rounded, and real. I cared about them. I don't understand how people can say this book was depressing. Yes, there are moments of despair, but the end is so uplifting (without being trite and "Hollywoodesque") and the story is all about people lifting themselves up, learning to take control of their lives. How is that depressing? Plus some of the laugh-out-loud funny moments (like Lisa's capture of 'Ray') really balance the sadder moments in the book. I also felt that Mr. Martin was an excellent reader (and I have listened to hundreds of audio books). My only complaint is that the last quarter of the book read a bit like an epilogue. It was as if Mr. Martin was on a deadline or trying to meet a page limit, so he summarized the action in a sort of play-by-play rather than really writing the end of the book. I would have loved to read more of his wonderful prose, injected as it was with clever turns of phrase, interesting bon mots, and believable streams of consciousness.

So bad that it might be worth a listen.

The book was horrible, but the many passionate love scenes are quite hillarious. I don't think Martin was actually trying to be funny when he wrote and read those scenes, but they really had me rolling. There is often an element of comic relief present when a man attempts to describe a woman's passion, but Martin's efforts are over the top. For you ladies who think that men must be stupid because they only think about one thing but yet still manage to not understand it at all, here's your proof. Listen to this book and go ahead and gloat.

Dreary

This is a dreary, depressing little book that's read in a dreay monotone voice by Steve Martin. The very least he could have done is read it with some expression. I'm half-way through it and feel compelled to finish it because I paid for it.

Well-written, well-read

This is a surprisingly charming and insightful book. Martin's writing is crisp, and his characters seem true and real. He's also an excellent reader.

Beautifully Written, Wonderfully Read

This book is amazing. I read a review which stated women don't think that way...and that person was right. All women don't. I did when I was the age of the main character. I found it very easy to believe in all of the characters of this book and lose myself in the story. It was beautiful.

And Steve Martin is truly the only person who could read the book. More authors should read their own unabridged works (ahem...Alan Alda, I'm looking at you).

So real it hurts.

For anybody who has ever had an intergenerational relationship or tried to think they could love a woman incompletely, this story will have the ring of truth. I have had these feelings and committed the same mistakes in my life with similar results. I loved this book so much. Last night, I saw the movie with the same title. It was just as good as the book and cast SO well. But, I missed the detail and narrative that added the depth to the book.

Steve Martin's reading made the difference

to quote LA Story: "All I could think to myself was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, more wonderful, and yet again wonderful". Mr. Martin's somewhat deadpan delivery of this beautifully subtle work lets his character's words shine through so clearly. To call this a romantic comedy undermines the insights that Martin casts onto life and personal relationships, and ignores the fascinating darker side of this tale. His descriptions of male libido both young and old, female sexuality, and the way we interact with our universe really stick with me. I have listened to this book over and over again, and every time I get to the end, I want to start over and hear it again.

Steve Martin has a direct line to my heart...

I am amazed at this book. Truly astounded. Still coming out of a relationship so parallel to Mirabelle's it amazes me, Steve's portrayal of Ray Porter and the insight into his mind has left me stunned, smiling and so openly understanding some of the background thoughts of my own relationship. I am refreshed! The characters and Steve's narrative are so novel and bright. I hope he continues with these characters. I will be awaiting another installment!

Interesting but a bit flat

Ok, Steve Martin is a reinaissance man, and this short book highlights his skill with the written word. But there's something a bit flat with the narration and the characters. There are definitely some chuckles, but this is more poignant than funny.