now i have to admit, i saw the movie before i read the book, so i couldn't help but see claire danes as the titular character and steve martin as her older beau. however, this didn't hamper my enjoyment of the book. i've always thought steve martin is a great writer. his play, "picasso at the lapin agile" is hilarious and intellectual and i'm sure if i ever get around to seeing "roxanne" and reading "cyrano de bergerac", i'd agree that the former is a fantastic retelling of the latter. "shopgirl" is the story of mirabelle, a clerk who works behind the glove counter at neiman marcus in beverely hills. she lives a rather sad, solitary existence until, mr.ray porter, a customer, starts to woo her and they embark on a relationship.
this book wasn't as quirky as i was expecting. it has an understated humour, but for the most part is a simple telling of a simple story. it's quite elegantly written and there's some beautiful descriptions, but it's not something i'd gush about or read again.
i did learn a new word though. propinquity. it means nearness or proximity and was not to be found in my canadian oxford dictionary. mr. martin gets bonus points for that.
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