The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus by Sonya Sones

In The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus, Holly, a writer/poet, is up against a wall. Not only is her agent is pressuring her about writing her new book, but she's also being squeezed between an ailing mother and a daughter who's off to college. Did I mention an irritating husband and a fast-approaching fiftieth birthday? Poor woman is near the end of her rope. It's a good thing she has a creative outlet.

I adored this book. Sonya Sones is absolutely hilarious. I'm naturally drawn to books that are a little quirky. This one certainly fits the bill. If someone would have told me that I was going to love a story that was written entirely in verse, I would have told them that they were nuts. I don't even read poetry, never mind enjoy it. However, I'm so glad that I ignored my inner cynic and tried this one. I'm still not sure I'm going to enjoy other books like this, but it certainly has opened my mind in regards to at least giving them a shot.

I loved Holly and could sort of relate to part of her plight. My fiftieth birthday is still a few years off, but I already feel like it's looming over me like a dark cloud. I could definitely connect to her poems about her irritating husband and how he was driving her nuts. The poems were priceless. I commiserated with her about feeling overwhelmed with everything that was going on. I know the feeling.

As for favourite sections, there were a bunch of poems that made me laugh out loud. However, I don't really want to whole poems in my review. Besides, they probably won't be as funny out of context. I did find one line from a poem titled What to Expect When Your Husband Goes Into Therapy that made me smile:

Your self-esteem
will reach such an all-time low
that you'll send yourself emails
and report them as spam.

Highly recommended. I'd love to read more of Sones's work.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit the HarperCollinswebsite.

For more information about the author and her other books, please visit Sonya Sones's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at HarperCollins for this review copy.

The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus by Sonya Sones, HarperCollins, ©2011. ISBN 9780062024671(Uncorrected Proof), 416p.