The Petty Details of So-and-So's Life

Without sounding snobbish, this is a book for less-sophisticated readers. It has the zany characters and outlandish situations that'll attract you, but its plot crumbles under the slightest criticism. Maybe that's Gibb's fault--I blame her editor. Everyone in the book seems to do things immediately and covertly--get married, move in, move out, sleep with kindly waitresses, get through highschool and into a good university. And we can't always figure out how or why. Gibb seems focused on making things weird. Why can't she take a minute and delete the cutesy cliches/cliched characters that mar this novel? Again, her editor has done an abysmal job.
Prose-wise, this novel is okay. I can't believe Gibb gets away with stacking adjectives, but everything reads fine as long as she's not trying to uncover some deep human paradox via sentence fragments.

Din't no Gibb before I read that incredible book. She give me hours of pleasur. I would recommand it to any body. The caracters are so well define that they became part of our lives. A really great novel!!!

This author has the ability to create
characters with raw emotions and gives a
window into the minds of everyday people. I
identified with the main characters
childhood bond and their quest to maintain it
into their adult years. This book is full of
wisdom. It contained many phrases that will
one day become famous quotes. Read this
book. My only complaint is that it had to
end - it left me wanting more.

While not quite as good as her first novel Mouthing the Words, Camilla Gibb's second novel, The Petty Details of So-and-So's Life is entirely a worthwhile read. At times the content is incredibly depressing but Gibb maintains a delicate treatment of interpersonal relationships combined with an objective representation of the human psyche that provides an engaging read that shouldn't be passed on by fans of her first novel.