God-Shaped Hole by Tiffanie DeBartolo
Published: May 1, 2002
Synopsis:
When I was twelve, a fortune teller told me that my one true love would die young and leave me all alone.
Everyone said she was a fraud, that she was just making it up.
I’d really like to know why the hell a person would make up a thing like that.
Written with the snap, glitter and wit of The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing, God-Shaped Hole is a memorable, poignant love story that will leave you weeping with laughter. It is told in the wry, vulnerable voice of Beatrice “Trixie” Jordan who replies to a personal ad, “If your intentions are pure I am seeking a friend for the end of the world.”
In doing so, she meets Jacob Grace, a charming, effervescent thirty-something writer, a free spirit who is a passionate seeker of life. He possesses his own turn of phrase and ways of thinking and feeling that dissonantly harmonize with Trixie’s off-center vision as they roller coaster through the joys and furies of their wrenching romance. Along the way they try to come to terms with the hurt brought about by their distant fathers who, in different ways, forsook them.
This story will prove so touching you will rush to share it with a friend or loved one or even a stranger.
My Review:
Dawn makes a sound. If you listen closely, right as the sun starts to come up, you’ll hear it. It’s like the echo of birth: silence, followed by a gentle push, followed by moans, then the sloppy deluge of new life. On good days I like it because it reminds me that I’m alive. On bad days it makes me feel like dust.
Can you believe that writing? I read this book as part of my New Year’s resolution to go through my Kindle and read some of the many, many books already there. And I picked a winner. Sadly, it doesn’t seem like this is available in ebook format right now but I hope that changes soon.
Yes, I know, I am very late to the party on this one. But GSH has now made it onto my list of favorite books ever. I had heard so much about this book and it lived up to every word of hype. I fell in love with Jacob Grace and want to be best friends with Beatrice!
“Something about being with him made me warm, like I was sitting in front of a fireplace whose embers were barely flickering, yet still giving off heat. It made me feel safe.”
Beatrice is a lonely artist living in the vast wasteland called Los Angeles and meets a kindred soul in Jacob, a writer. They are both funny, sad, loyal and both seeking the perfect soul mate. This book is at times hilarious, poignant, tragic and uplifting. The description of life in L.A. is priceless.
“She tossed her hair around when she laughed like the glamorous android slut monster I knew she was. Jacob would never give the time of day to a girl like her, I told myself. Be that as it may, I focused on the ceiling panel above her head. I tried to will it loose. I wanted it to crash down and squash her like a villain in a cartoon. And I’m a pacifist.”
This book is a journey and although I could tell where the story was ultimately going, it was absolutely breathtaking. The author has a true gift of words. Her characters were vivid, real, funny and very flawed. I can’t wait to read ‘How to Kill a Rock Star’ and experience more of her talent for storytelling.
“That’s why I love you. Because you say ridiculous fucking things like that. Normal people don’t say things like that, Jacob. All my life I waited for someone who would say things like that to me. And for someone I didn’t feel alone in the presence of. Someone who understood. Someone who would make me feel like it wasn’t just me against the world. Even when we’re not together.”
The author has lots to say about love, sex, friendship, forgiveness and the bonds of family. This book resonated with me on many different levels. Read this book!! It might change your life!! And the cover is absolutely perfect for the story. I highlighted a ton of passages in this book and it is very difficult to pick a favorite but I loved this one:
“We’re all searching for something to fill up what I like to call that big, God-shaped hole in our souls. Some people use alcohol, or sex, or their children, or food, or money, or music, or heroin. A lot of people even use the concept of God itself. I could go on and on. I used to know a girl who used shoes. She had over two-hundred pairs. But it’s all the same thing, really. People, for some stupid reason, think they can escape their sorrows.”
Tiffanie DeBartolo is my kind of writer and I can’t wait to read more of her stories.