The perfect "Imperfect MC": we're led to believe that the MC is flawed, and that her journey is not a perfect one. However, the MC is constantly fawned upon by those around her. She's hot, successful, and people are drawn to her. Other characters are constantly falling all over her, marvelling at how good she looks, how lean she is, how talented. Her main "flaws" seem to be that she is a workaholic (which is not a bad thing in and of itself, and throughout the text workaholic traits are framed as positives, undermining authorial intent), and that she is a divorcee (please don't get me started on the "ruined woman" divorcee trope, even if it isn't so blatant here). The MC is unrelatable; even when we're told she has flaws, she is shown in a completely different light.

An hour later, as I walked down the middle of the street towards the pin-drop location he’d messaged me, he was walking towards me with an ice cream in each hand and a very handsome grin on his face. He was barefoot and his clean, white T shirt fitted him perfectly. We could hear the waves crashing down at the beach as we met in the dark and smiled at each other. Me: Hi Lucy, do you mean my opinion of your book is invalid because I interpreted your work in the wrong way? In 2016, under Bloom's leadership, and with full board approval, Sunrise Cambodia launched a fundraising campaign that portrayed a Cambodian child as an unkempt sex worker. The campaign was denounced by child protection organizations in Australia as being unethical and exploitative, dubbing it "poverty porn". Bloom defended the use of the images as well within the ACFID code of conduct [12]. [13] [14] [15] Publications [ edit ] Take a ride on the wild side with Edith Scott, a journey covering her escapades, conquests and her writing career.Because I looked like I had grazed my face in very neat vanity-inspired patches, I decided to do all the things that make me unpresentable, all at the same time, before I charge off on my national book tour. This included a chemical soak which makes the dead skin peel off my feet.

Meanwhile, the succession of deaths of several supporting characters who she perceives have wronged her occur outside Edith's consciousness and are curiously interlinked with each other. I was left wanting more explanation for what was going on, what the underlying meaning was, but none was ever forthcoming. Each encounter has its own flavour and drama. Like sliding doors, two scenarios sometimes play out piquing outcomes. What a great and intriguing book. Loved the raw and flawed characters and the journey to places not many of us have been. Edith was born to a strong intellectual mother and this paved the way for her becoming the woman she became. After a short marriage she finds her groove and enjoys the perks of single life. Meeting and sleeping with all sorts of handsome guys from around the world. Bloom was born in 1973 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Bloom was married in 1995, separated in 2015 and divorced in 2019. She has three children and lives in Sydney, Australia. [3] Career [ edit ] None other than Rhonda Swan, the queen of personal power, ready to awaken the wild woman within you.Edith was born to a strong intellectual mother and this paved the way for her becoming the woman she became. Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Librarians Group is the official group for requesting additions or updates to the catalog, including: So how do I categorise The Manuscript? It's an intercontinental bonk-fest, certainly, but not really romance. It's not well written or immersive enough to qualify as literary fiction to my mind. There's a campness underlying the plot and Lucy Bloom employs a darkly humorous angle on many of the events, but Edith seems to take herself too seriously for this to be entirely convincing. It's thriller-ish in parts, and the plot is a roller-coaster of middle-aged female drama ... perhaps it's women's fantasy fiction? Neo-feminist hyper-realism? Cleverly plotted with interweaving loops and connections that will leave you speechless. No character is safe from Bloom's authorial sword. Anyone can make up romantic meetings. Almost none of that description is true. Only the invitation of an ‘ice cream and stroll’ is real. I thought it was so charming I couldn’t say no.

It was almost impossible for me to move from the issues I had with the characterisation and focus on anything else. Although I was able to appreciate the doubtless good intentions behind the fun take on the adventures of a White forty-something divorcee woman, I was still not convinced by the superficiality of the characters, especially Edith’s. Take a ride on the wild side with Edith Scott, a journey covering her escapades, conquests and her writing career. A character that will leave an impression. When fiction becomes fact and the story written is unravelling in real life, it makes a unique twist.

Book reviews for The Manuscript

a b c "Lucy Perry on life after testifying at the Royal Commission". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 5 March 2016 . Retrieved 17 March 2016. The Manuscript is candid, raw and intriguing; filled with laugh-out-loud moments it also has depth, with a lot of fact mixed in with the fiction. Edith was born to a strong intellectual mother and this paved the way for her becoming the woman she became. After a short marriage she finds her groove and enjoys the perks of single life. Meeting and sleeping with all sorts of handsome guys from around the world.

Lucy Perry forced to step down as CEO of Catherine Hamlin's foundation". Women's Agenda. 13 April 2015 . Retrieved 17 March 2016. Murdoch, Lindsay (4 June 2016). " 'Poverty porn' and 'pity charity' the dark underbelly of a Cambodia orphanage". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 31 December 2016.I enjoyed the complexities and layering to each character which were slowly revealed throughout the Manuscript. Initially when I began reading I found some characters mundane, yet as it progressed I realised this to be intentional. Slowly Lucy builds her characters, revealing their flaws, weaknesses, secrets and passions. But Edith will never know that real life is dealing with them in a parallel reality too brutal for words. Lucy Perry threatened with legal action over sexism comments on social media". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 21 November 2015 . Retrieved 17 March 2016.