Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake
by Anna Quindlen
- Percentage of approved critics who have given this book a positive review.
Critic Rating
82%
Critic Reviews: 20
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- User rating from iDreamBooks & iTunes
Reader Rating
62%
Reader Ratings: 487
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Synopsis
A memoir of how life looks from the perspective of a woman in her 50s. The #1 New York Times bestselling author, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of A Short Guide to a Happy Life gives us a candid, funny book in which she uses her past, present, and future to explore what matters to women, throughout the stages of life, and overall. Here is the Quindlen her many readers love most, talking to you directly about your life, even as she reports and reflects on... more
About Anna Quindlen
- All Critics: 20
- Positive: 17
- Negative: 3
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The New York Times | 1 Jun 2012
And therein lies the problem for those of us who have loved Quindlen but at this point are a bit exasperated: her verities, while deeply soothing, aren’t always entirely believable.
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Los Angeles Times | 9 Jul 2012
The book is a cozy feedback loop, the perfect comfort food for its enormous demographic...It doesn't matter whether it's Tuna Helper or cassoulet — it's always about the sharing.
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Slate | 5 May 2012
...despite its title it can’t seem to help striking deep chords of loss. Quindlen seems to have lost the confident pop in her voice, the instinctive feel for that adoring audience.
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Seattle PI | 17 Jun 2012
Quindlen...infuses her recollections as a baby-boomer facing late middle age with relentless optimism-and humor.
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The Washington Post | 24 Apr 2012
Where “Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake” succeeds is in Quindlen’s warm yet pithy discussions about feminism, aging, the uselessness of stuff and the importance of girlfriends...
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Huffington Post | 25 Apr 2012
Quindlen masterfully and beautifully sums up the best parts of aging: thoroughly knowing yourself, truly not caring what others think, and enjoying the confidence and courage that come with decades of practicing life...
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Star Tribune | 20 Apr 2012
She calmly and carefully untangles the fine strands of a woman's life by examining her own, and lays them out cleanly for all to see, this time from the perspective of a woman in her 50s.
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Seven Ponds | 13 Jul 2012
...this book suggests it doesn’t require experience or wisdom to recognize the privilege it is to be living this life, experiencing this moment.
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Vibrant Nation | 26 Apr 2012
And each essay in her book illustrates the experience and self-acceptance that only comes with age.
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Boston.com | 28 Apr 2012
The book has a satisfying arc, ending with chapters on the trauma of retirement...and musings on mortality, at which point Quindlen’s writing becomes movingly poetic.
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Seattle PI | 9 Apr 2012
Like her long journalism career, and as an author and in-demand speaker, Quindlen's simple narrative essays tell a story that resonates with women across generations.
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Publishers Weekly | 2 Apr 2012
Quindlen holds for the most part a blithe, benign view of growing older. Yet in moments when she dares to peer deeper...she bats away her platitudinous reassurances and approaches a near-searing honesty.
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Richmond Times-Dispatch | 13 May 2012
She hasn't lost that touch. In her memoir "Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake," she is still writing our lives.
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Her Circle Magazine | 1 Apr 2012
Quindlen’s writing is honest and revealing...a memoir with appeal for those who have lots of candles on their own cakes, as well as for women embarking on adult lives.
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A Girl Walks Into a Bookstore... | 1 May 2012
Her prose is very honest, although she tends to be a bit smug about her generation (and a little bit disparaging about those who came before and those who come after), and some of her viewpoints are a little contradictory.
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Washington Independent Review of Books
...Quindlen, soon to turn 60, is at the top of her game. Her insight is razor sharp, but her observations are also kind, both to others and herself.
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Beth Fish Reads | 23 Apr 2012
What Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake really is, however, is a collection of musings, observations, and opinions of a smart, vibrant woman who generously lets us in on her thoughts.
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Macleans | 17 May 2012
...Quindlen crafts a witty and poignant homage to lessons learned and experiences gained—and even better, she offers a toast to the future.
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Kirkus Reviews | 1 Apr 2012
A graceful look at growing older from a wise and accomplished writer—sure to appeal to her many fans, women over 50 and readers of Nora Ephron and similar authors.
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NPR | 24 Apr 2012
What Nora Ephron does for body image and Anne Lamott for spiritual neuroses, Quindlen achieves on the home front.
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