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| Sundays at Tiffany's | 
 enlarge | Authors: James Patterson, Gabrielle Charbonnet
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
Buy New: $3.95
You Save: $21.04 (84%)
New (117) Used (112) Collectible (10) from $3.69
Avg. Customer Rating:  141 reviews
Sales Rank: 848
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 031601477X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780316014779
ASIN: 031601477X
Publication Date: April 28, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: FAST SHIPPING, NORMAL SHELF WEAR
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Product Description
As a little girl, Jane has no one. Her mother, the powerful head of a Broadway theater company, has no time for her. She does have one friend-a handsome, comforting, funny man named Michael-but only she can see him.
Years later, Jane is in her thirties and just as alone as ever. Then she meets Michael again-as handsome, smart and perfect as she remembers him to be. But not even Michael knows the reason they've really been reunited.
SUNDAYS AT TIFFANY'S is a love story with an irresistible twist, a novel about the child inside all of us-and the boundary-crossing power of love.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 136 more reviews...
 Weird premise that doesn't work April 30, 2008
83 out of 94 found this review helpful
James Patterson has tried centering a whole novel around a gimic that doesn't work...at least not for me. I enjoyed the beginning of the novel when Jane is a young girl. Very believeable and touching. I also enjoyed the character of Jane as an adult. Patterson's heroine is extremely likeable. And, actually, I truly liked the hero, Michael, as well. The problem for me isn't the characters of Jane and Michael, per se, as much as how childish the gimic of their relationship becomes half-way through. I can usually suspend my disbelief pretty well as a reader, but this just didn't work for me. Midway through, I started to feel I was reading a pre-teen paranormal novel. I was internally rolling my eyes during the last half of the book. I love a love story, but this one just left me disappointed. My husband asked me what I thought after I closed the book, and all I could answer was, "Stupid."
Touching, but confusing and ridiculously overpriced love story (2.5 stars)... May 8, 2008
29 out of 31 found this review helpful
Eight-year-old Jane Margaux is the daughter of a chic and famous Broadway producer. And since her mother is always busy producing musical hits and her father is mostly vacationing with his new trophy wife in Nantucket, she seems to spend a whole lot of time on her own. That's all right though, because Michael, her imaginary friend, is always there. But what's going to happen to her when Michael leaves her after her ninth birthday? He doesn't want to leave her, but he must. Alas, she won't remember him anyway, so it doesn't matter. Michael is somewhere in his early to mid thirties -- a handsome man with magnetic green eyes. His job is to be a child's imaginary friend for a while. He cannot be seen by grownups during these assignments. Then he lives a semi-normal life whenever he's on sabbatical. Twenty-three years later, he sees Jane again. She's a grownup now, working on turning her musical production into a feature film. The play is based on her relationship with Michael. She has never been able to forget her imaginary friend, no matter what he had told her. Her life is sort of a mess -- a controlling mother, an actor boyfriend who is using her, and an imaginary friend she can't seem to get off her mind. What happens when Jane and Michael are face to face after so many years? And how is it possible that this man -- someone she had thought was a figment of her imagination -- is actually real?
Sundays at Tiffany's reminds me of The Velveteen Rabbit, where the boy's love makes the rabbit real. James Patterson got the help of Gabrielle Charbonnet, a children's book writer, to create this modern-day romantic fantasy. The love story itself is simple and beautiful. I have to admit, however, that the whole concept of a man falling in love with a woman he had been close to when she was a child seemed kind of creepy at first, but Patterson handles it well. This is one of Patterson's love stories, not one of his thrillers, and his tear-jerkers have always reminded me of Nicholas Sparks. The one big difference is that Sparks's novels seem to be targeted to older, middle-aged/elderly readers, whereas Patterson's books are based on younger characters and therefore more fun. I give this book three stars because I couldn't quite understand Michael's job very well. The explanation is insufficient. Also, the whole thing with Jane's mother strikes me as strange. Isn't this the woman who forgot her daughter's ninth birthday? And I can't get over how short this book is. With the giant font size on 309 pages (with some empty pages in between a few of the chapters), this is more like a novella, sold at the price of a full-length novel. I really, really hate it when publishers do that. So greedy. Other than that, Sundays at Tiffany's is an enchanting novel, but I'd wait for the paperback or bargain price edition. The overpriced hardcover gets 0 stars, the story itself gets three stars.
 Classic James Patterson Love Story Coupled With Delightful Fantasy May 1, 2008
14 out of 20 found this review helpful
A sweet tale born of a precious memory of Patterson's son as a child. His son said it best - "Love means you never have to be apart."
Sure, one reviewer mentions that this tale holds a bizarre premise - and that may hold true, however, if you can get beyond the image of a child's imaginary friend being her real-life prince charming (at least beyond the icky vision that he was once her childhood friend)...then you have, my friends, a charmingly refreshing and unique love story.
In addition, I'd like to point out that in true nature, if there is such a genre as magical fiction as opposed to magical realism, then this novel is that genre's poster child and the bizarre premise is right at home.
Don't be deceived by the cover, though. This was the only disappointing aspect of the book for me, other than Patterson foreshadowing the twist of the story (which I personally didn't catch until the end). As I read about the two main characters, Jane and Michael - I immediately pictured Jane as being the lovely brunette pictured on the cover of the book - in truth, she is a blond in the story which, at least in my case, ruined my initial vision of her. I haven't a clue who the couple is on the front of the cover, but I can assure you that the woman, at least, is not Jane.
Having said that, I was easily able to picture every other character and humorously enough, they are all real people - actors, mainly. Jane takes the persona of a gal with a striking likeness to the clumsy and loveable Bridget Jones, complete with witty comments to herself in her own mind while conversing with others - while her boyfriend, Hugh fits quite ironically, the character that Hugh Grant plays in the same movie, slimy Daniel Cleaver. After having created this vision, I almost laughed aloud when I stumbled upon Patterson's own reference to the Hugh of the novel being similar to that of Hugh Grant. Don't worry, my visions were not entirely confined to this movie alone.
Back to the matter at hand, this is a classic James Patterson love story - only with a magical twist. If you loved Sam's Letters to Jennifer or Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, this will not disappoint you in anyway. Patterson also peppers in pop culture references and humorous tidbits shared between the various characters that will have you smiling to yourself.
All in all, I loved it. It not only reached my expectations, but I was also pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the odd premise as it gave the novel quite a unique quality. I began reading this last night and had sleep not gotten the best of me, I would have made it an all-nighter.
If you are a person demanding realism from a novel - I'll warn you in advance, this isn't the book for you. In my opinion though, considering the world we live in today, a fantastical happily-ever-after seems almost moronic. But if you take into account the novel's moral of living every day as though it were your last and also cherishing the people in your life as though you may never see them again as that day will inevitably come - then this tale is a refreshing break from reality, and in turn, a dream come true.
Be Prepared to Suspend Reality with this Romantic Fantasy September 15, 2008
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
Warning: this is not for James Patterson fans addicted to Alex Cross. Think of his romantic novellas like Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas and if you liked that, you'll be more inclined to like this one. However, even though I am perfectly willing to suspend reality and slip into fantasy mode when necessary, I do expect the fantasy to be logical and well thought out---in other words, a realistic fantasy, one that could be possible in a dream-come-true world. This one fails on that score.
The most endearing part of the novel is Jane as the poor little rich girl. Her divorced mother is too busy for her and constantly belittles Jane for her weight and just about everything else. Her absent father has little purpose other than showing up occasionally to disappoint her. No wonder young Jane slips into Fantasy Land and is only too happy to have Michael, her imaginary friend, become her best and only friend. This concept works well, especially for the hundreds of adults who might recall with fondness their own imaginary friend from childhood. It is only when the adult Jane reconnects with Michael that the novel becomes a bit creepy and all logic is lost. Apparently, the authors had a wonderful idea of telling the story of an imaginary friend, but didn't take the time to work out answers to the details of his life---details like why he doesn't age, how he explains his occupation to the real-world adults he associates with between assignments, his status as angel or not, etc. Michael's character, one that could have been truly wonderful, is just not that well thought out. Even Michael doesn't know the answers.
If one of my children had written this when they were eight or nine, I would have praised their creativity in coming up with such a plot. But a distinguished writer like James Patterson owes his adult audience a book with a more well-defined parameters. Even fantasies have to make sense on some level.
A Fresh Concept May 5, 2008
12 out of 17 found this review helpful
I have to say that this book was delightful despite the fact that it doesn't quite get to the realm of suspending disbelief. (Well, maybe for a few moments I did allow that to happen).
These days I find it very refreshing to have writers attempt something less scorching, less frightening and yet compelling. In the age in which a book can't seem to get in enough guts and gore to please, this offers a coffee sundae with the old fashioned fudge topping that used to get sticky after it chilled. I'm old enough to have tasted it both in my life and now in this lovely book.
I read my share of mystery and drama and this was a wonderful relief from that particular brand of suspense.
If you love Nantucket, you will love the local references.
This IS a book that one will want to read at one sitting, even if life interferes.
My only disappointment was that they felt compelled to end the way that they did on the last page. I wonder how other readers will respond to it. (And I will get over it; the book is still lovely). Thanks for writing it; it was brave to do that in this world that demands such different reality.
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