Addition

by Toni Jordan

Book Overview

"Often funny, always lovable, this endearing novel of obsessive compulsive disorder and romance is outstanding." --Boston Globe An absolutely delightful tale of obsessive-compulsive love, Toni... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061582573
• ISBN13: 9780061582578
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Average is not normal

This is NOT a study in OCD. That is not what this novel is about. It's a fascinating, smart, insightful, and funny study into a woman who structures her life around numbers. Yes, the counting takes on too much primacy and leads to an unhealthy insulation in her life, but an accepting man offers her a glimpse into a "normal"-- which she accommodates by sacrificing her individuality. What I liked best about the book is how it unfolds. On the last page, you realize how truly great this book is. Average is not normal and all of us need to be more accepting of those who don't follow the conventional path. It reminds me of Good Will Hunting in that recognizing and accepting each other's peccadillos makes life--and love--interesting and worthwhile. Yes, there is a lot of focus on counting which we now call OCD. But we are too quick to put labels on behavior and proffer judgment on how people should live. Sure she structures her life around counting, but in another respect she relishes life by numbering every moment of it. That's her way of savoring-- and maybe doing penance -- for what was lost. Yes, she gets too deep in the counting thing, and the love affair saves her (hence chick lit), but she comes to a healthy resolution as do the people around her, and it makes for a wonderful affirmation on how we should cherish idiosyncracies in people. We shouldn't (always) put them away, send them to therapy, enroll them in rehab. We are foregoing the wonderful variety in human life, and it's a great loss to all of us (e.g., Nikola Tesla). It makes me realize how sad we are in judging people so quickly these days. Whatever happened to those characters (mostly from southern literature like Faulkner, et all) whose idiosyncracies made the story?Those are the characters we love. Those are the people we remember. Heaven forbid we should ever meet them in real life. We would censor their every move and relegate them to the nearest group therapy session.

Addition Adds Up

I read Addition in 4 hours and 33 minutes and 20 seconds (or in 266.33 minutes) and I loved every minute of it. I laughed out loud more than 10 times and nodded my head twice that many times. Toni Jordan has written a warm and humorous novel which gently taught me what it is like to count and count again.I loved this book! Times ten!!

Refreshing and Different

Grace Lisa Vandenburg is a primary teacher who lives in Melbourne. She's not working now, because she's a counter. She counts everything, from the 1768 bristles in her toothbrush to the 920 steps she takes to the local café every morning. She's divided her face into five zones and wipes each zone five times every morning. And, of course, she gets up at the same time every morning. So how could she ever work, she'd be too busy counting kids. Grace is obsessed with Nikola Tesla of electricity fame, Coast to Coast AM and PRESTIGE FAME as well. Tesla was a counter too. To say that Grace isn't normal would be an understatement, but who wants to be normal anyway? Then Grace meets Seamus Joseph O'Reilly, who like Grace has 19 letters in his name and now maybe Grace might start counting a little less as Seamus starts counting a bit more in her life. This is a delightful romantic comedy, which will make a wonderful movie (I'm sure they're going to do that, because this story is just too good for them to pass up). Everybody likes to feel good once and a while and this book will do that for you.

worth adding to your reading list

"Addition" is a very funny novel. It's also witty and clever and moving. It is insightful about OCD and also about life in general. "Addition" made me laugh (a lot, out loud), it made me cry, and it made me think. Oh, and just to round things off nicely, there were a couple of hot sex scenes. I was so sorry to reach the end that I read it again, and I hope we don't have to wait too long before Toni Jordan writes another novel.

Clever and Witty

This was a light, enjoyable read, at the same time being witty and satirical. Narrator Grace Lisa Vandenberg counts everything (down to the bristles on her toothbrush) to try to control every aspect of her life and to avoid her deeply-embedded fears. As she describes her therapy sessions as her mind is changing and adapting to her medication, the author makes subtle commentary that prescription drugs can be more of a problem than remedy in many situations. The ending is a slightly weak and predictable, but other than that, the novel is rich with detail and strong characters. I think anyone who enjoyed Bridget Jones' Diary would love Addition.