Pounding the Pavement

by Jennifer Van Der Kwast

Offers a pitch-perfect take on the dignity-whittling survival game of job hunting - starring a lovably neurotic heroine whose problems ring refreshingly true. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 076791953X
• ISBN13: 9780767919531
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Broadway Books
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

a great ride

I really loved and indentified with this book. It is so witty and charming. Sarah Pelletier's search for ultimate happiness ( a job and a partner) is so well plotted - just loved the interviews. Another great summer feelgood book with a superb finale . Also try Mine are Spectacular(Lynn Schnurnberger, Janice Kaplan ), You Are Here ( Steve Horsfall)

5 stars!

I loved it! It's a great first book by this author. I truly hope she'll write another one. She has talent. This is about one girl trying to find her way in life with a career and not necessarily romance. Although, when your not looking for it, it comes up in the oddest of places. Not like your average chick lit. That's what makes this book one of a kind.

A witty, comical look at what unemployed life is really like

Have you ever heard the expression, "the only thing worse than having a job is looking for one?" Debut novelist Jennifer van der Kwast knows this all too well. In POUNDING THE PAVEMENT, twenty-something Sarah Pelletier tries to make ends meet in New York City after being laid off from the hip, independent film company where she works. When the months of unemployment add up and her spirits decrease, she decides to seek out the aid of a headhunter. Despite her impressive writing skills and experience, jobs in film are few and far between. Still, she tries to be flexible and with her headhunter's urging, she goes on almost any interview they get her. Her parents also try to help out, much to Sarah's chagrin, by sending her law school applications --- hint, hint. She evens goes so far as to apply at a lifestyle magazine in Aspen, but nothing seems to pan out. Amid all this chaos, Sarah meets Jake, a budding filmmaker, while training on a temp job. He's funny, sweet and super-savvy about all things film. Sarah learns that he has just recently gone through a nasty breakup with his live-in girlfriend. So, even considering Jake as a dating prospect would be out of the question, right? Well, our heroine soon learns that things never go quite as planned. After a few casual dates, it's clear there's an undeniable chemistry that both Sarah and Jake feel compelled to explore. First-time author Jennifer van der Kwast perfectly captures the everyday pains as well as the simple pleasures of being unemployed --- the pros and cons of the "career-challenged." Pro: you finally get to sleep late. Con: you're too worried about money to sleep late. Pro: you learn who your true friends are. Con: you learn who your true friends are. Pro: you no longer have to be a slave to the 9-5. Con: you'd give anything to have some sort of schedule again. POUNDING THE PAVEMENT is a witty, pitch-perfect appraisal of what life is really like when you're unemployed. Remember pouring over the want ads, trying to convince yourself what a good telemarketer you'd be if you had to? Waiting for the phone to ring, hoping it's a job offer when you used to wait for the phone to ring, hoping it was a guy? Sure you do. And so does the author, who brings it all so vividly, so comically, so cringe-inducingly, to life. This novel speaks to everyone who's ever had a job or had to look for a job, so that's pretty much everyone, except the idle rich. But honestly, they'll love POUNDING THE PAVEMENT too. --- Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller

A great tribute to reality!

I just finished reading this book and I absolutely loved it. It was fast paced, exciting, memorable, witty, and oh how true to life. Jennifer seems to know her character very very well, along with the ins and outs of the instability un-employment and falling in love can cause. While reading Pounding the Pavement, I fell in and out of love, tossed and turned, cried, and laughed out loud in public places. It is uncontrollably funny, and I can't imagaine NOT enjoying it! And yes, what a perfect ending.

Chick-Lit for the rest of us!

I just finished this book and ran to my computer to write this review. Finally, a book with a real young woman who is not wrapped up in fashion, or name-dropping, or getting married, or all of those devices that run amok in most beach reads/chick-lit (I hate that term). Sarah Pelletier feels so familiar because van der Kwast paints such an authentic picture of a real twenty-something. I know so many Sarah's... part of me is Sarah! This is why I loved this book so much, because the lead character feels so genuine, and it made me laugh harder at the funny moment (and there are quite a few), and when it tugged at the heart-strings I nearly choked on the lump in my throat. And the ending... let's just say Ms. van der Kwast gets it! This book is not going to win a Pulitzer, but it is the perfect book for a fun read. This writer knows how to entertain, and I look forward to other books by her in the future.