While there were some bright spots, I liked her most recent book much better, "The Madwoman in the Volvo." ( )

This is the story of Bronwyn Peters and her boyfriend, Paul, trying to make it in the glamorous city of Los Angeles. Be prepared. This is a very dated (1990s) story. I grew weary of the plenitude of brand-name dropping that went on (Guess?, Porche, Sanyo, Motorola, Kohler, BMW, Berber, Dolce & Gabbana, Wamsutta, Crate and Barrel...to name a few), as well as hot-now celebrity names like David Lynch, Frank Zappa, Malcolm Forbes, and Madonna...
There were definitely times I wanted to slap Bronwyn Peters. Despite listening to NPR and identifying with a Bohemian lifestyle, Bronwyn hungers for the lifestyle of $200 haircuts and Corian counters. She even convinces her struggling writer boyfriend to buy a condo in downtown Los Angeles after they come into a modest amount of money. It is still a place they obviously obviously cannot afford for long. Bronwyn knows full well they are out of their league and yet continues to plays the game to the hilt. Bronwyn's one redeeming quality is her steadfast love for Paul. She stands by him through temptation and failure. In the end, If you Lived Here... is Loh's platform for bringing to the forefront L.A.'s socio-economic class structure. She uses the riots as a backdrop to her commentary on attitudes, prejudices and the simple act of just wanting more. ( )

If you're familiar with Tsing Loh's nonfiction, you won't be surprised that this is a biting, tough little novel, though luckily there is a little pot of gold at the end to keep things from sinking into total despair. It's about a young couple strugging to make a career and a life for themselves in LA. The culture of the place is bitterly satirized along the way, and the heroine herself does not escape the criticism lavished on everyone else. Set in Los Angeles in the months before the Rodney King riots, it climaxes on the evening of the riots themselves as the couple attempts a lavish celebration of their arrival in fashionable LA society. ( )

starts great finishes badly. She got to the middle of the book and forgot what she was doing. ( )