The English Roses admonishing her older provocative self. Madonna's narration was described by Ginny Dougary as "bossy". She also found parallels with the singer's childhood in "The English Roses". "Slate"s Polly Shulman found the book to be "charmless, didactic" and egoistic since she felt it revolved around Madonna and her daughter. Shulman added that ""The English Roses" is a dull little thing, though not incompetent. Madonna does understand the basic structure of storytelling—perhaps too well", with multiple cliches present while making the titular characters "so passive that they might as well be good." David Kipen of the "San Francisco Chronicle" humorously said that
Good Year for the Roses Good Year for the Roses "A Good Year for the Roses" is a ballad written by Jerry Chesnut and originally recorded by American country singer George Jones. It rose to #2 on the country singles chart in 1970. "A Good Year for the Roses" describes the thoughts of a man as his wife is preparing to leave him, and is as good an example as any of Jones' ability to deliver an intensely moving vocal, in this case one that conveys both the sadness and profound bitterness that comes with a broken marriage. Although recorded while George was with Musicor,