Week 16: The Family Man - Elinor Lipman (320 pages)

"The Family Man" is a fun book that delves into issues that seem particularly relevant in the 21st century. The plot involves a gay man that was married to a socialite, her child, now an adult, his love life and the coming together of all parties. It is a fun ride and I must say that I had an enjoyable time following the characters on this journey. 


Henry Archer, a retired lawyer, is surprisingly reunited with his step-daughter from a marriage that ended 25 years prior. Though he was gay - he married Denise Krouch, a socialite in NYC. I found it interesting that the marriage didn't end because he was gay - it ended because Denise was having an affair! In a nasty custody battle - Henry gave up his adoptive rights to his step daughter, Thalia, and moved out of her life. 


Circumstances crop up, as they tend to in some novels and television movies, that put Henry in direct contact with his long lost daughter, Thalia. She is an out of work actress trying to make it and when they are reunited she is on the outs with her mother following an unthinkable outburst at Denise's husband's funeral.


Plots twist and collide, comic events come to pass, misunderstandings place characters in peril and are corrected by the end of the novel. Sometimes the book was wholly predictable, but there were a few surprises as well. I would say this is a good beach/summer read. The first of Ms. Lipman's novels that I have read - good enough to make me want to explore the author's other offerings.

Week 12: Chasing Harry Winston – Lauren Weisberger (304 pages)

I took another foray into the land of “chick-lit” this week. Sadly, I was not overly impressed with this trip. Sure this was enjoyable, on the surface – but these characters were not well-developed and just became a bit screechy as the book moved along. I cannot truly say I would want to be friends with any of the three main characters of this novel. Part of the fun of reading, for me, is determining whether I would actually like to hang out with the protagonist(s). This book failed to get me connected in that way.


Lauren Weisberger writes her third novel – after the fabulous “The Devil Wears Prada” and ‘Everyone Worth Knowing” basing it in her favorite city, NYC. The main characters are best friends from college. Leigh (book editor, engaged to an ESPN personality – but she is not happy), Emmy (serial dater, longs for a baby and a great man), Adriana (Paris Hilton of Brazil…dates the rich and famous). These ladies, feeling that they are in a rut, make a pact to each do something drastic in their lives in the coming year. I won’t spoil it for you – but the book follows them through the year and marks their progress.


Continuity was one of the problems I had with the book. Often, in the middle of a chapter, Ms. Weisberger would advance from present to past with just a paragraph change and a bad transition. That had a jarring effect on my enjoyment. I felt I had to read back a couple of sentences to ensure I had not missed something. Though – I had interest in the ladies of the novel – it was more to see if they would fail, rather than rooting for them to succeed. That’s never a good feeling! I don’t know if I can blame Ms. Weisberger completely, but having read “…Prada” and really loving that book – I had an expectation that this book would be as well-written and developed as her debut novel.


This is a good book for an airplane flight – just enjoyable enough to block out those passengers that are annoying you, but not too great for in-depth inspection. You may say it is only “chick-lit” what did I expect? As I said in week 5 http://whatdeejahisreading.blogspot.com/2010/02/week-5-good-in-bed-jennifer-weiner-375.html just because it falls into that category doesn’t mean it has to be mindless. Unfortunately – I cannot say that about this book.

Week 10: The Opposite of Love - Julie Buxbaum (384 pages)

What is the opposite of love? Many say it is hate – but I find that it is apathy or fear or the inability to love…that is what the main character of this book Em finds out as she faces challenges in her life. This is a very believable portrayal of a 29-year old woman that has to find the strength within herself to move forward with her life.

The book opens on Em, a young New York lawyer who seems to have it all together. She has a job, a boyfriend, and some great friends. Everything appears to be great – but the first line of chapter 1 is telling: “Last night, I dreamt that I chopped Andrew up into a hundred little pieces, like a Benihana chef, and ate them, one by one.” Something’s going on and the story takes us on that journey from the word “go”.

This book is more than mere chick lit, though – it certainly has its moments. I would say that it is an intelligent read. Em struggles with an ass of a boss, a grandfather who is struggling with Alzheimer’s, a very cold and distant relationship with her father and the breaking and repair of her relationship with her boyfriend. The pace of the story kept me connected, the humor kept me laughing and there were times that I even got a little misty as truths were revealed.

This book provided the perfect amount of escapism. Julie Buxbaum’s debut novel showed that she can mix humor and pathos perfectly. This was an enjoyable read.

Week 5: Good In Bed – Jennifer Weiner (375 pages)

After a few weeks of reading some rather depressing books, I decided to call my Project 52 buddy – Lara and let her know that I needed some light fare. See, Lara has an extensive library of books and they are all meticulously maintained on well-lit bookshelves. The books are grouped by genre and sometimes, it seems, by location. I am ENVIOUS of the beautiful library that she maintains! I told her that I would not be opposed to some so-called “chick lit”, a light/romantic book, written by a woman, which generally has a happy ending. She located the shelf I was looking for and I chose Good In Bed and two other books that will be showing up later in this project.

Lara said that she didn’t think that I would like this book. Cannie, the main character, struggles with her weight and self-esteem issues. I asked Lara why she thought I wouldn’t like it and she pointed out that I have little tolerance for those in the “woe-is-me” mindset. This is true, I am not the most empathetic person in the world, and I have been known to be supremely irritated by whiny main characters (see Bella in the first 2 Twilight books) but I figured I could power through.

I was instantly captured by Jennifer Weiner’s style of writing. I connected with Cannie and felt her pain as she discovered that her boyfriend, with whom she was on a “break”, wrote an article about her that was featured in magazine. The article was titled “Loving A Larger Woman”. I was incensed for Cannie but was also excited to see what she was going to do and how it would all turn out. Cannie’s process of dealing with a break-up, her reaction to that article and those that followed, her family and friends all helped to move this story along. Weiner writes with a dry wit that had me giggling out loud. 

This book was quite good. I cannot say that I was always happy with some of the decisions  Cannie made or the ways she chose to carry them out.  Yes, there were a couple of “woe-is-me” moments I could have lived without, but then this would have been a different book and not the gem I read. 

I am glad I let go of my personal ideas long enough to get thoroughly enraptured by Good In Bed. Thanks to Lara for letting me check it out of her library.