Book Description
Born in the U.S.A....
American gals are taking liberties -- and pursuing happiness on their own terms -- in this star-studded story collection featuring the nation's red-hot women writers.
They've declared their independence!
Jennifer Weiner (In Her Shoes) learns "The Truth About Nigel" -- and the trouble with falling for an incognito Hollywood actor.
Lauren Weisberger (The Devil Wears Prada) sends a single New Yorker on a backpacking trip halfway around the world -- where she sees her love life back home with new eyes -- in "The Bamboo Confessions." A harried mom with a hit novel crosses the pond in "My Great Brit Book Tour" by
Adriana Trigiani (Lucia, Lucia), and turns a crumbling talk show appearance into a sweet success. Also uniting their talents in this free-spirited anthology are
JULIANNA BAGGOTT • CINDY CHUPACK • LYNDA CURNYN • QUINN DALTON • LAUREN HENDERSON • JUDI HENDRICKS • GRETCHEN LASKAS • CLAIRE LaZEBNIK • CHRIS MANBY • SARAH MLYNOWSKI • MELISSA SENATE • JILL SMOLINSKI • NANCY SPARLING • LAURA WOLF
Customer Reviews:
Fun Fun Fun.......2007-05-01
Out of the 13 short stories, I enjoyed 10 thoroughly. A great way to discover some authors I was unfamiliar with. A great investment.
Funny and Tender.......2007-04-05
I bought this book because I'm an avid fan of Jennifer Weiner. As a result I have been introduced to the fun and whimsical writing of the other authors who contributed their short stories.
Each short story is engaging and very entertaining.
Fun to read!!.......2006-11-10
The book was great- I dont usually like short stories but it was perfect for when I was working out or just needed a quick break from reality!
Fun read most of the time.......2006-11-06
Most of the short stories were quite good and left me wanting to delve into the characters more; others not so much. Overall a good, light read.
Women Authors.......2006-08-20
This was a great way to "sample" lots of new authors. The stories were well written, and I intend to read books by several of the authors, I enjoyed them so much.
Book Description
Featuring:
Willa Cather
Doris Lessing
Joyce Carol Oates
Alice Walker
Edith Wharton
Virginia Woolf
and others
Customer Reviews:
Inspiring!.......2005-07-01
I first encountered this book over ten years ago and have recommended it occasionally since then, remembering how much I enjoyed it. I am in the process of re-reading and re-discovering the joys of this gem. The book is a collection of short stories, written by and about women, edited lovingly and perspicaciously by the talented Susan Cahill. She introduces each story with a brief history of the writer and her impact on the writing world. The stories are by the best and brightest of women writers, many of whom are household names, while others may be new to the reader, as they were to me. Protagonists are strong, are vacillating, are rich, are poor, are young, are old, smart or dull, lucky or unfortunate. One thing all the stories have in common, however, is the extraordinary sense and perception the writer brings to the state of woman. From the sensitivity of Kate Chopin's newly widowed young wife in the famous "The Story of an Hour," to the crassness of Flannery O'Connor's farmer's wife in "Revelation," all these women are alive and touch the reader in ways beyond all expectation.
A wonderful, wonderful read!
Women writers you will never forget.......2004-06-03
I read this book for a literature course that included women writers of the past 100 years. I have not forgotten these writers or this book.It is a "handbook" to carry with you to read and read again.The women writers may have been born long ago or in the 20th Century.Their short stories are all valid today. I love this book .I handle it with care.
Kate Chopin, Alice Walker, Virginia Woolf,and more.I never knew how a short story could affect me.Cahill has put together a great collection of women writers.
here's the table of contents.......2004-04-16
Introduction
Kate Chopin (1851-1904): The Story of an Hour
Edith Wharton (1862-1937): The Other Two
Willa Cather (1873-1947): A Wagner Matinée
Colette (1873-1947): The Secret Woman
Gertrude Stein (1874-1946): Miss Furr and Miss Skeene
Virginia Woolf (1882-1941): The New Dress
Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923): The Garden Party
Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980): Rope
Kay Boyle (1902-1992): Winter Night
Eudora Welty (1909-2001): A Worn Path
Hortense Calisher (1911- ): The Scream on Fifty-Seventh Street
Ann Petry (1911-1997): Like a Winding Sheet
Mary Lavin (1912-1996): In a Café
Tillie Olsen (1913- ): I Stand Here Ironing
Maeve Brennan (1917-1993): The Eldest Child
Carson McCullers (1917-1967): Wunderkind
Doris Lessing (1919- ): To Room Nineteen
Grace Paley (1922- ): An Interest in Life
Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964): Revelation
Jean Stubbs (1926- ): Cousin Lewis
Edna O'Brien (1930- ): A Journey
Alice Munro (1931- ): The Office
Joyce Carol Oates (1938- ): In the Region of Ice
Margaret Drabble (1939- ): The Gifts of War
Julie Hayden (1939-1981): Day-Old Baby Rats
Alice Walker (1944- ): Everyday Use
Bibliography
"What the heart is ... and what it feels.".......2002-05-26
The original edition of this anthology was published in
1975 by the New American Library, under the same title.
This volume contains 26 short stories written by women,
and arranged in chronological order by the authors'
birthdates. Kate Chopin (1851-1904) appears first with
her magnificent, ironic short masterpiece "The Story of
an Hour."
The anthology contains a very good "Introduction,"
short biographies (a page or more) of the authors before
their stories, and a Bibliography at the end which lists
the author's major works.
The editor, Susan Cahill, has given the best insight
into the purpose and virtue of this collection in the
"Introduction":
"In each story in this collection an artist expresses
with realistic compassion the consciousness of an
individual woman. To label any of the writers 'feminist'
would be to force that writer into an easy category, to
insist her home is not the house of fiction but a smaller
place. Yet it is no error to see these fictions as
feminism's sacred texts, their authors as the movement's
greatest prophets, for they tell us more about what it
feels like to be a woman than all the gray abstractions
about Women heard on the talk shows or read in gray
reviews about gray books on sexual stereotypes. In a
world whose future may be rationalized by the abstractions
of _realpolitik_, anything that takes us closer to the
heart, that makes us respond seriously and sympathetically
to the individual human being is to be revered. 'In the
end, our technique is sensitivity,' Eudora Welty writes
about the crafting of the short story."
* * * "The twenty-six stories in this book have been
selected because they are extraordinarily moving and
convincing portraits of women and their lives by
extraordinary writers." * * * "...women in the city,
suburb, country, ghetto, working-class Jewish, celibate
Catholic, Irish, English, American Canadian, and a few
secret French women. Women who choose women over men,
women who choose husband over personal fulfillment,
women who know self, women who are too oppressed or
too weak to know or choose anything. The twenty-six
stories in this anthology show that a woman's destiny
is as mysterious and individual and various as the
human personality itself. * * *these fictions ...unfold
a deep understanding of what Stephen Daedalus's mother
in _A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man_ prayed
her son would someday learn: 'What the heart is...and
what it feels."
Average customer rating:
- "I Love Christian Fiction"
- The Ex Files
- Recovery...
- Another VCM BEST SELLER!
- Edgy, Honest, Ugly and Powerful
|
The Ex Files: A Novel About Four Women and Faith
Victoria Christopher Murray
Manufacturer: Touchstone
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Redemption
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A Sin and a Shame: A Novel
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Temptation
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This Fire Down in My Soul
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Love and Lies
ASIN: 1416535519 |
Book Description
There are four ways a woman can handle heartbreak. She can fall apart, seek revenge, turn cold, or move on. The Ex Files is the story of these four women:
When
Kendall Stewart finds her husband and her sister in bed together, she vows to never let anyone get that close again. But when she is faced with saving the life of the woman who destroyed hers, will she be able to forgive?
When an NBA superstar tells his mistress,
Asia Ingrum, that he's decided to honor his marriage vows, her shock quickly gives way to revenge...but her decision may come back to haunt their five-year-old daughter.
Every night
Vanessa Martin wonders why her husband committed suicide. Even worse, she contemplates joining him in eternity. Will Vanessa be able to gather the strength to live again?
Sheridan Hart is finally finding her way after a lie destroyed her seventeen-year marriage. Her new love is ready to get married, but will she commit to this younger man or is her ex-husband taking up too much space in her heart?
When their pastor asks Kendall, Asia, Vanessa, and Sheridan to meet weekly for prayer, they can't imagine they will have anything in common. But then a devastating tragedy strikes and these strangers are forced to reexamine their choices. Will they find true friendship, or will prayer -- and their union -- fail them?
Customer Reviews:
"I Love Christian Fiction".......2007-10-10
My goodness, christian fiction is just as good as non christian fiction. Like I always say about Ms. Murray, Jacquelin Thomas, ReShonda Tate Billingsley and other christian writers, you don't need offensive language and raunchy sex acts for a novel to be enjoyable. I like the characters and the storylines plus it was good to hear from the Hart family again. Vanessa's demise was a shock..I didn't think she'd actually do it, and last but not least what kind of name is Noon Thursday Jones?
The Ex Files.......2007-10-09
This book was GREAT! I can not think of what to say. It has left me speechless b/c I could relate to all of the women in some way. This book also answered some questions that some women have asked themselves or others. I will be recommending this book to anyone who ask. Keep up the good work Victoria!
Recovery..........2007-10-03
In this tale of self discovery you meet four women, Asia, Kendall, Stephanie and Vanessa who think they have nothing in common but in the end find out they share a bond that is unbreakable. I went through so many emotions reading thsi story, and I'd have to say Vanessa's story cut me the deepest. Asia, with her scandelous self, had me fit to be tied but I was glad to see her come around also. Stephanie and Kendall, they had definitely come a long way by the time the book ended. This one is certainly a must read.
Another VCM BEST SELLER!.......2007-10-02
Asia Ingrum always knew she would marry up and live the glamorous life. Asia used her charms to get involved with Bobby, a NBA super star, who she thought she would marry. She never thought the impossible would happen.
Kendall Stewart loved her husband and knew they would always be together. That is until she found him in bed with her sister. One unforgettable instance of betrayal cost her marriage and may destroy her family as well.
Vanessa Martin is reeling behind the death of her husband, Reed. He was the center of her life and she can't understand why he committed suicide. Why has God turned his back on her?
Sheridan Hart is back after her marriage was destroyed by the homosexual affair her husband was involved in. Pastor Ford asked her to lead a bible study but for the life of her she doesn't understand why.
As these ladies sacrifice one evening a week to participate in a new prayer group, they begin to realize what they have in common - an undying love of God. Now all they have to do is figure out what God has in store for them. As tragedy overcomes the group, their newly found sisterhood will help get them through.
The Ex Files definitely stays with the trend that VCM has set - BEST SELLER. The storyline flows between characters making you part of their lives. The intense nature of their problems draws the reader in while the religious undertones will have you evaluate your own life. Another VCM blockbuster, don't sleep on this outstanding story.
Deltareviewer
Reviewing for Real Page Turners
Edgy, Honest, Ugly and Powerful.......2007-09-19
I'd give 4.5 stars if available.
I haven't read a racier Christian novel this year. Spicy, embarrassingly so, in some spots. But also gritty in consequences and pain. Almost feels like the voyeuristic blush I get when reading Song of Solomon, or some of "those" passages in the prophets.
Four characters each face the end of a relationship -- a mistress, and three wives. All relationships are devastated by sinful choices and are full of the fallout of consequence. Each of the four women handles her situation in a unique way or blend of dysfunction. One grows icy cold, another gives up, a third comes out fighting. In the end we see some healing and growth that comes from internal surgery brought about through the characters pain.
The storytelling is fabulous. Some passive writing is the major mechanical flaw but the story certainly overcomes this minor issue.
The Ex-Files made me squirm and judge and then fall under conviction. I think those of us who've been in the church for a long time will be more horrified at these "Christian" ladies behaviors because they are so obviously blatant in their choices. But after we've been steeped in religion, our sins tend to be more subtle, becoming attitudes or whispers. The Ex-File reminded me that these "lesser sins" also need to be put under Christ's Lordship and forgiven as they are indeed ugly sins.
You may not be ready to read this book. Don't give it to Grandma for Christmas without checking out a few pages yourself. Certainly don't leave it lying around for a bored twelve-year-old.
Please don't overlook or discount the lessons in this book of parables. The outloud sins of the characters and the lavish grace of Jesus's forgiveness may call some who struggle deeply with sin strongholds into giving those patterns to Christ. Prodigals may benefit, older teens (very mature - this is PG-13+) may benefit from seeing the internal, emotional consequences of the drama lifestyle.
If you're looking for gritty and edgy Christian fiction - you might want to look into The Ex-Files.
Average customer rating:
|
Women Writing about Money: Women's Fiction in England, 17901820 (Cambridge Studies in Romanticism)
Edward Copeland
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
19th Century
| British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
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General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
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| Classics
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| Movements & Periods
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ASIN: 0521454611 |
Book Description
This study addresses a paradox in the lives of women in Jane Austen’s time who had no legal access to money yet were held responsible for domestic expenditure. The book translates the fictional money of the novels of Jane Austen’s day into the power of contemporary spendable incomes, and from the perspective of what the British pound could buy at the market, the economic lives of women in the novels emerge as part of a general picture of women’s economic disability. Through the work of writers such as Austen and Edgeworth, as well as those of magazine fiction, the author examines the professional lives of women authors, their publishers, their profits, and the demands of their reading public. By linking authorship to the economic lives of contemporary women, Women Writing About Money links the fantasy worlds of women’s fiction with the social and economic realities of both readers and writers.
Book Description
There is 'The Ugly One,' whose only solace comes when she is locked inside her own head. In 'Wanted: A Thug,' a teenager seeks advice on how to steal her best friend's bad-guy boyfriend. And then there's Erika, who only likes white boys. Sharon Flake takes readers through the minds of girls trying to define themselves while struggling to remain relevant to the boys in their lives. This is a complex, often humorous, always on-point exposition of black youth resolving to find self-worth . . . any way they know how.
Customer Reviews:
Boys, Girls and Hormones.......2007-06-19
We read this one a month ago. The title led us to believe this book was about teens relationship with God, which would've been a good subject to read about. But this was not about God. It was ten stories about teen relationships. We pretty much enjoyed reading them all. Our favorite was A Letter to My Daughter. We enjoyed this one the most because a father was writing to his daughter explaining to her what boys were all about and what their intentions were when dating or having a girlfriend. It's always good to hear it from a male perspective. This way, girls will have the inside scoop and know exactly what to lookout for.
On the negative side, we wished that some of the characters were of other ethnic groups instead of mostly urban African American. The story, "I Like White Boys" was good. We wanted to read more racially integrated stories. Sometimes it's difficult to read slang. We try to read books that doesn't have a lot of slang because it's not the standard in this society. We recognize that urban communities have citizens that uses slang and improper English, but we're trying to change all that by incorporating ourselves into this American society by speaking proper or standard English. It's not that we disapprove of urban books. No, not at all because we love the BLUFORD SERIES! It's just that we want to be able to articulate a sentence when we go on job interviews.
All in all, it was an okay read and we would recommend it to other teens.
Teens'R'Us
3.5 ***-.*
Excellent Reading.......2007-01-26
This book was excellent. We used this book for a discussion with a youth group. The young ladies enjoyed all the stories. They could relate to the young people in the stories. It gave them a picture of how girls see themselves and how boys and men around them view them. I enjoyed reading the book and I was excited to discuss it with them. I would encourage young and old to read this book.
it had it's good and bad moments...i'll agree.......2006-12-26
So i aint no good girl: ***** five stars, it was one of my favorites. I'm glad the book started with this story because it makes up for some of the crappier ones. I like how Ms. Flake portrays this girl as tough and scared at the same time. She doesn't let anyone talk her down, except Raheem, who abuses her and she feels that if she just "goes with the flow" she'll keep him.
Girl didn't i say i dont write no letters: ***** Five stars again. Excellent. i love how i can relate to devita about her liking Jaquel and gaining enough strength to tell him how she really feels, through letters.
The ugly one: **** four stars. it was OK i didn't understand the complete end, when she is dancing with the Jamaican dude, is he real? I would've liked it more if he was a real person.
Mookie in Love: **** four stars. It was OK as well. the story would've been better if it was in his perspective, not the cousins.
Don't be disrepecting me: *** Three stars. I didn't like it that much. Ms. Flake seemed to rush into the story and it didn't end well, at all.
I like White Boys: **** Fours stars. I liekd it, i could actually relate, but it would've been better if Erika picked Chet or Johnny or that guy with the blonde hair, i dont know. I don't think Ms. Flake ended the story well. Too much suspense i guess.
Jacob's rules: ***** Excellent story great narration. I liked Marimba a lot too.
I know a stupid boy when i see one: *** i did not like the story. i wont really get into it because there are too many things to talk about but i will say this. UNREALISTIC
Hunting for boys: ***** Great story. no comment. Too good for words.
wanted: a thug: ****\* four and a half. I liked this story. Great suspense. I wish Ms Flake could make a continuation of these..oh well *sigh*
Not a boy and letter to my daughter are good as well. Both *** three stars.
Who am I without him?.......2006-11-22
I enjoyed reading this book because it had to do with teenagers just like me and how they handle some problems. This book is a great way to show teeagers how teenagers hadle their problems. So if you read this book you will understand how teenagers handle some issues. And if you are a adult then you will see how us teenagers handle some problems that we get.
Excellent!.......2006-10-27
Sharon, you did an excellent job with these short stories. My favorite was "Hunting for Boys." This book is all about girls and they boys they like. It's about learning about relationships. It demonstrates puberty and hormones kicking in. It reminds me of the saying by Dolly Parton on confusion: "they don't know whether to scratch their watch or wind their behind." Moms and Dads, please get this book for your daughters. They will enjoy the stories and may even find themselves in some of them. Each story has a different premise but they all tie into the same plot--getting with a boy. It reminds me when I first started liking boys when I was in junior high. I definitely recommend this book for the average teenager. Well done, Sharon, and keep 'em coming.
Book Description
Ah go on...tell us.
New York Times bestselling authors Maeve Binchy and Marian Keyes top an impressive roster of the Emerald Isle's most popular women writers and prove that when it comes to spinning a good yarn, the Irish are the best in the business. Showcasing dazzling wit and remarkable insight in short stories that run the gamut from provocative to poignant, these Irish women will tug at your heartstrings and have you crying with laughter in no time.
She did what?!
In
Maeve Binchy's "Carissima," a longtime ex-pat and free spirit returns to Ireland from Sicily and shakes things up for her family, who finds her life utterly scandalous. In "Soulmates," by
Marian Keyes, one woman's relationship is so bleedin' perfect in every way that it's driving her friends up the wall. In
Cathy Kelly's "Thelma, Louise and the Lurve Gods," two women on a madcap, Stateside road trip have completely opposite reactions to a pair of insanely good-looking men. In these stories, and throughout this fabulous collection, Ireland's finest women authors celebrate the joys and perils of love, the adventure and constancy of female friendships, and their own irresistible brand of Irish charm.
Customer Reviews:
Half and Half.......2007-08-24
I only enjoyed about 50% of the short stories in this book. But of those I did like, I really, really enjoyed them. I would just rather get an entire book from those authors that I liked than read a few short stories. Just as you get into the story, it's over. Although it was helpful in learning new authors.
Good stuff!.......2007-08-16
These are fun short stories that you can read before bedtime. Each author has a slightly different style and they really capture the Irish culture.
Irish Girls About Town.......2007-03-12
Although all the stories in this book were good, Maive Binchy is absolutely outstanding. Received in good condition.
My Review.......2006-04-16
Just finished reading today.
I loved it!! Well, some of the stories I liked, some were boring.
My favourite has to be, "The Unlovable Woman" by Annie Sparrow.
It's a short story about a woman who has just been stood up by whom she thought was Mr. Right. The next day at work a "fortune teller" of sorts tells her that love will come knocking on her door, and to be ready for it. I'm not going to ruin the story, but her true love has been right there in front of her for a long time, but she was too busy dating the "rejects" to notice "mr. Right."
Feel-Good Anthology.......2005-06-23
Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes, and a host of other fabulous but unkown-to-this-reviewer Irish women authors pooled their talents to raise money for an Irish charity--and this fabulously wonderful book was the result.
Each short story is a gem unto itself, and absolutely nothing is boring, trite or blah. This is a perfect beach read, and makes me want to look up all the women of whom I knew nothing so that I can order each of their books!!!
This is a real treat for any fan of Brit Lit.
Amazon.com
It would be difficult to overstate the elegance of this story collection from Andrea Lee, who produces fiction and journalism for The New Yorker, among other venues. Lee's interesting women are usually Americans trying their luck in Europe; most of them are African American wives of the Italian elite. Because her subject matter is so rarified (the first story mentions cashmere two times in as many pages) and because her writing is so beautifully transparent, it seems at first that Lee is coasting on the glamour of her subject matter. Not so--these stories are every bit as well put together as the women who inhabit them. "Brothers and Sisters Around the World" is an unforgettable tale of a well-to-do black woman who vacations in Third World countries with her European husband: "on vacation we travel the world to get hotter and wilder." When the narrator impulsively slaps a teenage girl who's been flirting with her husband in a village near Madagascar, the balance of the whole island is upset, with surprising results. Lee limns race, class, and a peculiarly female ambitiousness while always keeping her language as deceptively simple and sharp as an Armani suit. --Claire Dederer
Book Description
American brio confronts European sophistication in these critically acclaimed stories of seduction and self-discovery by New Yorker writer Andrea Lee. In vivid prose shot through with mordant irony, Lee offers the reader a rare combination: sensual evocation of the moment and profound insight into the underlying struggles of gender, race, and class that shape relationships worldwide.
Customer Reviews:
Not chick lit........2005-08-16
The cover of my (European) edition of Lee's short stories is misleading. Between the gritty Vogue-ish photo of an elegantly dressed woman's back, the gold script font of the title, and the dominant blurb by Elle Magazine on the back, you'd think you were in for some classy chick lit. What you get instead are a series of expertly crafted, sophisticated literary gems. With precision, control, and deadpan wit, Lee sketches a series of female characters who find themselves at cultural crossroads: ex-patriots living in a new language, cosmopolitan professionals dating across racial lines, first-world citizens figuring out the terms of their status in the greater world, individuals making sense of their various, conflicting cultural legacies. There's not a single weak story in this collection. I particularly enjoyed "Brothers and Sisters Around the World" and "Anthropology."
a chick lit book with more "lit " and less "chick".......2003-11-29
i read a review of this book over a year ago and i'm sorry i didn't read it sooner. this woman is a fantastic writer! her writing is so clear, concise, poetic. her characters, so finely drawn. i know these women...i am these women.
andrea, where have you been?
i have been to italy and i could see, smell and taste the places and experiences ms. lee was describing. i am also in an interracial relationship, and too, had to endure the looks, the whispering and "set a few island women straight" on trips to the carribbean. i understand that feeling of being everywhere and no where.
i have read countless books in the last few years devoted to the female genre, or the "chick lit "market and have been gravely dissappointed to the point where i wanted the author themselves to give me my money back.
ms. lee, my 22.95( canadian) is all yours!
Self-indulgent.......2003-10-10
The author needs to get over herself. In a world full of poverty and suffering, I found the author's insights boring and self-indulgent. I am amazed this book got published and sells. There must a lot of rich, middle class women with a lot time on their hands to buy and read this book.
so so reading.......2003-05-14
I agree with other posters and found this book to be pretty dull. For some reason I felt I had to finish it, but it wasn't an easy read. I kept adding up how many pages until the end.
I couldn't put this book down.......2002-10-21
I read a wonderful review of this book in the New York Times, bought it and had it on my shelf when a good friend told me I HAD to read it. Once I started, I couldn't put it down! The stories are about everything I find relevant and interesting: relationships between men and women, and between women and women, the dynamics of race, and travel and life in other countries. Isn't this what life is about? Well it is for educated, mixed-race women who enjoy and appreciate travel and living overseas, and who are or were married.
I am looking forward to Andrea Lee's next book with eager anticipation!
Book Description
aula Marantz Cohen's triumphant first novel, Jane Austen in Boca, was an irresistible blend of classic English litera-ture and modern American mores. Her new novel heads north to a seemingly quiet suburban town for a comedy of manners that even Shakespeare couldn't have imagined. Carla Good-man's life in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, is a bit stressful these days. Her doctor husband is frazzled, and her son's teachers want to put him on Ritalin. Then there's the bat mitzvah to plan for her daughter. But it's her sweet widowed mother, Jessie Kaplan, who really has Carla worried, for Jessie has suddenly 'remembered' that she was Shakespeare's Dark Lady of the sonnets in a pre-vious life. Can even the famed Dr. Leonard Samuels, psychia-trist and author of the self-help book, How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love My Mother-in-Law, help with a problem like this?
Customer Reviews:
not literary fiction, but a fun read.......2006-06-25
************************SPOILER*********************************I loved this book. I didn't think I would like it because I usually read literary fiction. This book has a few characters, which makes this book, Much ado About Jessie Kaplan a fast easy read. Carla, the main character( mother), her son is distrupting the school and causing havoc, the daughter about to become a bat mitzvah, and can't pick out the right dress, the right food and the music, the husband's practice going down the tube, between it is her mother, Jessie thinking she is shakespeare's lover. I would be ready to pull out my hair about now. Anyone, who is in the middle of planning a large reception( bar mitzvah, wedding etc) would relate to this. The question is, is it wrong for her mother to think she is shakespeare's lover. Do we let her think this way. The daughter who is becoming a Bat Mitzvah says it best in her ceremony(d'var torah). We interput things according to who we are and what we think. It's not a matter of it being true or false but of it making sense and helping us to see things that we did not see before. We can't really tell the future and we can't really understand the past- but we can find ways to interpet them that help us live our lives better."
I enjoyed reading this book, It was hilarious I could not put it down. It was a let down, when it was not as important to find the lost sonnets in Venice. But, the book had to end.
Maybe the author will sell the rights for a movie.
Book Review.......2006-04-30
Jessie Kaplan was a typical Jewish grandmother who settled every fight, served as the family counselor, and had the best chopped liver in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, but when she begins to "remember" her previous life as William Shakespeare's girlfriend, Carla Goodman becomes worried about her widowed mother. However, all this does is add to her growing list of problems: her teenage daughter's bat mitzvah's arrangements, her possibly ADHD ten-year-old son, and her husband's failing career as a gastroenterologist, not to mention her little sister's social life dilemma. This stay-at-home mother hopes she can find help in the genius Dr. Leonard Samuels's famous psychiatry skills, but if he can't help who will? The next thing she knows her ancient mother is off with some English teacher and his Yale colleagues in Venice searching for William Shakespeare's forgotten sonnets. Paula Marantz Cohen illustrates in her second fictional novel how life can be completely turned around by a four hundred year old dead guy who just happened to write a few legendary literature works on the way.
From the first page to the last, the author will make her readers laugh about the crazy Goodman-Kaplan household. First there is the unsuccessful father who needs his private practice to get back on it's feet and with the advice of his lovely wife, Mark hires a fresh out of college public relations manager with some exciting ideas. Now with a new, sleek haircut, designer suits, and all that bling, he has the ability to become the town's best and only gastroenterologist/television personality. There is also Mark and Carla's ten year old Jeffrey that has been recommended by basically all the staff to be put on Ritalin in order to stop being Cherry Hill's first junior delinquent in the fifth grade. Thankfully, after a visit to Dr. Samuels, Jeffrey discontinues consuming all sources of chocolate, including chocolate milk, which is his all time favorite, and the craziness ends. Last but not the easiest, Stephanie Goodman is a typical pre-bat mitzvah girl who can't find the right dress and will not have kosher food at her party, but surprisingly at the ceremony, the girl proved that she was ready to become a woman.
Carla's sister Margot is as messed up as the rest. She's a successful trial lawyer in sunny California and proves to be the champion at everything, except for love. Luckily for her, she finds the perfect match the way any woman would dream of, through her mother. In coincidence, it happens to be her niece's seventh grade English teacher, Hal Pearson, who looks just like William Shakespeare, in the opinion of Jessie anyway. Jessie confesses to Hal her memories of being the daughter of a wealthy Venetian sea merchant in the late 1500s, he approaches his Yale colleagues and goes on a quest to find the lost sonnets that Shakespeare wrote to Jessie, she claimed to have hidden under the floorboard of her former home.
Cohen put a great deal of effort and research into this brilliant book. Jessie's knowledge of the Shakespearean works, his astonishing love life, and the geographical details of the Getto Nuovu in Venice make the story of the Kaplans seem like something that happened in everyday occurrences. For example at back-to-school night in Hal's classroom, he mentioned the two subjects of the Shakespearean sonnets: a young man and the Dark Lady, but Jessie argues all were aimed at the lady, the male ones trying to make her jealous. She also says her knowledge was from personal experience, which set off the great expedition.
In the end, the Yale team of professors discovered no buried poems, but Hal did find the locket Jessie claimed Will had given her, during a solo visit to the old building. In everyone's best interest, he decided to keep the discovery to himself. Much Ado About Jessie Kaplan will take its readers on a crazy, historical ride that is sure to be enjoyed by all.
R. Turner
A quick and fun read........2005-12-28
Much Ado About Jessie Kaplan is a fun, quick, and funny read. The book is chock full of current cultural references that make the reader feel as though she's living in the world of the central characters. In the midst of planning her daughter's bat mitzvah, Carla Goodman's elderly mother, Jessie Kaplan, begins to speak and act strangely. She starts serving the family venison stew and uses obsolete vocabulary. Soon it comes out that Jessie believes she's the reincarnation of Shakespeare's love interest. The entire family thinks she's going senile; however, when Carla's English teacher, Hal, starts to press Jessie for details, he finds that her strange references are dead-on.
The plotlines that Cohen weaves together throughout this book are quirky and funny yet somehow still entirely believable. I really enjoyed the planning of Stephanie's bat mitzvah, which quickly gets out of hand (as such events often do).
I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, quick read. While it's not particularly deep, it's definitely entertaining.
Fun, but not deep.......2005-05-26
This novel was a fun little romp, especially for those who have at least a basic understanding of Shakespeare's plays. I'm not sure the end of the Jessie Kaplan plot was well explained or reasoned out, it felt too sudden (I can't give more detail for risk of ruining the plot).
My main criticism is that Cohen, while desciribing the Bar/Bat Mitzvah culture of East Coast Jews (Midwest and south is a bit more reserved), missed an opportunity to make a sharper critique of the situation in which the ceremony is downplayed and the party is the main event. Certainly Cohen issued a critique of this culutre, but it is weak at best and with a bit more humor and even exaggeration she could have made a point more forcefully. The main charachter, Carla, seems downright uninterested in the ceremony, except for the speech, for most of the book.
Good poolside reading. YOu won't gain any deep insights into the human condition. I hope that Cohen wasn't trying for that, or she missed badly.
A second wonderful book from Ms. Cohen.......2004-04-11
I enjoyed Ms. Cohen's first book, Jane Austen in Boca, so much, that when I saw that she had published a second novel, I did a little dance in front of my computer. She writes the type of book in which kind, funny, intelligent people do their best to live honorable lives despite all the obstacles that the world (and often their families and friends) throw into their paths. The characters are vivid, their problems are universal. It's lovely, smart and beautifully written book.
Average customer rating:
- compelling & unique: like the experience of motherhood
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Did My Mama Like to Dance?: And Other Stories About Mothers and Daughters
Manufacturer: Quill
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0380771012 |
Customer Reviews:
compelling & unique: like the experience of motherhood.......1999-04-19
This is an unusual collection of mother/daughter stories in that it is very diverse and not typical. The stories are a cross-section of experiences (not all sugary) and it is really nice to read about mother-daughter moments that are remembered not necessarily for the emotional quality but more for the uniqueness of the experience. Collectively housed in this anthology, the characters/stories/experiences represented here form their own sort of "community" -- one that I definitely related to.
Books:
- Anesthesiology Review (Anesthesiology Review)(3rd Edition)
- Beatrix Potter Complete Tales R/I
- Billy Budd and Other Stories (Penguin Classics)
- Billy Budd and Other Stories (Penguin Classics)
- Chasing Life: New Discoveries in the Search for Immortality to Help You Age Less Today
- Children of the Dragon: Selected Tales from Vietnam
- Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History
- Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America
- Dream Lovers: The Magnificent Shattered Lives of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee - by Their Son Dodd Darin
- Each Little Bird That Sings
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