Helpful Score: 7
If you are one of those people who enjoys the thrill of watching paint dry, then, by all means, pick up this book and read it. It really is THAT boring. And, as such, I think it's extremely insulting to the lives of the stay-at-home Moms it attempts to chronicle. (As a working mother myself, I can't claim personal insult, but I am insulted on behalf of all my SAHM friends.)
If you want to explore the inner life, the complex decisions, trade-offs, and compromises, mostly to professional self-development and financial gain, that SAHMs face, pick up a copy of "The Mommy Wars" instead. Yes, believe it or not, NON-FICTION is more interesting and exciting than reading this fictional account of 3 SAHMs in NYC wandering around crippled by their own inaction and self-pity.
In addition, there is very little talk about the JOY of stay-at-home motherhood and the benefits of choosing uninterrupted years raising your children over forays into the often brutal and harsh working world. The only happy character in the book is a woman whose banker husband provides an extremely cushy life for her and her twin sons. She is content in her beautiful apartment, SUV, and her worry-free life. Who WOULDN'T be? Is this a realistic picture of stay-at-home motherhood? It's definitely NOT representative.
Moreover, this one happy woman, who even adores her husband, also happens to be a brilliant mathmetician who goes on interviews and receives job offers all the time, but turns them down. So, the message is, as long as you have a rich, adoring husband and have a professional skill that can nail you a great-paying job any time you want, then personal and professional satisfaction come wrapped all in one in your cocoon of stay-at-home motherhood. Everyone else? You're just doomed to wander aimlessly, unhappily around, attempting to find your "calling," and, eventually, settling for an uninspiring, sometimes low-paying job to get out of the house and help your husband pay the bills.
According to this book, feminism really IS dead and gone.
If you want to explore the inner life, the complex decisions, trade-offs, and compromises, mostly to professional self-development and financial gain, that SAHMs face, pick up a copy of "The Mommy Wars" instead. Yes, believe it or not, NON-FICTION is more interesting and exciting than reading this fictional account of 3 SAHMs in NYC wandering around crippled by their own inaction and self-pity.
In addition, there is very little talk about the JOY of stay-at-home motherhood and the benefits of choosing uninterrupted years raising your children over forays into the often brutal and harsh working world. The only happy character in the book is a woman whose banker husband provides an extremely cushy life for her and her twin sons. She is content in her beautiful apartment, SUV, and her worry-free life. Who WOULDN'T be? Is this a realistic picture of stay-at-home motherhood? It's definitely NOT representative.
Moreover, this one happy woman, who even adores her husband, also happens to be a brilliant mathmetician who goes on interviews and receives job offers all the time, but turns them down. So, the message is, as long as you have a rich, adoring husband and have a professional skill that can nail you a great-paying job any time you want, then personal and professional satisfaction come wrapped all in one in your cocoon of stay-at-home motherhood. Everyone else? You're just doomed to wander aimlessly, unhappily around, attempting to find your "calling," and, eventually, settling for an uninspiring, sometimes low-paying job to get out of the house and help your husband pay the bills.
According to this book, feminism really IS dead and gone.
Helpful Score: 5
I agree with the previous reviewer - this book is boring. I kept reading and reading waiting for something to happen, but this book goes nowhere. I tried to give it a chance, at least so I could figure out the point but I couldn't finish it.
Helpful Score: 3
Too many characters; hard to follow; boring
Helpful Score: 2
Quite boring read. Hard for me to relate to any of the moms in the book. I am a stay-at-home mom, but I had little in common with them in the book.
This book was 350 pages of nothing. My book club read this and what a disaster. Only 1 out of 8 people actually liked it. The only reason I gave it any stars at all is because the writing was not bad. However, nothing happened. It was incredibly anti-climactic and the ending I felt was depressing and made me not want to look towards the future. Overall I do not recommend this book!!
