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Review Date: 12/28/2006
Divorce may be no laughing matter, but in novelist Ellen Feldman's skillfull hands it becomes a wickedly funny means of looking at the marital foibles and extramarital hijinks, the romantic hopes and sexual connivings of Manhattan's upwardyly mobile professionals. Here are the people who own Frank Stella prints, BMWs and Park Avenue apartments; the people who eat in the restaurants on Columbus Avenue and in Tribeca, who buy there Christmas presents at MOMA and Tiffany's, who take cottages in Nantucket for their summer vacations and debate the virtues of the Carribean and skiing at Gstaad for their Christmas holidays; the same people whose adolescent children shop in boutiques in the East Fifties and who inherit their mother's maids.
They also get divorced. And to help them obtain--or save--top dollar, they come flocking to divorce lawyer Emily Brandt, wearing their grievances on their sleeves and carrying their broken hearts in their pocketbooks. Now in her thirties, Emily once dreamed of doing great things for civil liberties, just as her her own ex, Jake, an editor for a slick magazine, once dreamed of writing the Great American Novel. By living with another woman's husband, Emily believes she has her own love life under control. By coming to Emily to handle his divorce from his second wife, Jake believes he'll get the best advice possible.
Among those who agree with him are Emily's two sisters, Laura and Hallie. For almost twenty years Laura has devoted herself to being a wife and mother, and she is neither emotionally nor financially prepared to have her psychiatrist husband, Ezra, announce he wants a divorce. Hallie, too, is a wife and mother; but she has also pursued a career, hitching her wagon to whatever trendy star is in the ascendancy, most recently as director of the Alliance of Women Executives (AWE). Her complaint is that her husband, Daniel, prefers staying up with his computer to going to bed with her.
Although these are people who love neither wisely nor well, they will--with the exception of dreadful Ezra--provoke tears of laughter, and maybe a few of sorrow. Not the least of the joys of CONJUGAL RITES is that Ellen Feldman has no ax to grind. If her subject is the sadomasochism involved in the everyday battles of the war between the sexes, her viewpoint is that men and women are meant to be partners. In falling in love, in falling out of love, in sleeping apart and together, they indulge in sexual games. The winners are those who maintain the best perspectives, and the ability to laugh is the prize.
They also get divorced. And to help them obtain--or save--top dollar, they come flocking to divorce lawyer Emily Brandt, wearing their grievances on their sleeves and carrying their broken hearts in their pocketbooks. Now in her thirties, Emily once dreamed of doing great things for civil liberties, just as her her own ex, Jake, an editor for a slick magazine, once dreamed of writing the Great American Novel. By living with another woman's husband, Emily believes she has her own love life under control. By coming to Emily to handle his divorce from his second wife, Jake believes he'll get the best advice possible.
Among those who agree with him are Emily's two sisters, Laura and Hallie. For almost twenty years Laura has devoted herself to being a wife and mother, and she is neither emotionally nor financially prepared to have her psychiatrist husband, Ezra, announce he wants a divorce. Hallie, too, is a wife and mother; but she has also pursued a career, hitching her wagon to whatever trendy star is in the ascendancy, most recently as director of the Alliance of Women Executives (AWE). Her complaint is that her husband, Daniel, prefers staying up with his computer to going to bed with her.
Although these are people who love neither wisely nor well, they will--with the exception of dreadful Ezra--provoke tears of laughter, and maybe a few of sorrow. Not the least of the joys of CONJUGAL RITES is that Ellen Feldman has no ax to grind. If her subject is the sadomasochism involved in the everyday battles of the war between the sexes, her viewpoint is that men and women are meant to be partners. In falling in love, in falling out of love, in sleeping apart and together, they indulge in sexual games. The winners are those who maintain the best perspectives, and the ability to laugh is the prize.
Review Date: 12/27/2006
front cover is missing...
Review Date: 12/27/2006
A collection of eight interwoven tales, brimming with wit and laughter. The people who travel on the Lilac Bus lead separate lives in Dublin during the week, but are thrown together at the weekend for the journey home to Rathdoon. Thei paths begin to cross in an unexpected and intriguing way...
In these stories, Maeve Binchy uses deft touches and humour to point to the goodness and folly of human nature.
In these stories, Maeve Binchy uses deft touches and humour to point to the goodness and folly of human nature.
Review Date: 12/27/2006
front cover is missing...
Review Date: 12/27/2006
When Nicola Ward inherits a trunk filled with family photographs, jewelry, and papers that apper to be writeen in Chinese and Russian, she dispatches them to an auction house to he appraised. But her family memorabilia may contain startling information about a Soviet spy ring, and together with Neil Walker, the ex-CIA agent hired to research the documents, Nicola plunges into a dizzying game of international espionage and politics that will have her questioning her own identity -- and fighting for her very life...
Review Date: 4/29/2012
Such a cute book! Funny ending :-)
Review Date: 12/28/2006
In her compelling new novel, TREASURES, Belva Plain takes us once again intot he intimate lives of an unforgettable family and into the very heart of the conflicts that beset our troubled times.
Where did it all go wrong? The Osbournes began at the bottom and achieved stellar heights. They were determined to make their mark. Their mother might have kept the family going to simply spit and sprirt, but Connie and Eddy -- bright, ambitious, eager -- couldn't wait to shed their shabby beginnings and seize everything life could offer.
Connie -- a vibrant innocent beauty -- set our for Texas in the booming '70s. Her marraige to the scion of a comfortable Houston family seemed a triumph, but it ended in shattering dillusion. The wealth and power of her second husband swept her into the most dazzling circles of New York society.
On Wall Street, Eddy's uncanny knack for clever, lucrative deals sent his personal stock soaring. His boyish good looks and enthusiasm won entry and acceptance everywhere. He would become a connoiseur and impassioned collector of all things, elegant and expensive. And when he finally decided to marry a beautiful blue blood, his lack of social credentials would be no obstacle.
Only Lara, who had helped raise them, remained in the little Ohion town where they'd all been born. Married to her highschool sweetheart, a gifted inventor, her longing for children went unfulfilled until the adoption of six-year-old Sue was followed by the birth of little Peggy, and it seemed that she, too, had achieved her dream.
Where had it all gone wrong? Suddently everything Connie possessed stood between her and the deep, passionate love she craved. Fate and her deep commitment to family had contrived to put everything Lara cherished at peril. Addicted to risk at the highest level, Eddy had commited reckless acts with chilling consequences that now threatened to destroy them all. They had gone from exuberant innocence to the brink of despair in a decade driven by the forces of unbridled ambition. Now, as they approach the '90s, they must choose to stand alone and watch their dreams die or work together to savage what they alone can treasure.
Where did it all go wrong? The Osbournes began at the bottom and achieved stellar heights. They were determined to make their mark. Their mother might have kept the family going to simply spit and sprirt, but Connie and Eddy -- bright, ambitious, eager -- couldn't wait to shed their shabby beginnings and seize everything life could offer.
Connie -- a vibrant innocent beauty -- set our for Texas in the booming '70s. Her marraige to the scion of a comfortable Houston family seemed a triumph, but it ended in shattering dillusion. The wealth and power of her second husband swept her into the most dazzling circles of New York society.
On Wall Street, Eddy's uncanny knack for clever, lucrative deals sent his personal stock soaring. His boyish good looks and enthusiasm won entry and acceptance everywhere. He would become a connoiseur and impassioned collector of all things, elegant and expensive. And when he finally decided to marry a beautiful blue blood, his lack of social credentials would be no obstacle.
Only Lara, who had helped raise them, remained in the little Ohion town where they'd all been born. Married to her highschool sweetheart, a gifted inventor, her longing for children went unfulfilled until the adoption of six-year-old Sue was followed by the birth of little Peggy, and it seemed that she, too, had achieved her dream.
Where had it all gone wrong? Suddently everything Connie possessed stood between her and the deep, passionate love she craved. Fate and her deep commitment to family had contrived to put everything Lara cherished at peril. Addicted to risk at the highest level, Eddy had commited reckless acts with chilling consequences that now threatened to destroy them all. They had gone from exuberant innocence to the brink of despair in a decade driven by the forces of unbridled ambition. Now, as they approach the '90s, they must choose to stand alone and watch their dreams die or work together to savage what they alone can treasure.
Review Date: 12/28/2006
Here, from the world's greatest storyteller, Jeffrey Archer, are twelve ingeniously plotted stories that display his renowned ability for the unpredictible, but wholly satisfying twist.
Even more inventive that his previously best selling short story collections, TWELVE RED HERRINGS contains a dozen startling tales, each of which makes use of misleading clues to surprise the reader.
You'll read abouta woman who fools her husband and her lover on the same day; a leading laywers's attempt to prove his client is not blind; an honored guest whose expectations are something more than the red carpet; a yong painter who finds an unlikely way to call attention to herself; and a women whose casual ride into the country becomes such a gauntlet of terror that by the last page you'll be shaking with fear.
In each of these stories, human beings are put under pressure--how do they react when they have an opportunity to seize , a crucial problem to solve, a danger to avoid?
Displaying all the Archer hallmarks, from relentless pacing to sophisticated glamour, TWELVE RED HERRINGS offers two additional rewards. For the first time, in the final story, a choice of four endings is offered, testifying to the range of Archer's imaginations and the suppleness of the writer's art. Also, there is buried in each story a diversion of another kind--let us simply call it a red herring--which Archer challenges his readers to uncover. Who will be the reader to spot all twelve?
Even more inventive that his previously best selling short story collections, TWELVE RED HERRINGS contains a dozen startling tales, each of which makes use of misleading clues to surprise the reader.
You'll read abouta woman who fools her husband and her lover on the same day; a leading laywers's attempt to prove his client is not blind; an honored guest whose expectations are something more than the red carpet; a yong painter who finds an unlikely way to call attention to herself; and a women whose casual ride into the country becomes such a gauntlet of terror that by the last page you'll be shaking with fear.
In each of these stories, human beings are put under pressure--how do they react when they have an opportunity to seize , a crucial problem to solve, a danger to avoid?
Displaying all the Archer hallmarks, from relentless pacing to sophisticated glamour, TWELVE RED HERRINGS offers two additional rewards. For the first time, in the final story, a choice of four endings is offered, testifying to the range of Archer's imaginations and the suppleness of the writer's art. Also, there is buried in each story a diversion of another kind--let us simply call it a red herring--which Archer challenges his readers to uncover. Who will be the reader to spot all twelve?
Review Date: 12/27/2006
front cover is missing...
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