Three sides of a coin
This novel is about 3 seemingly disconnected women who at first only have an upper class economic status in common. Halfway through the story this foundation has a seismic shift that brings all three women into a new relationship. The book is written in first person observations and storytelling that I thought lacked substance. I did not connect with the self-satisfied suburbanite, the well off financial wiz or the athletically fit daddy dependent young woman. Their individual responses to a medical crisis did not resonate with my experience or friends.
It was a good airplane read - mildly entertaining but forgettable...
Rated of 5
by Sarah R. (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
All You Could Ask For
Greenberg's characters are women, whose lives are touched by crisis, first in their 20's, later in their 40's, but how distinctly their problems change. Emotions that cloud thinking, especially when the women are young, are not as fierce when they mature. Readers breathe easier as maturity points the way, and the emotional roller-coaster ride reaches resolution in a testimony to love. The only negative response that I have to this work is the "self-help" language used by the major characters; I have worked in major market TV, and even there, women do not use the "F___" word. I find that language unnecessary and offensive.
Rated of 5
by Theresa R. (Sierra Madre, CA)
Easy Read
I thought this book was well written and a quick and easy read. I liked the way he brought his characters to life, and I found myself wanting to know what was going to happen to them. Not sure if I would choose it for a book club selection, but I could see why some people would want to. All in all, it was a decent book but not very memorable.
Rated of 5
by Kay D. (Strongsville, Ohio)
Conflicted on this Book
I finished this book quickly, put off writing the review because I ended up feeling conflicted about it.
The book started off well in Part 1 and I did like the chapter by chapter switch between the main characters that set the stage for each of their lives. Each woman was very different from the others, so I was anxious to learn what would bring them together.
Part 2 was kind of a let down, as once it started, I felt myself saying "so this is where this book is going." Without giving away the story line, I was disappointed by the author's choice of the "shared issue." It seemed too contrived.
I felt there was not enough depth to the 3 main characters from that point onward and their responses to their shared issue were a bit predictable. I also had a hard time believing it all happened in what seems to be about a 6 month time frame. And the "instant friendship" between 2 of the women was just a little hard for me to believe.
The book ties up all the loose ends and although not a happily ever after tale, given the topic, the book wrapped up too smoothly for my tastes.
Rated of 5
by Barbara S. (Glen Ellyn, Illinois)
all you could ask for
I felt that the book was very disjointed and unrealistic. I felt that he only discussed things with doctors. I didn't even finish it.
Rated of 5
by Marsha S. (Nags Head, NC)
All You Could Ask For
Frankly, I found it extremely difficult to get interested enough in this book to plow through it. I could not identify in any way with the characters and wondered where the story was going. Then when the plot took a sudden turn, it became interesting enough for me to finish reading it. Even though two of the characters came to life in the latter part of the story, the details were unrealistic to me. I have survived breast cancer myself, and I particularly found it peculiar that a woman would either wish to or be able to hide a recent breast surgery from her husband, and carry on in the bedroom as if nothing had happened. Other reviews have indicated that the author understands how women think; I believe that he writes women as he would like them to think.
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Stranger than fiction, blending tragedy and farce, How to Create the Perfect Wife is an engrossing tale of the radicalism, and deep contradictions, at the heart of the Enlightenment.
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Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
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Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
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U.S. ebook sales up in 2012, but rate of growth is slowing(May 16 2013) In 2012, trade book sales (i.e. non academic book sales) rose 6.9%, to $15.049 billion, and e-book sales continued to grow, although the rate of growth...
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of 5
by Linda W. (Summit, NJ)
of 5
by Barbara S. (Glen Ellyn, Illinois)
