Rating: 
Summary: Brit Best-Seller Well Worth the Read
Review: Please ignore the silly title when considering this book. Its author, Elizabeth Buchan, is highly popular in the UK, where she is a reviewer for several newspapers. I had the pleasure of reviewing her two previous books that were released in this country: Perfect Love, a truly brilliant work; and Consider the Lily, which I did not like at all.After a hiatus of several years (at least in the U.S.), we now have the treat of "Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman," which concerns a well-to-do UK couple who both work for a prominent newspaper: he as a business manager, she as the head of the book review department. Nathan and Rose, a modern, undowdy couple, have been married many years, and are happily settled into middle age. They have two children in their twenties, an elderly cat, a beautiful garden (product of Rose's long obsession) and a house that has sheltered them throughout their lovely lives. All is fine until Rose is blindsided by a sudden announcement: Nathan has somebody else and wants out. As a bewildered and devastated Rose faces that fact, she also learns in rapid succession that the other woman is someone she knows well-and that her own cherished job may be in as much danger as her marriage. Rose's reaction to this upheaval in her life is predictable but different. So many hundreds of books have been written on this same subject that it is very hard to keep one's sympathy and attention. But Rose is not a whiner. And Rose is not a quitter. And above all, Rose, who is devastated but not broken, is a realist. How she copes with the blows that come her way is an inspiration to those of us who may have been in the same position, or who may be so in the future. At the very least, it's a good old-fashioned story for our times. At best, it's a wonderful model of how to be. No wonder this was a best-seller in Britain. It should be here as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Thoroughly British, Smart, and Witty
Review: Elizabeth Buchan's book REVENGE OF THE MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN is about the destruction and ultimate resurrection of a single life. At the start of the book, Rose Lloyd's life appears idyllic. Married to Nathan for twenty-five years, she has concurrently raised a son and a daughter, forged a career as a book critic and editor, and kept a beautiful home. Life is comfortable, easy and lovingly predictable. She feels blessed by the ease with which her days pass. Whether she is tending her garden or dining out with colleagues, Rose is grounded and at peace. But then one day, forty-pushing-fifty Nathan comes home and announces out of the blue that he wants out of their comfortable, easy, predictable existence. He uses the oldest cliché in the book: he has found love, or at least lust, with a younger woman. And, ouch, the younger woman is a good friend of Rose's. As if this devastation is not enough, a waterfall of catastrophic events happens in quick succession, sending Rose over the edge. She loses her job, a beloved pet dies, a child marries while in another country and her mother becomes ill. Buchan hits every potential nerve, leaving readers raw from the emotional barrage. Rose sinks to the greatest depths of depression, drinking too much, eating too little and sleeping too much. Buchan spends many pages expertly plumbing the recesses of a devastated psyche and, for anyone who has ever experienced such grand and vast loss, Rose's self-questioning, self-hatred and self-abuse will be all too familiar. As low as Rose sinks, ultimately, REVENGE OF THE MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN is about resurrecting one's life from the unrecognizable heap of self that is left after loss --- and resurrect she does. Buchan never fails to write without great wit and Rose never loses sight of the irony of life. She rises a newer, sleeker model, armed with the knowledge that 1) she can carry on and 2) "it took so little to destroy someone." Poised by book's end to rekindle an old passion, Rose truly embodies the Spanish proverb "living well is the best revenge." Thoroughly British, smart and witty, REVENGE OF THE MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN will have you crying and laughing as Rose roller-coasters through the dissolution of her marriage and an inspirational renewal. --- Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara
Rating:
Summary: Made me angry.
Review: I bought this book at a flee market. Cant say I paid full price so maybe my vote here doesnt count. I guess perhaps, if you are a snob you would think that. Then why would we need your opionion. Like we have single wives and they need us. But if they had to make them Concentrate on saving the energy wed have a lot less problems. Whatever. This remommdnfed me of the Excorcist when the Priest records the girls voice. This book seems to record these same voices. I could be wrong.
Rating: 
Summary: Yoo-Hoo!! Revenge, Where Are You??
Review: Come out! Come out! Where ever you are! Is this hint subtle enough? After finishing this book, I'm still looking around trying to find the *revenge* that the title speaks of. I tried to enjoy this book ~ I really did. I just felt it was weak and not up to par. None of the characters were likable, in my opinion. They were either weak, wimpy, jerks, snobs, crybabies or backstabbers. Therefore, the story had a dark and ugly tone. I don't see where revenge falls into play. Rose (the main character) had NO backbone and apparently doesn't even know the word *revenge*. I just don't get it ~ the story OR the characters.
Rating:
Summary: Living Well is the Best Revenge
Review: Rose Lloyd, a 40-something London newspaper book reviewer, is simultaneously dumped by her husband of 25 years and has her job taken by his mistress, who also happens to be Rose's 29 year-old assistant (with the execrable name of Minty). I expected from the title that there would be some sort of revenge ala The First Wives Club, but no. Rose's revenge is more like validation, when her erring husband's new relationship is not all wine and roses. The way Rose is so wrapped up in her garden and many unfamiliar British slang words may be off-putting for American readers. I also thought the beginning was slow, it seemed like a long setup before the action started, but overall a pretty good read.
Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointing read
Review: My book club chose this book because of it's interesting title. What a disappointment. I only kept reading after the first hour because I just knew that eventually SOMETHING would happen. It never did. Don't waste your time on this one!
Rating:
Summary: What did you expect?
Review: It seems that many reviewers were expecting the revenge to come in the form of a bloody knife or a runaway car or burned down house, or something else equally nefarious. Isn't the best revenge surviving, and doing it with some style? The main character is Rose, who has her very lifed turned upside down when her husband leaves her for the much younger woman, and is then fired and replaced by the same much younger woman. Rose looks at her life and all the things aquired and lost during her marriage and has to rebuild herself. No, Rose does not let the air out of her rivals tires, but she picks up the pieces (with the help of some french undies) and remakes herself into who she wants to be. Leave the unrealistic adventure at the door, and curl up with this inspiring, and extremely satisfying read.
Rating:
Summary: yuck
Review: Our book club picked this book but I could hardly finish it. Several people had not even bothered to finish. The review we had seen made it sound great. I just want to warn people that this book is boring and hard to read. I couldn't have care less what happened to any of the characters in this book. I certainly hope than when I am middle aged I dont lose my self respect and ability to take up for myself like Rose. She had no ambition at work or at home.
Rating:
Summary: Living Well is the Best Revenge
Review: I bought Revenge of the Middle Aged Woman by Elizabeth Buchan for its catchy title. As I turned the pages, I found the book to be more sweet than tart, but that sweetness grew on me. Main character, Rose, who edits the book review section of a large newspaper, finds her world turned upside down when her husband leaves her for another woman. On the heels of this, she loses her job to the other woman. Having traded the adventuresome spirit of her youth for the illusory security of a husband and family, Rose is forced to discover who she is and what she wants from life. This middle-aged coming-of-age novel was entertaining and it motivated me to take a look at the areas in my life in which I've settled. The upbeat ending is an inspiration that it is never to late to redefine ourselves and that living well truly is the best revenge.
Rating:
Summary: An Inspiring Example To Learn From. 10 Stars!
Review: Elizabeth Buchan brings us an inspiring and all-too-real story of Rose Lloyd, who seemed to have it all, and then lost nearly everything but her inner resolve to rise rather than crumble despite overwhelming obstacles.
This book is a fantastic read, and will bring hope, inspiration, and a new resolve to readers who may be going through similar circumstances.
If you have been through the mill, and want a story of how to rise, as opposed to get revenge, this book will bring that to you. Highly recommended for its authenticity and inspiration!
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