Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman

Rating:
Summary: A Waste of Time
Review: If you're looking for a read with some excitement, an interesting story line, and hilarious characters, you've come to the wrong place. Rose's husband leaves her after twenty or so years of marraige and she gets on with her life; end of story. No meat, no cheese sauce, no chocolate syrup. Just boring, dull, and uneventful.

Rating:
Summary: Live well, Get REVENGE
Review: REVENGE OF THE MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN is not what the title suggests. Knives are not thrown at adulterous husbands (not counting thought daggers, of course), young, smooth-skinned mistresses/assistants are not bashed in the head with old, ceramic vases, and unappreciative bosses do not die from being stapled to their own chairs.

I grieved for Rose and wished mightily that the life she loved so well had not been ripped apart by betrayal. Her house, her garden, her marriage, her cat, her career--all of it gone. And yet, she manages to build a new life, just as good if not better than the one she had before. And she manages to hold close the idea that love doesn't die, it just changes form.

Maybe the path we walk in life is not the one we choose for ourselves, but that doesn't mean we can't march along with head held high, humming our favorite song.

Now, that's REVENGE.

Rating:
Summary: Poorly written hype
Review: 1 star is for selecting a topic that appeals to all women.

The treatment is not too bad -- E. Buchan shows that she is able to complete a whole book, this deserves some recognition. This book is not well-written, her metaphors are sophomoric and she does not know when to stop (e.g., she compares an office environment to an aquarium and she goes on to say that the owner had not placed rocks to hide, etc.). The text jumps up and down the time line with information and flashbacks thrown in without any concern for continuity. The dialogues are artificial and do not contribute to character dvpt or identification. Her point of view is not consistent, etc. etc. etc. ... a good case study for Creative Writing 101.

E. Buchan needs an editor but since she is one of them (though not a book editor obviously but a newspaper/magazine editor) I guess her colleagues did not have the temerity to correct her. She must have also benefitted from excellent marketing and a highly manipulative title.

This is not litterature of course, which could be ok, but this is not even a a good read, it is simply a poorly written, amateurish production with an attractive topic as the only redeeming value. I took this book from the library and I will take it back unfinished, not worth my time.

Rating:
Summary: The kind of book you wish was longer
Review: With a title like this, you almost expect a made for TV kind of book -- without much literary quality -- but I was pleasantly surprised by this book.

The story involves a middle-aged woman whose pleasant life suddenly falls apart when her husband announces he has fallen in love with someone else -- a friend of hers -- and wants a divorce. Shortly after, she loses her job as editor of the book section of a newspaper. How much worse can things get? The plot sounds kind of formulaic, but thanks to Buchan's writing skills, it avoids it and instead becomes much more subtle and complicated -- even the villains are painted in shades of grey.

I loved the London setting and felt that I had entered another world, a world of walled gardens and beloved cats and literary dinners and authors, where well-behaved people hurt each other terribly in their pursuit of their own happiness. Somehow, our heroine Rose rises above it to survive and prosper.

I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Wit gives new life to an old story
Review: Rose Lloyd enjoys her tranquil, settled life - two grown, independent children, a happy marriage, a London job as a newspaper books editor, a nice home with a garden that needs her. And then, without warning, her tranquility and security, even her self-respect, are shattered. Her husband, Nathan, announces he's leaving her for a younger woman - her own assistant, Minty. And when she marches into work demanding Minty be fired, or at least transferred, she's told it's she who will have to go, making way for a younger view. Minty's, of course.

It's an old sad story, but Buchan's subtle, barbed prose and anecdotal style lift it above the ordinary. Rose is a strong, reflective character with a rare gift for being honest with herself. Reeling, she naturally embarks on a downward spiral, drinking Nathan's whiskey for evening solace, neglecting the garden, indulging in lethargy. "I breathed in traffic fumes, a whiff of rotting litter, and the knowledge that, for the moment, I was lost." But she remains aware of the pitfalls of despair, looking wryly askance at herself as she prowls the house, dwelling on her marriage, her mother's widowed perseverance, her own youthful ardor, the dramas of motherhood and family. "If I closed my eyes, I was confronted by pictures of myself hurling violent abuse at Minty. If I dismissed them, equally vivid ones of HURTING her took their place."

As we already know from the (too flip) title, Rose does not stay down. She touches bottom and begins to reconstruct her life; reassuring her children, picking up with friends, taking a few freelance jobs. She goes to Paris and buys some new clothes (naturally) and she runs into the old flame Nathan has always been jealous of, a famous travel writer and free spirit, (who is not much better developed than Nathan and about as much of a self-absorbed cad). But Rose's spirit and deliberation steer clear of cliché. Developments sidestep expectations. Rose's politic instincts stand her in good stead.

Buchan, who prefaces her novel with the Spanish proverb, "Living well is the best revenge," informs her story with a subtle distinction between inner passion and outer civility. Rose, half demented with grief, humiliation and anger, keeps herself to herself. Bitterness and self-pity seldom surface in her exchanges with friends or her children or colleagues. Even with Nathan, except for the occasional barbed rejoinder, she is reasonable, too reasonable, some will say. But Rose's civility works to lift her from despair and, perhaps more important, make it easier for others not only to bear her company, but to admire and respect her. A witty novel with a heroine to root for.

Rating:
Summary: Was an okay read...
Review: I had really been hoping for more wit and humor, and by the time I reached the half-way mark in this book was so inundated with drama and depression, I wasn't sure I wanted to continue. Her cat dying, I had hoped would be the turning point, which it was, thankfully and the story finally progressed, though still at a snail's pace.

While I liked the overall storyline (and yes, as said above, it has been played out over and over again...) I really didn't see a whole lot that held my interest. Maybe I'm not *really* old enough or have been in a marriage long enough...

The characters seemed very two dimensional. I was really hoping for more. More on her feelings, not her memories. More on her finding inventive ways to overcome her sadness than to fall into old forgotten friendships and loves. I was glad to see that Hal stepped back into her life, but again, that was predictable as well.

I guess I just wanted more. More character development, more feeling, and more than just feeling like I'm dragging myself around that old Victorian home with the main character in self-misery and lack of ambition to move on.


Rating:
Summary: My friends & I enjoyed this book.
Review: This book shows how a woman can rise above the situations handed to her by an unappreciative man. Women have inner strengths that prove they can survive the domestic insolence of other human beings. Rose lost her husband, her job, her friend Minty, but never her self-respect. I commend Elizabeth Buchan for her gift of telling a well written story.

Rating:
Summary: Even my husband enjoyed it!
Review: This is not a typical "woman's book". The story is so true to life everyone in our book club knew someone it has happened to.
The story doesn't dwell on the mundane or cast a lot of pitiful glances at Rose, but tells it like it is. By the end the reader will, without a doubt, be cheering for Rose. Her common sense and dignity made her a winner!