Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy read, and I loved how it explored Poppy's entire life. It started in the early 1900's when Poppy was only 15 and she lost her father in the Titanic and then it took us through her life up until her 70's. We learn about her 2 husbands, her 2 kids, her mother and sister, her aunt, and her stepbrother. The author gives a lot of information about all the characters in the book. Good Book!!
Rating:
Summary: The Great Husband Hunt
Review: I truly loved this book. Couldn't put it down and wanted to keep "Poppy" going. But, it has been published under the name:
"The Undesirables" and a different cover, which I'd bought. Imagine my surprise, when I'd ordered some additional books, by Laurie Graham and received, "The Great Husband Hunt", to be one and the same. That was annoying!
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, but ultimately unsatisfying
Review: It may be a personal quirk but I have a hard time really enjoying books where I don't like the main character. I agree with the other reviewers that the title and marketing of this book are misleading; they suggest a fluffier romance. Instead, the novel sprawls throughout Poppy's long life, from the Titanic through the world wars, and you never really understand why, at her core, Poppy can't seem to attach to anyone. But the wondering keeps you reading until the end, even if you're not satisfied.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but ultimately unsatisfying
Review: It may be a personal quirk but I have a hard time really enjoying books where I don't like the main character. I agree with the other reviewers that the title and marketing of this book are misleading; they suggest a fluffier romance. Instead, the novel sprawls throughout Poppy's long life, from the Titanic through the world wars, and you never really understand why, at her core, Poppy can't seem to attach to anyone. But the wondering keeps you reading until the end, even if you're not satisfied.
Rating:
Summary: Amusing in an acerbic way
Review: Jewish fine mustard heiress Poppy Minkel tells her twentieth century autobiography starting when her father dies while sailing on the Titanic. She grieves her loss, but continues her myopic observations of the world's great events over the next five decades.During that time she married a womanizer she met in a department store. She gave birth to their child. However, his philandering led to her divorcing him, an unheard of event back in the early twentieth century. Later she does another social shocker when she lives out of wedlock with an ultra-extended member of the British royals. When she becomes pregnant, she marries for the second time into a happier situation. By the 1970s, Poppy is an aging widow who reflects back on her life influenced by her stepbrother (with an assist by Satchel Paige) that "you have to look ahead and not behind." Though amusing in an acerbic way, this work of fiction uses an individual to present the "People's Century". The story line is clever, but it is difficult to accept Poppy's caustic personality through six plus decades. Title aside (not a romance by any stretch) this is a solid often funny look back at the twentieth century, but those who really want something in depth should try the People's Century videos. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Amusing in an acerbic way
Review: Jewish fine mustard heiress Poppy Minkel tells her twentieth century autobiography starting when her father dies while sailing on the Titanic. She grieves her loss, but continues her myopic observations of the world's great events over the next five decades. During that time she married a womanizer she met in a department store. She gave birth to their child. However, his philandering led to her divorcing him, an unheard of event back in the early twentieth century. Later she does another social shocker when she lives out of wedlock with an ultra-extended member of the British royals. When she becomes pregnant, she marries for the second time into a happier situation. By the 1970s, Poppy is an aging widow who reflects back on her life influenced by her stepbrother (with an assist by Satchel Paige) that "you have to look ahead and not behind." Though amusing in an acerbic way, this work of fiction uses an individual to present the "People's Century". The story line is clever, but it is difficult to accept Poppy's caustic personality through six plus decades. Title aside (not a romance by any stretch) this is a solid often funny look back at the twentieth century, but those who really want something in depth should try the People's Century videos. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Dreck
Review: Okay, maybe it's because I majored in English/Literature that I'm a bit more picky about what I read than the others who have reviewed this novel, but I have to ask - did we all read the same book? To begin, both the title and book "blurb" were tremendously misleading. The gist of both was that Poppy was a spunky, free-spirited girl trying to fight against the oppression of her mother's grand scheme to find her a husband. Instead, this is the rather self-centered ramblings of a rather uninteresting woman. Whoo - Poppy's an aviator? Whoopie! I'd have been more impressed if that part of the story was enlarged upon... what was it like for her, as a woman in the early 1920s, to take flight lessons, etc.? In fact, I would have been more impressed, period, had the author actually told a story. Instead, the reader is subjected to Poppy's constant "I'm so great, I'm so much better than everyone else is" bragging. It got extremely tiresome and this book plodded on. It seems to me that because the "book club guide" questions are often intelligent, they lend to certain books more credibility than they actually deserve. This is one of those books. While I am the first to admit that I found Graham's "Future Homemakers of America" sadly lacking in both plot, essence and skilled writing, I was willing to give this book a try (because of the aforementioned "blurb"). What a letdown. In the author interview, Graham blatantly admits to having done "no research". This, above all, is abundantly evident in this book. For example, the sinking of the Titanic has been so deeply documented, I found it incredible that she managed to get her facts so screwed up. Tell me please, Ms. Graham, how it would be possible for people on land (and particularly a newspaper) to be aware of the collision BEFORE the Carpathia was? The comment from Poppy's aunt that the latest news is that there was a collision but the boat is being towed is ludicrous. THEN the same aunt says that the news now is that the Carpathia has picked up the survivors. Ummm... excuse me, Ms. Graham... it's not as though Titanic passengers had cell phones to call landside and give updates. Further, as someone who has read MANY books on the Titanic, I am simply amazed that she thought this would fly. Word of the Titanic disaster did not reach home until AFTER the Carpathia came along. Somehow I don't think the Marconi operators were spending their time wiring newsrooms rather than sending the SOS. Additionally, I found the blase nature of the characters' salon visits to be a bit progressive for the times... "cancel my manicure!". In 1920? Puhleeze!!!! There is also the superfluous characters whose introduction, indeed their mere mention, made no sense and who had no point to the book. Cousin Addie? What role did she play? What role did Stassy play? None whatsoever, so why bore the reader with more useless banalty? Finally, Poppy's self-pitying whining about how her family always tried to run her life for her, etc. is nothing more than ridiculous. It seems to me (or, in Poppy's words, I'm sure) that she was the person who went out of her way to abuse her family and ruin their lives. Granted, her daughter's fixation on Gil was ridiculous, but Poppy's lies contributed to her state of mind. Of course, Poppy's perfect, so why take the blame? As for the ending, I found it woefully uncharacteristic of Poppy. Suddenly the high-flying "I'm-so-much-younger-than-I-seem-and-I've-still-got-it" Poppy is content to live in Florida and eat early bird specials at a restaurant with a (gasp!) salad bar? This from the person who shuddered when her grandchildren didn't chose a four-star restaurant? Not likely. Then again, neither are the chances of me buying another book by Laurie Graham.
Rating:
Summary: The Great Husband Hunt
Review: Poppy, the main character in The Great Husband Hunt, is not always likeable, but she is certainly unforgettable. Both Poppy and the colorful quirky cast of characters, who surround her, make reading this book an entertaining adventure. The events of the last 90 years are seen through the eyes of an often self-centered but never dull figure, who goes from a young girl to a woman of a certain age while the reader laughs,sighs and rolls his/her eyes, but is never bored.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, even when annoying
Review: The Great Husband Hunt, while the title is seriously flawed, is a fun, quick read. The main character, Poppy is a woman that you will love to hate. Uneducated, spoiled, and self-absorbed, she is also fun, impulsive, and hedonistic. Born into an affluent family in the early 1900s, she experiences all of the highlights of the 20th century; the sinking of the Titanic, 2 World Wars, Vietnam. She bounces through life with a carefree, unconcerned attitude, and, in spite of herself, everything always seems to work out in the end. There were times when I found myself disliking Poppy so much, I wondered if I wanted to finish the book. A few pages more, though, and I'd have forgotton all about how much she ticked me off and get caught up in her next adventure. Now, don't we all know people just like that??
Don't let yourself get too caught up in the historical details of this book. After all, it is just fiction! Let go a little, and, hopefully, you'll enjoy this as much as I do.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, even when annoying
Review: The Great Husband Hunt, while the title is seriously flawed, is a fun, quick read. The main character, Poppy is a woman that you will love to hate. Uneducated, spoiled, and self-absorbed, she is also fun, impulsive, and hedonistic. Born into an affluent family in the early 1900s, she experiences all of the highlights of the 20th century; the sinking of the Titanic, 2 World Wars, Vietnam. She bounces through life with a carefree, unconcerned attitude, and, in spite of herself, everything always seems to work out in the end. There were times when I found myself disliking Poppy so much, I wondered if I wanted to finish the book. A few pages more, though, and I'd have forgotton all about how much she ticked me off and get caught up in her next adventure. Now, don't we all know people just like that??
Don't let yourself get too caught up in the historical details of this book. After all, it is just fiction! Let go a little, and, hopefully, you'll enjoy this as much as I do.
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