The Other Woman

Rating:
Summary: What goes around, comes around
Review: The main story, centering around Jill, was good, although bordering on dull. It starts out on a promising note: on the day of Jill and David Plumley's 4th anniversary, Jill is approached at her husband's company picnic by a beautiful 25-year-old intern at the law firm, Nicole Clark. Nicole simply states, "I'm going to marry your husband", to the shocked Jill, who thinks it's a joke at first. Then Jill starts to worry, knowing that David is capable of infidelity, as well as divorce (he left his first wife for Jill, the "other woman"). This would have been a great introduction to a buildup, but the buildup doesn't really come. A lot of filler plots and dialogue, which should enhance the plot and keep it moving along, only serve to distract and slow the story down. For instance, Nicole only gets a mention in every other chapter, and if she's lucky, an appearance in every third. She's such an unabashedly bold, brazen hussy type, it would have been fun to have more of her in the book. Instead, Fielding opts to have one of the secondary characters, Al, get killed, and his wife, Beth, accused of murdering him. All of this and the exhaustive "my-20-years-as-an-abused-wife" speech by Beth takes up more chapters than necessary, and in the process, takes a lot away from Jill's story. As if this wasn't enough, we get more subplots. One is about Jill's "boring" career as a journalism instructor at the local college, and how she really wants to get back into doing TV shows. Another involves Jill's anorexic stepdaughter. The unfortunate result is that the Jill-David-Nicole triangle can hardly be found in this jumble of plot devices. To give credit where credit is due, however, David is a good "villain" because he is much more subtly drawn than, say, Phillip in "Good Intentions". David appears to be supportive for Jill's revived career in TV when in fact, he is condescending. He also is a smooth liar and master manipulator--a necessity when doing a balanci! ng act between 2 or more women. The only interesting scenes in the entire book were between Jill & David and Jill & Nicole. Skip the rest (except for maybe Ricki & the "gals" from the exercise class, if you like a little bawdy humor).

Rating:
Summary: to each his own
Review: the other women is truly a book of insight.women whose husbands have cheated on them and women who have become totally dependent on their spouse should read this book.this book conveys the emotions of those unfortunate ladies who find themselves in a marriage with a man who is divorced because of an affair with another woman.....until the other woman finds herself ironically in the same position as she put his first wife in .a great book with an ironic twist.

Rating:
Summary: A badly written romantic novel
Review: This is a book I deeply regret ever buying. Please, don't make the same mistake! The author tries to follow a number of storylines at the same time and the result is shallow. Experiencing infidelity (as the wife or the 'other woman') is a shattering experience but this book failed miserably in conveying any of this. The only part where I really felt there was some emotion and not just words was when Beth told Jill about her marriage. I wish the author could have followed up on that part. I also liked the ending of the book but also there the author could have made a stronger impression. If you want to know how women feel, read 'Women's room' by Marilyn French. This is not much more than a romantic novel and not even a good one.

Rating:
Summary: quick enjoyable read!
Review: This is a short book and although it's not as deep as some of Ms. Fielding's books, it's highly entertaining. I mean, not everything has to have deep meaning, right? If you want a great beach book this is it. You like the protaganist, Jill, from the first page. I have never found a Joy Fielding protaganist I did not like or identify with yet. The story grabs you right off as a woman walks up to Jill at a company picnic and tells her she plans on stealing her husband. It is very bold and different and you hate this young, sexy woman with a passion! You want Jill to beat the stuffing out of her! It is a witty, endearing book and since I have read it twice, like many of this author's books, I highly recommend it. It won't take long to read through and it is a great escape!

Rating:
Summary: quick enjoyable read!
Review: This is a short book and although it's not as deep as some of Ms. Fielding's books, it's highly entertaining. I mean, not everything has to have deep meaning, right? If you want a great beach book this is it. You like the protaganist, Jill, from the first page. I have never found a Joy Fielding protaganist I did not like or identify with yet. The story grabs you right off as a woman walks up to Jill at a company picnic and tells her she plans on stealing her husband. It is very bold and different and you hate this young, sexy woman with a passion! You want Jill to beat the stuffing out of her! It is a witty, endearing book and since I have read it twice, like many of this author's books, I highly recommend it. It won't take long to read through and it is a great escape!