The Hot Flash Club

Rating:
Summary: Just Climb Aboard and Enjoy the Ride
Review: "The Hot Flash Club" is a bit like "9 to 5" meets "The First Wives Club", with perhaps more intrigue. I think those who criticize the plot as being improbable are missing the point. HFC is not burdened with literary pretensions or attempts to be profound. Is it silly? Of course! Yet once the reader accepts the premise of the Club itself, its members and its mission, it follows a certain logic which provides an amusing and enjoyable read. The HFC consists of four diversified middle-aged women coming together to exchange ideas and help one another. Their differences enable them to fill in the gaps, providing strengths to prevail over another's weaknesses. "Take Charge" Alice is the Organizer who keeps the others focused, despite the huge holes in her own life. The others eventually contribute something(s) to one another in ways they never expected. And the story benefits from Thayer's keeping the "revenge" aspects to a minimum, and not over the top. The author also holds the reader's curiousity throughout, peaking near the end as she sets the story up for a sequel. OK; I'm game.

If you're seeking a well-written romp, nothing heavy but not too fluffy either, you'll enjoy "The Hot Flash Club".

Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable!
Review: How refreshing to read a book about four women in their mid-fifties to early sixties who experience pleasures and problems we real women of a certain age can relate to: grown children and their problems, retirement, husbands, and boyfriends and menopause with weight gain, to name a few.
It's a story of friendship and support told with humor and compassion that will be a break from books with that always young and perfectly beautiful protagonist.
All the women are so interesting, and the book so well written, you will find yourself eagerly turning each page, yet dreading when the book ends.
How I'd love to find more books like this!

Rating:
Summary: All you wanted to know about menopause but were afraid toask
Review: I am not near the "hot flash" stage of life, but I thought this looked like it would be a good/funny book. It was a quick read, but it seemed a bit silly & contrived to me. I laughed out loud a few times but only because it was so predictable. The story moved quickly, though, and it is a good beach escape. It just lacks depth. And by reading this book, you WILL read all about everything that happens in the hot flash stage of life ... and I mean everything!

Rating:
Summary: All you wanted to know about menopause but were afraid toask
Review: I am not near the "hot flash" stage of life, but I thought this looked like it would be a good/funny book. It was a quick read, but it seemed a bit silly & contrived to me. I laughed out loud a few times but only because it was so predictable. The story moved quickly, though, and it is a good beach escape. It just lacks depth. And by reading this book, you WILL read all about everything that happens in the hot flash stage of life ... and I mean everything!

Rating:
Summary: Is this some other Nancy Thayer?
Review: I'd prefer if a writer had nothing to offer, it wouldn't get written or published. Nancy Thayer has written wonderful books (3 Women at the Water's Edge, Nell, Stepping, Morning, etc) but has been underserving her fans for several years now.

This book is so dull and insipid and pointless, that it's hard to believe it's the same writer.

Rating:
Summary: A Fun Read
Review: I'm embarrassed to say that I bought THE HOT FLASH CLUB because of its title--and, for a change, the title did justice to the theme of the story. The title, of course, is funny; for the most part, so is the novel.

In fact, this book is just a romp to read. The pages fly. It is only after it is finished that it becomes obvious that, even for fiction, the plot is improbable. Would four total strangers, four strangers leading completely unconnected lives, after meeting at a mutual friend's retirement party actually have bonded the way that these women are supposed to have done?

Would a tenured professor at MIT take a leave of absence to pretend to be the secretary of one of the group, in order to engage in interoffice spying for her new friend?

Would a wealthy widow take a housekeeping job in the home of the fiancee of the professor's son in the hopes of discovering dirt about the fiancee's family?

Would that same professor, younger than the others, be so ignorant that these new friends would need to explain the symptoms of menopause to her?

And would all the subplots have happy endings, with all characters vindicated and validated? Life doesn't work like that.

There also are a few editing glitches in this work. These probably are more the publisher's responsibilty than the author's but, despite some cumbersome sentences, this novel does move quickly and with great entertainment value.

Along the way, author Nancy Thayer also offers some pithy and touching truths about the aging process, and the inevitable exchange of youthful good looks for wisdom. It actually is unfortunate that such pearls of wisdom get buried in this strained plot.

All in all, it's fun spending a few hours with the women of the HOT FLASH CLUB.

Rating:
Summary: Silly But Fun
Review: Nancy Thayer can write insightful, meaningful and beautiful books. "The Hot Flash Club" is not one of them. It's a silly, formulaic concoction that she must have written at top speed. But somehow, even though it's predictable, hackneyed, and been done a million times before, it's fun to read. What can I say.

Here we have--as though it hasn't been done a zillion times before--a group of disparate women of a certain age who meet at a boring party, bond instantly, go to dinner, and start their own group, named (gag) the Hot Flash Club. Each woman in the club has, of course, her own problem, from the high-powered executive, an African-American powerhouse who now fears for her job; to the mousy professor who spends all of her time researching prehistoric bugs; to the wild-haired hippie masseuse; to the wealthy widow who has lost her ability to paint. Each forms a plan to tackle her problems, with the aid of the others.

Thayer, who knows better, had no business writing such a silly book. This reviewer, who knows better, had no business reading it in one gulp. But she did. And so did I. I wanted to give it two stars instead of three, but that would have been a lie, because I had a lot of fun reading it, even though I rolled my eyes every chapter or two. So...three starts for Thayer, who has kept me a happy reader for far too many years to give up on her now.

Rating:
Summary: Silly But Fun
Review: Nancy Thayer can write insightful, meaningful and beautiful books. "The Hot Flash Club" is not one of them. It's a silly, formulaic concoction that she must have written at top speed. But somehow, even though it's predictable, hackneyed, and been done a million times before, it's fun to read. What can I say.

Here we have--as though it hasn't been done a zillion times before--a group of disparate women of a certain age who meet at a boring party, bond instantly, go to dinner, and start their own group, named (gag) the Hot Flash Club. Each woman in the club has, of course, her own problem, from the high-powered executive, an African-American powerhouse who now fears for her job; to the mousy professor who spends all of her time researching prehistoric bugs; to the wild-haired hippie masseuse; to the wealthy widow who has lost her ability to paint. Each forms a plan to tackle her problems, with the aid of the others.

Thayer, who knows better, had no business writing such a silly book. This reviewer, who knows better, had no business reading it in one gulp. But she did. And so did I. I wanted to give it two stars instead of three, but that would have been a lie, because I had a lot of fun reading it, even though I rolled my eyes every chapter or two. So...three starts for Thayer, who has kept me a happy reader for far too many years to give up on her now.

Rating:
Summary: I love Nancy Thayer Novels
Review: Nancy Thayer is a fantastic writer. She knows women and the way they think and feel. There are so many issues that women have dealt with since the "liberation" movement that come into play in this novel. I loved all of her characters. I read the book right away and am now disapointed that I have to wait for her next one!I have introduced many of my friends to Nancy Thayer and they all love her novels. Happy Reading!

Rating:
Summary: Four Women, One Life
Review: Reading this book, I felt like the author had an editor calling her every day, saying "Come On! Your deadline is in one more week," "Come On! Your deadline is in six more days." As a result, the writing seems rushed and incomplete.

All the characters talk alike, think alike, and none seems to have a unique idea or original thought. Quick synopsis is that four women reach middle age, realize they are in menopause, and Oh my goodness!--there are things they haven't accomplished! Like getting Mr. Wonderful. The solution is to find four like-minded (and boy are they like-minded) friends who have the same problems, who help each try to find Mr. Wonderful, and all is great.

There is no depth to the plot or characters. Thank goodness, no one has ever met anyone as vapid minded as these women. It is easy to read and there are some rather well written scenes, particularly the comedic scenes.

Overall, though, go to any party, friend's house, park, grocery store, or doctor's office and you will find women with more interesting lives and more interesting personal stories to tell. This book really minimalizes the thoughtfulness and real metamorphoses that many women go through during menopause.