Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining read
Review: If you're in the mood for a good, fun read that's not too fluffy, I recommend this book. It's definitely a woman's book about revenge on the opposite sex. Cathartic. It's very funny and has some great twists. I also enjoyed how developed the characters were. Our hereos were not two-dimensional bitter women, they had substance. By all means, avoid the movie and read the book instead.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining read
Review: If you're in the mood for a good, fun read that's not too fluffy, I recommend this book. It's definitely a woman's book about revenge on the opposite sex. Cathartic. It's very funny and has some great twists. I also enjoyed how developed the characters were. Our hereos were not two-dimensional bitter women, they had substance. By all means, avoid the movie and read the book instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Great fun !
Review: It's a story about three women getting back at their husbands for dumping them for younger (and blonder) models. They were friends in college, but drifted apart and had a reunion on the funreal of the fourth friend, who comitted suïcide after her husband left her - for a younger, blonder model... The three women decide to get back at their husbands and Cynthia's too.
I read the book in one big haul, it's really good. OK, it's light reading, it's no Kundera or Marquez, but it's well written and it made me laugh out loud (so it's not recomended to read it on the train: you'll get funny looks). It's ten times better than the movie, which was nice, but they really changed the story, due to the limited time they have in a movie. The real story is far too complex to cram in a 100 minute movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't expect to read the movie
Review: It's different from the film, but then what book ever really successfully makes it to the big screen faithfully. However, the characters are still interesting enough to care about.
Rating:
Summary: For Those Who Believe In Female Solidarity
Review: The First Wives Club is a wonderfully empowering story of nostalgia, mid-life changes, and female solidarity. Sexy, funny, and sad, the three lead characters become friends who engage us in their scheme and allow us to dream their dreams. This is one book I don't want to analyze; I prefer to enjoy it . . . over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: Don't be put off by the movie version
Review: The First Wives Club is great satire--only in America are millionaires and billionaires like Donald Trump congratulated for dumping the "old" wives for shallow blonde trophies. Some people might complain that this is a stereotype. The key word to remember here is "satire". Everything is slightly exaggerated just enough to be entertaining. As is the case with many nouveau riche businessmen, our antagonists Gil, Aaron, Morty and Bill suddenly get an inflated sense of their importance with their newfound wealth. All of them unceremoniously dump their first wives, who, not coincidentally, were largely influential in their success. The story begins with the news of Gil's wife, Cynthia, who couldn't take Gil's physical and emotional abuse over the years and finally committed suicide. Her friends get together to commiserate and eventually reflect upon their own shallow marriages. Gentle, eager-to-please Annie is still hoping against hope that her husband Aa! ! ron really will come back and magically change into a loving husband and father. Outspoken, emotional Brenda has long since ceased to love her husband, Morty; all she wants to do is wring his neck for cheating her out of millions. Cool, unapproachable Elise is contemplating whether or not she wants to stay married to her chronic cheating Don Juan husband, Bill. Eventually, all four of the no-goodniks opt to marry their new young "reflections of their manhood", who are, predictably, all silly, shallow or bitchy. Aaron marries Leslie, the cold, hard-as-nails sex therapist who was supposed to improve Annie's marriage. Bill gets engaged to Phoebe, a drugged-out nut case with a large trust fund. Morty weds Shelby, a Southern barracuda who fancies herself a modern-age Scarlett O'Hara. And Gil, the epitome of evil, appears to have met his match in Mary, the blonde MBA with the ability to conquer the "big boys" in business. One might expect the book to drone ! ! on until the inevitable "big get-even" plot comes! alive. However, Goldsmith is a skilled satirist, and her dialogue, particularly with fat, insecure Brenda, is masterful. She does less well with Annie, who spends a little too much time being the "good girl" and FWC philosopher, but Annie's close relationship with her children is touching, especially with her daughter Sylvie, a victim of Down's syndrome. Elise, the Grace Kelly clone, comes off as the least believable; one finds it hard to believe that a wealthy, former movie star would be so hard up that she would stay in a loveless marriage for nearly 20 years. However, all of them succumb to the wake-up call eventually, and decide to do something about their unfair situations. As noted, Goldsmith does a wonderful job evoking the dialogue, and overdone parties and charity balls of the "privileged few". In a little inside joke, she even has Sherman McCoy of "Bonfire of the Vanities" make a brief appearance at a costume party. Although the endi! ! ng is certainly no surprise, it is actually believable--quite an achievement. I would have liked it a little better, however, if two of the women had NOT been overprivileged. How do POOR women handle this situation? None of the revenge could have happened without one of the perpetrators having control and money--that was my only frustration with the story. However, that minor setback is peanuts compared with that travesty of a movie. HOW COULD THEY TAKE OUT ALL OF THE WITTY DIALOGUE AND CHANGE THE STORY JUST SO THREE AGING COMEDIENNES COULD PLAY THEMSELVES IN A NOT-VERY-FUNNY MOVIE? Is this the "Strip Tease" rule of cinema?
Rating: 
Summary: Damn Airplane
Review: There I was, sitting on an airplane next to a guy with the worst body odor who insisted on trying to talk to me. I had already done the in-flight magazine crossword and the only thing that saved me from having to talk to the smelly man beside me was a copy of this horrible book a previous passenger must have rightfully left behind. Reading it was easier than pretending to read it so . . . I hate to admit it, but I finished it. If I hadn't been on an airplane I would have burned it, but as it was, some sadistic impulse forced me to leave this incredibly bad novel behind for the next poor sap to occupy my seat. The only reason I give it two stars is because the guy beside me got one.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie; Bad Book
Review: There is no comparison between the movie and the book it's based upon. The film is light, fast-paced, witty without being vindictive, and fun. The book is downright hostile. If there's ever going to be a bible for man-haters, then it's this novel. Every single man is painted as cruel and heartless, while the women are portrayed as "why me? I never hurt a fly." Ms. Goldsmith's fascination with lesbians is at times lurid and revolting. The changes the filmmakers made to the story were absolutely correct. I barely got through the whole book before I donated it to a neighborhood library. Watch the movie; it's a whole lot better.
Rating:
Summary: Revenge is sweet, but . . .
Review: This book was cute, and the men characters for the most part were jerks, to say the least. But how sorry am I really supposed to feel for these women? Of course it would be humiliating to be left for a younger woman, but being society gals, everything seemed to be revolved around money. In real life, deserted wives often don't get child support. The financial problems of these women post-divorce seem to be keeping face among the co-op snooties. One of the characters, Annie, panics when her ex-husband drains their Down's Syndrome-afflicted daughter's trust fund to play the stock market, and Annie doesn't know how she'll afford the expensive home the daughter lives in. Annie contemplates how she'll ever come up w/ the tuition AS SHE DRIVES HER JAGUAR TO VISIT (only because the poor woman can no longer afford her chauffered limo)!
Rating:
Summary: Revenge is sweet, but . . .
Review: This book was cute, and the men characters for the most part were jerks, to say the least. But how sorry am I really supposed to feel for these women? Of course it would be humiliating to be left for a younger woman, but being society gals, everything seemed to be revolved around money. In real life, deserted wives often don't get child support. The financial problems of these women post-divorce seem to be keeping face among the co-op snooties. One of the characters, Annie, panics when her ex-husband drains their Down's Syndrome-afflicted daughter's trust fund to play the stock market, and Annie doesn't know how she'll afford the expensive home the daughter lives in. Annie contemplates how she'll ever come up w/ the tuition AS SHE DRIVES HER JAGUAR TO VISIT (only because the poor woman can no longer afford her chauffered limo)!
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