Rating: 
Summary: Sheer brilliance...many facets to this diamond of a novel.
Review: Men as well as women will love this scintillating, hilarious, yet moving story of six women friends who gather on one frigid night. This is incredibly candid, even sensual but never coarse. This is truly as unusual as the reviews indicate: a literate novel of women of the city and their deepest needs and feelings. My sister bought it and I borrowed it...We are quoting already...A soon to be classic of modern angst and love among the denizens of the dark heart of the asphalt jungle. New York ( and Every City) glitters, glowers and glows...I love these women, whose souls are as beautiful as their 'bodies"...A sensitive introspective yet funny book.
Rating:
Summary: REAL Women in their 30s in NYC
Review: This is NOT "Sex and the City", it's far more complicated and real.Six women are gathering at one's apartment to put on a baby shower for their mutual friend Claire, who has suddenly announced she is pregnant, without being married or any discernible male partner. All six met two decades ago at Theresa House, a residence for women who have come to New York to seeks their fortunes. In fact, Claire still lives there. The others have gone out and sought their fortunes in other ways -- the strident Martha, with whom everyone else is still friend for the sake of tradition; Jessie, the hostess who has just found love with a man named Jesse as well, Nina, who is caring for her dying mother, Sue Carol, who left her cheating husband for the last time, and Lisbeth, an aging "wactress" (waitress/actress) frightened of not getting any good parts before she has even made it. The group gathers as New York is predicted to be hit by "the storm of the century". As emotions run high, a similar storm is brewing at the party!! Read this gem to find out what happens. I look forward to reading more by this great author.
Rating:
Summary: Packaging not to the novel's credit.
Review: Yes, it *looks* like yet another swingin' single gal fic to be enjoyed while swilling cosmos at the bikini wax salon, but don't be fooled. It's actually the spirit of "The Group" being handed to us with a sugary coating we didn't ask for and don't need, because this is quite an excellent book. How I wish the publisher would give both novel and reader more credit than to dress this one up for drinks at the latest hip spot and make it hang out at the bar with Carrie Bradshaw and Bridget Jones.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe I need testosterone shots
Review: BEAUTIFUL BODIES by Laura Shaine Cunningham is a "chick book" that I normally wouldn't pick up on a bet. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the author's two previous volumes of memoirs, SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS and A PLACE IN THE COUNTRY, and we've exchanged emails of mutual admiration, so I bit down on my emery board and got on with it. Just between you and me, I'm glad I did. But I'm left wondering if I need testosterone replacement therapy. The plot tells you right off that it's not a book for Real Men. Six female pals in their mid-30s living in New York gather at a private dinner party at the apartment of one to have a baby shower for another. Baby shower? Yikes! Jessie, the hostess, is a successful journalist still in the post-coital afterglow of an affair out in Colorado with one of her subjects. Nina, a chronic dieter and the primary caregiver for her dying mother, owns a nail salon. Nina is also fresh off an afternoon tryst with someone she met in her apartment building's laundry room, a New Age Sensitive Fella who invited her up for herbal tea ("Celestial Seasonings"). Sue Carol, a waitress and struggling thespian with a substance abuse problem, has just left her adulterous husband. Sue Carol savors all the little dramas in her life - they'll make her a better actress. Lisbeth, an ethereal, anorexic artist/model pining after a lost (and married) lover, spends a significant portion of her energy staving off her landlord's efforts to evict her from her rent-controlled apartment. Martha, a real estate agent obsessed with her exorbitant earnings and the material goodies they buy, has meticulously planned to have a child with her fiance, but has just learned that she's sterile. And lastly, Claire, the mother-to-be. Claire is an independent, free-spirited musician - she plays the krummhorn - who's happily made a world for herself in an 18 by 20 foot room in a local residence for women. She's blissfully happy with her pregnancy and the prospect of being a single mother. The baby's father, a global wanderer, may never be seen again. For me, the chief fascination of BEAUTIFUL BODIES was in watching the nuances and shifting dynamics of the relationships between the six women as they come together on a winter night to celebrate Claire's impending motherhood and share secrets. For example, Nina is the first to show up at Jessie's apartment. Later, Lisbeth is the second guest to arrive, and: "When a third woman enters the room, it is clear which two women are the closer friends. Triangles always come to a point." And still later, as the assembled group sits for dinner: "The others had taken their places, as the (place) cards indicated .... The lines were drawn. The dull knives waited." For me, a simple guy, this is potentially scary stuff. My two favorite players are Jessie and Martha. Jessie, who desperately tries to keep her party on track in the face of spoken anxieties and revealed confidences. Jessie, whose own angst is growing. (Her new lover did promise to call at 8:00 PM, didn't he? Was he turned off my her mastectomy scar?) And Martha, whose catty criticisms comprise a potential flamethrower in an atmosphere of volatile emotions. BEAUTIFUL BODIES is a wonderful, poignant, funny, touchy-feely book totally unsuitable for a troglodytic male unless he wants a brief glimpse into the female psyche. Having just been there, I think I'll regain a masculine perspective by having a beer with the Boys. If they'll still admit me to the Clubhouse, that is.
Rating:
Summary: Six single women, six stars!
Review: There should be a higher rating to express my utter rapture with this fantastic book. I never thought there would be an accurate novel to depict the real life stories of working women in their 30's, 40's This is so much more intelligent than Sex and the City, they are not on the same planet. These women make their way in the world, navigate through city life and have believable affairs with men. I loved the Postcoital divide...into which a man disappears after sex. Too funny, so true. I fell in love with the Native American man who sweeps the hostess off her feet, their love scene is truly beautiful. This is sex that is not embarassing to read, yet true and utterly evocative. My friends are all reading it and say the same thing. This is a gift!
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining
Review: If you're looking for a book to hold your attention for a few evenings, you found it. Last week I had back surgery and was looking for a book that would hold my attention in spite of being halfway knocked out by pain killers. I tried a few other books- each lulled me into a drug induced sleep- before finding Beautiful Bodies. This story of six friends who met years ago while residing at the Theresa House in New York City and have maintained their friendships- in spite of growing apart- will entertain you from start to finish.
Rating:
Summary: Packaging not to the novel's credit.
Review: Yes, it *looks* like yet another swingin' single gal fic to be enjoyed while swilling cosmos at the bikini wax salon, but don't be fooled. It's actually the spirit of "The Group" being handed to us with a sugary coating we didn't ask for and don't need, because this is quite an excellent book. How I wish the publisher would give both novel and reader more credit than to dress this one up for drinks at the latest hip spot and make it hang out at the bar with Carrie Bradshaw and Bridget Jones.
Rating:
Summary: Blissed Out with these Beautiful Bodies
Review: An absolute must-read. tells it like it is for women friends. The "little ripples" -- envy & love, laughs and wine. More bonding than YaYa Sisterhood...For women in 30s, 40s, it is On The Nose! Spot on! Deluscious, delish, the best dish! Curl up -- This is The best!
The sexual matter is lovely, in good taste, for a change.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Written Account of City Women Friends
Review: Even though there is a place for Sex and the City, I liked these six women better -- There is no falseness here. These women are smart, working women who have reconnected after years of fighting the odds in a big city. This is the first book I have read that shows the truthful conditions -- The women work hard , fight to hang on to their apartments, and are not being pursued by billionaires. This is the real deal -- they go for years without great sex, and have secrets that they ultimately can share only with their best friends. the writing is beautiful, too. I wept at the end, but laughed at the remarks and descriptions straight through. Devoured the book! The sex when it occurs is the most realistic that I have ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: A Sad Portrayal of Female Friendship
Review: I'm surprised that so many people have written positively about this book. Cunningham takes on way too much, neglecting major details that could've enriched an otherwise bland, sad story of women in NY. True friends would never neglect sharing the significant details of their lives: a mastectomy, infertility, a parent's impending death. These women focus exclusively on adolescent concerns: their weight and men. How sad for them. This book made me appreciate my friends all the more!
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