From Publishers Weekly
Kaufman, a former
L.A. Times staff writer, and Mack, a former attorney and Golden Globe Award– winning film and TV producer, check in with this solid, thoughtful chick lit debut. Dora, at 35, is a twice-divorced former young reporter on the rise at the
L.A. Times. Second ex-husband Palmer is now head of Sony Pictures, and still supporting her. Dora's depressed, and she only leaves the house to stalk Palmer and buy more books. At the bookstore, she meets elegantly scraggly comp lit Ph.D. Fred, and they begin an unlikely courtship. Dora is soon surprised by Fred's invitation to meet his mother, Bea, whom Dora likes instantly, all the more so when she learns Bea is also raising Harper, the six-year-old daughter of Fred's troubled sister. The bond between Bea and Dora gives Dora something she never had with her own, alcoholic mother, and helps her make decisions that bring her life back into focus. Dora is the kind of deadpan and imperfect heroine with whom readers can easily identify. Kaufman and Mack mishandle the abrupt ending and epilogue, but are most likely setting up a welcome sequel.
(June 6) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Booklist
Book lust meets chick lit in this tale of a love-challenged bookworm. Dora, named for Eudora Welty, confesses, "I collect new books the way my girlfriends buy designer handbags." Estranged from her husband and living in a luxurious L.A. high-rise, she deals with melancholy by taking long baths while drinking wine and reading paperbacks. Luckily, her habit must be fed, requiring frequent trips to the local bookstore, where she meets tall, handsome Fred--a starving playwright who ekes out a living by providing book-group recommendations to Brentwood housewives. Soon they're involved in a heated romance, but things begin to sour when Dora meets his family. Then Dora's husband pops up, and confusion creeps in. Dora is a charming character, and readers will appreciate some of her more neurotic tendencies, such as her debilitating fear of driving on freeways. No literary masterpiece, this cowritten debut reads instead like a gossipy e-mail from a witty, intelligent friend. A list of referenced books and authors is included at the end.
Emily CookCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
