- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books (Aug 26 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0345460111
- ISBN-13: 978-0345460110
- Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 13.7 x 1.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #143,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Torments both hilarious and distressing befall Trudy, the dreamer heroine of this witty and bittersweet novel, as, delivering on a promise made to herself when she had an abortion years before, she becomes a surrogate mother. A 38-year-old sculptor of whimsical clay objects who works at the San Antonio (Tex.) Museum of Folk Art, Trudy agrees to provide a baby for her infertile yuppie boss, Hillary Goettler. Moving into the Goettlers' posh and highly organized home proves problematic as their idealized plans to have Trudy produce the perfect baby clash with her own more spontaneous lifestyle. Nauseated by the health food Hillary imposes upon her, resentful at being treated more as a breeding vessel than a person, annoyed by Hillary's "sympathetic pregnancy" and suffering her own all-too-real cravings and physical changes, Trudy seeks affection from her old love, a sexual dynamo named Sinclair. Bird's ( The Boyfriend School ) incisive humor, deft characterization, especially of the unpredictable, strangely enviable Trudy, and the surprising, poignant resolution make this unusual tale memorable.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
A turkey baster plays an important role in the impregnation of Bird's latest quirky heroine, Trudy Herring. Haunted by the memory of a long-ago abortion, Trudy agrees to serve as a surrogate mother for a shallow Yuppie couple. The city of San Antonio shines as Trudy relives past memories and searches for a lost love in this culturally diverse city. In The Mommy Club , motherhood and pregnan cy receive the Bird treatment, a fresh, keen, and humorous observation of yet another facet of the female experience. Missing are the chortles and guffaws that characterized the author's two previous novels, The Boyfriend School and Alamo House, which may disappoint her many fans. Readers may also experience a sense of divided loyalties as the cheering for Trudy's success is tempered by sympathy for the childless couple who in the end are the losers.
- Lydia Burruel Johnson, Mesa P.L., Ariz.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
- Lydia Burruel Johnson, Mesa P.L., Ariz.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Poignant and hilarious in equal parts,
By Caroline W. "Caroline W." (Birmingham) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Mommy Club (Paperback)
Trudy is a misfit and a perennial "outsider". She is an artist who has never, ever in her life fit in with regular folks. Her past is painful: in addition to being habitually lonely and alone, she had a failed relationship that resulted in a pregnancy she ended with an abortion she regrets. Ever since, she has wanted to have a baby to replace the one she aborted - but not to keep, because she doesn't view herself as mother material. So her solution to the problem is to become a surrogate mother. She gets pregnant for a yuppie couple who force her to eat horrible, expensively unpalatably healthy food, and who monitor her every unconventional move. What she learns from pregnancy is that, for a few months, she "belongs". Strangers initiate conversations with her, talk to her about her advancing pregnancy, and accept her without question into the "Mommy Club", that special state of being shared only by women with children. While she's basking in all the unfamiliar kinship, she's developing opinions about the couple whose baby she is carrying, and is developing a bond with the infant inside her. I loved Trudy, who is like a lovable, dysfunctional puppy. Sarah Bird, hits - as always - a flawless comic pitch, making you unsure whether you should laugh or cry. Either way, there isn't a moment in the book where you don't want to engulf poor Trudy in a hug while you laugh until tears stream down your face. This was the first book by Sarah Bird that I read, and immediately read all the others. When it appeared to me that there had not been any new ones for a while, I wrote to the author and begged her to write another. I am definitely a Sarah Bird fan, and would recommend ANYTHING she's written - but this one first.
4.0 out of 5 stars
What a funny outlook on pregnancy!,
By Busy Mom (Ohio) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Mommy Club (Hardcover)
I was browsing through a book sale recently and saw this. Without a minute hesitation, I picked this book up and didn't regret it! Like Trudy, I am pregnant and having a character going through the same emotions, mood swings and hormonal changes ~~ really helps me to take my pregnancy lightly!! It is fun to have a character going through some of the same things you're going through!!I have never heard of Sarah Bird, but I am really enjoying this novel. I must confess it was hard going at first, but kept plugging away and now, it's a really enjoyable book that I couldn't put down! I would never be a surrograte mom ~~ especially after reading about how Hilary keeps grabbing the moments away from Trudy ~~ pretending to have the same morning sickness, gaining sympathy weight and keeping a strict eye on Trudy ~~ making her eat wholesome food like brussel sprouts and spinach while she eats whatever she wants to eat ~~ all for the baby. It gets better! It's a fun read ~~ something I'd consider passing onto my pregnant friends to help them forget the aches and pains that accompany every pregnancy for a few hours. It's a quick read as well ~~ and now, I'll be interested in any other Sarah Bird book I can lay hands on!! What a wonderful debut to a new author! 5-28-02
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious look at a surrogate pregnancy,
By hmcain@tmecl.co.za (South Africa) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Mommy Club (Hardcover)
Just like the likeable heroine of The Mommy Club I was pregnant for the first time when I read this book, which was recommended to me by a female friend at the pre-kids' stage. I don't think I've got a bad word to say about it: The Mommy Club is funky, funny, witty and wise and it simply whizzed round our book club of women (aged from our mid 20s to 40) where it has been a big hit. As soon as one of the members falls pregnant, I recommend she reads The Mommy Club! The novel is set in Texas and we live on the south-east coast of Africa but the humour and understanding of a woman's psyche is universal. Really a good read.
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