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4.0 out of 5 stars
Stalking Her Stalker, Nov 20 2003
I highly recommend that you listen to this performance rather than read the book. The comic character of the work will be hard for you to imagine through reading, but Ms. Rosenblat hits it just right. My only objection to the taping is that there is some problem with annoying background noise during pauses. It sounds like either pages turning or the performer clearing her throat. Those who want law, mystery, women being stalked, murder and other serious matters treated literally in a realistic way, like Law & Order does on television, will hate Courting Trouble. Those who enjoy the Stephanie Plum stories may discover a wonderful new heroine in Anne Murphy. The story itself is just the context for often remarkable, surprising comedy. Anne Murphy is a fairly new associate at the all-woman law firm, Rosato & Associates. Think of her as Lucy Ricardo from I Love Lucy, Anne's favorite show. She's a bright, zany red-head representing a former law school classmate in a sexual harassment case. In the book's opening, she is trying to get some testimony excluded. After sparring unsuccessfully with the judge, she uses an inflammatory (but very funny) tactic to get the judge to rethink his position. No law school teaches this kind of off-the-wall trick, and I'm sure no lawyer I know would do it. But that's what makes it funny, because it shows up in contrast to the stark formality of legal proceedings so well. At that point, I got it. This book is a witty satire of legal practice and the female detective genre. I suspect that many people will miss that point. The reversals of expectations just keep coming. Anne finds out that everyone thinks she has been killed while she is away at the New Jersey shore for the weekend. Coming back, she disguises herself outrageously in clown-like fashion (with an obvious reference to Shakespeare's fools) . . . and listens in while her colleagues speak their regrets about her death (with an obvious reference to Tom Sawyer attending his own funeral). Having left California to escape all thoughts of a convicted stalker who threatened her with death, Anne finds out the stalker has escaped. Rather than playing the victim, she stalker her stalker. The results can be hilarious (including her visits to bar for a tea -- or is it tee? -- dance and a hot sheet motel). It's almost like Blazing Saddles coming to life in a Philly law firm. Some of the reversals that work less well involve her shift from being unable to relate to women to becoming a well-appreciated hugger, adjusting to her birth defect and reacting to her client turning out to be a pawing wanderer. This is a great audio for a long plane trip or a lengthy drive. Keep smiling! After I finished the book, I found myself thinking about why certain subjects are not normally treated with humor. It's probably because the subjects are so repugnant to us, such as child molestation.
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