Babes in Captivity [Paperback]

Pamela Redmond Satran (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2004

They've satisfied their biological clocks.

They met six years ago in a mom's group. Deirdre, Juliette, Anne, and Lisa are each living The Dream in the suburbs outside of New York City: beautiful wedding, big house, picture perfect family. What more could a woman want? Plenty, though none of them has ever admitted it. Out loud, anyway. It all starts with Deirdre....When she learns that her ex-lover, musician Nick Ruby, has moved back East, she confides in her girlfriends that she regrets her lost singing career, and her lost love affair with Nick. And since there doesn't seem to be a "what's next" in her life, she's more than a little curious about "what if...?"

So what's that ticking sound?

Deirdre's confession -- and her plan to revive her dreams and make them reality -- has a startling ripple effect. It turns out none of the four is as happy as she seems: Anne fears her marriage is in jeopardy. Juliette desperately wants to have another baby but can't. And Lisa's facing decisions that her life -- literally -- depends on. The doors swing wide when these babes start breaking out...but at what price? There's no satisfaction guarantee for any one of them, but taking chances together sure beats going it alone.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Four women who met through a mother's group when their children were babies have been meeting once a month for years. Now that their children are in school, each woman is yearning for something that she feels is lacking in her life. Deirdre is married to a sweet, helpful, gangly doctor, but what she really desires is her old singing career with her old singing partner. Because Anne and her independent filmmaker husband are always financing his movies, she is the main breadwinner, but what she would really like to do is open her own restaurant. Juliette is a stay-at-home mom. Her son has emotional issues, but that doesn't stop her from wanting another child, even though her husband is against it. And Lisa is the least needy of the group. Her life and her children are as regimented as the army. She wants for nothing, but her orderly life will soon be topsy-turvy. Through her women characters, Satran tells realistic and intriguing stories that will enthrall and, ultimately, surprise readers. Maria Hatton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Pamela Redmond Satran is also the author of Younger, Babes in Captivity, and The Man I Should Have Married. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, who is an editor for Reuters, and their three children. The coauthor of the bestselling baby-naming books Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana and Cool Names, Satran is a regular contributor to Glamour, Good Housekeeping, and Parenting.

Visit Pamela's website at www.pamelaredmondsatran.com.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; Original edition (July 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743463552
• ISBN-13: 978-0743463553
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,590,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've been making my living as a writer since I was 19, when I sold my first story to the Janesville (Wisconsin) Gazette. I've been a waitress, a fashion editor at Glamour, a magazine journalist, a name book writer, and a novelist. My husband, Richard Satran, is an editor at Reuters, and we have three children, our daughter Rory and sons Joe and Owen.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars interesting look at family life in suburbia, July 29, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Babes in Captivity (Paperback)

The four Homewood, New Jersey women are best friends living the American dream of raising a family in suburbia. They meet regularly to share their disasters (child or spousal related), but for the most part they seem contented with their lives.

The contented illusion ends when Deirdre informs her cell mates that she hates her nice spouse Paul. She explains to her amused pals, who think Paul is the poster boy for the perfect husband that she wants to restart her singing career with her former Berkley lover. Nick "Mr. Sexy" Ruby who has relocated fifteen miles to the east in New York. Finally she laments that she has had no passionate orgasms since Ruby. Her confessions lead to two of the others moaning their desires. Juliette wants another child, but her husband Cooper hesitates since their son Trey suffers from Asperger's syndrome. Anne wonders if she should leave her philandering spouse filmmaker Damien. Supermom of four, Lisa refuses to reveal to her buddies or her too busy husband Tommy her desire to write a book for fear they will laugh at her "How to Live" tome.

This is an interesting look at family life in suburbia starring four wonderful women, who share fears, disappointments, and dreams with one another that they find difficult to disclose to their spouses. The story line rotates the lead role between the four women using alternating chapters so that fans receive four subplots that tie together through their friendship. BABES IN CAPTIVITY is not a lighthearted chick lit romp, but instead is a fabulously deep character study that compassionately captures the ambivalence and conflict of motherhood and marriage vs. personal dreams.

Harriet Klausner

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great characters and a terrific storyline, August 9, 2004

By 

Ann Douglas "pregnancy/parenting author" (Peterborough, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Babes in Captivity (Paperback)

The cover art for this novel caught my attention when I went browsing for a novel to dive into while on holidays (how could you help but notice this book on the bookstore shelves?!!!), but once I finished reading the first few pages, I was hooked. Pamela Redmond Satran has written a terrific novel that tackles such themes as the ebb and flow of passion in marriage, the importance of chasing after your dreams, and the power of female friendships to sustain women during those times when your life seem to be spiraling out of control. Pamela Redmond Satran has a gift for creating great characters who really help to drive the story forward. It was her characters who kept me reading well into the night when I really should have been sleeping. I simply couldn't put this book down.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A captivating read, June 26, 2005

By 

Lisa Fischbach "Lisa Fischbach" (Henryville, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Babes in Captivity (Paperback)

After being initially turned off and irritated by at least two of the four main characters in this book, I almost put it down, but I am so glad that I didn't.
Diedra, Lisa, Juliet & Anne are a group of suburban moms who meet for a girls night out once a month to discuss their lives which has led to complaints of discontentment most recently. They make a pact to try to attain a goal each of them has been yearning for in their lives and the book follows them along for a year. Diedra was offensive to me in the beginning but she grew on me throughout the book. Lisa was irritating but likewise redeemed herself. The real jewels were Anne and Juliet and the classy ways they conducted themselves through tense situations. I really enjoyed this book once the initial irritation with the two characters wore off and ended up having a few laughs and a few tears along with them. All in all a very good if not spectacular chick lit read.