Baby Proof [Paperback]

emily giffin (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• ASIN: B001B9FGVC
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (339 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,333,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Emily Giffin is the New York Times bestselling author of Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Baby Proof and Love The One You're With. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and three young children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 158 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly thoughtful, intelligent fun., June 13, 2006

By 

Benjamin (ATLANTA, Gabon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Baby Proof (Hardcover)

Throughout her life, Claudia Parr, the heroine of Emily Giffin's excellent new novel, has sworn up and down to potential boyfriends, inquiring friends, concerned family and anyone else that she absolutely DOES NOT want children EVER. She doesn't have a maternal instinct that she's aware of, and she's perfectly content not to find it. Claudia was never interested in playing house as a girl, and, now that she's in her 30s, she's determined not to concern herself solely with the secondhand on her biological clock. She enjoys her job, her Manhattan life and her freedom. And Ben, her husband and soulmate, is more than happy to remain childless alongside her, their lives not governed by school plays, soccer games, SUVs and Happy Meals.

But when Claudia and Ben's closest friends announce that they're expecting, Ben starts to wonder if maybe a baby wouldn't be that bad, maybe a baby will bring more meaning to their lives. Claudia, though, doesn't have a change-of-heart. She emphatically refuses to even consider a rugrat. So, even though they had a pre-nuptial "deal" to remain childless, Ben and Claudia are suddenly at an impasse in their marriage with a problem that's not at all easy to resolve.

With SOMETHING BORROWED and SOMETHING BLUE, Giffin addressed the complicated nature of female friendships, while also providing fun characters, outlandish situations, hot guys, cocktails, Jimmy Choos and a good story.

With BABY PROOF, Giffin brings all the fun but addresses an even more difficult topic. Through Claudia's predicament, Giffin dares to ask tough questions, like "Is a marriage enriched - or is life necessarily more meaningful - if you have kids?" or "Is it OK to not want kids?"

I love Claudia in this book. Giffin writes her as tough, stubborn, intelligent, flawed, funny, sexy, opinionated and interesting. And, because she refuses to let Claudia fold or become a simple convert to "mommyhood," Giffin proves herself, once again, to be a brave, uncompromising writer who manages, at the same time, to keep things light and fun. She gives voice to strong female characters whom you can still cheer on, even when you disagree with their stances, choices and actions. It's a difficult thing to do, and Giffin pulls it off in spades.

If you loved SOMETHING BORROWED and SOMETHING BLUE, take heart. Giffin's new book is just as strong. Claudia stumbles down many of the same paths that the previous books' heroines did. Claudia's friends are just as beautiful and fabulous. Her family is just as complicated. And her problems are just as touching.

If this is the first Giffin novel you've read, BABY PROOF will make you a fan.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Idea, Poor Execution, July 15, 2008

By 

Iris D. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baby Proof (Paperback)

This story had a lot of potential. The moment I heard of the plot - a woman looking for a child-free marriage - I was immediately interested. It's true that women are expected to have children, and anyone who doesn't is believed to be incapable. The idea that a woman may not want children at all just doesn't seem to come to mind. I have always favored this stance myself, and seeing this book I thought it to be an intelligent, somewhat comical view of the subject. Claudia's narrative throughout the book was light and sarcastic, though she frequently brought up subjects that made me think. However, by the middle of the book I was so disappointed and irritated that I ended up just skimming through until I reached the ending.

-SPOILER-

Claudia Parr, who maintains her stance throughout the book - to the point of dissolving her marriage to the man she considers her soulmate - suddenly decides that, "Hey, I might not want kids, but if it will get my husband back then I'll have one." I find this to be not only vastly disappointing, but completely irrational and downright selfish. A woman doesn't want children, but will have one to keep a man? It goes against the strong personality Claudia previously displayed, and also is one of the most self centered things I've ever heard of. Making a decision like that is bound to create resentment towards the husband and the baby, which won't make her hoped for fairy tale marriage any better off. Emily Giffin had a very good novel in the making here, but she ruined it with poor execution.

43 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brainy, witty and insanely addictive!, November 23, 2006

By 

- Kasia S. (New York City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Baby Proof (Hardcover)

If only I had any idea about the witty charms of this eggy colored novel, I would have read it a long time ago. Baby Proof caught me completely off guard with non stop excitement of Claudia and Ben's relationship, her family and her decision not to have a baby that led to trouble in paradise. The characters were simply darling, fleshed out to perfection and they made my heart ache when setbacks and divorce appeared on the horizon. This is definitely a girl's book, and not even comparable to chick lit, something that sounds empty and airy to me, but a rich goulash of love, romance, betrayal, insanely addictive humor and life's lessons learned right before my eyes.

In a nutshell, the story is about Claudia and Ben, who married and has been enjoying their sweet life together in Manhattan, only to meet up with friends who just had a baby. Prior to getting married they have both agreed that they don't want kids, but as Ben gets involved in their friends exciting pregnancy he starts to change. Claudia is thrown off her cozy life, she finds herself unhappy and sees that her husband is no longer the man she though she knew. The tale starts off with many mishaps, her sister having baby issues, her best friend sleeping with a married man, her coworker trying to get a date with her, various scandals and tribulations flowing in and out, weaving out some true patterns that are a part of the quilt of life. Being in a great relationship I could relate to many parts of the book, but most of the time I was really happy that Claudia's turmoil was not my own. Knock on wood, but that only made the story more interesting as the reader gets to know her and falls in love with her personality and only wants the best for her. When things go from bad to worse and Ben has a new female friend Claudia must either move on or try and win him back. The question is whether she wants to have his baby since he's her soul mate or whether she needs to find her own path and not stray back into his life.

I have to say that the ending had me in tears, but I cry at happy endings too, so no spoilers here. That came as a big surprise to me, I rarely cry reading books, but this one yanked at my heart and I had to get up to get some tissues three times while reading the last pages! I have even got my own boss sucked into this book, the second she read the first pages as I waved my latest read in front of her, she dashed to get her own copy, and it's a real pleasure discussing it with her, and I am perhaps a bit jealous that I have all ready read and the end of this journey has been reached. Baby Proof is fictional yet very real, I can see many women relate to it and it reads beautifully as the author has natural talent in story telling.

- Kasia S.