Customer Reviews

The Big Nap (Mommy-track)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The protagonist of Ayelet Waldman's "The Big Nap" is Juliet Applebaum, a graduate of Harvard Law and a former public defender. After marrying the love of her life, Peter, she moves to Los Angeles. Unfortunately, Juliet rarely sees Peter anymore, since he is busy most of the time developing a television pilot. Juliet is now a stay-at-home mom, who dearly loves her adorable three-year-old daughter, Ruby, and her four-month-old son, Isaac. However, Juliet is suffering from acute sleep deprivation, leaking nipples and a lack of adult conversation.

So what's an overtired and understimulated mother to do? Butt into other people's business, of course! Juliet delves into the diappearance of an eighteen-year-old Chasidic girl named Fraydle Finkelstein, who baby sat for Juliet's kids on one occasion, and who then disappeared without a trace.

Juliet uses her investigative powers, her contacts from her working days as a lawyer, and her innate nosiness to solve the question of what happened to Fraydle. Did the girl run away to avoid an arranged marriage she didn't want? Or did something more sinister happen to her? Since her parents refuse to report Freydle's disappearance to the police, Juliet feels that it is her duty to investigate.

When Juliet visits her mother and father in New Jersey, she even takes a side trip to Borough Park, Brooklyn. She interviews Freydle's prospective bridegroom, and little by little, she fits the pieces together until, voila, she solves the crime.

Waldman has a wry and clever sense of humor, and there are many laugh-out-loud passages in "The Big Nap." In fact, the first page has such a funny scene that I laughed out loud on a public bus and drew puzzled looks from my fellow passengers. Waldman's takes on breastfeeding, sleep-and-husband deprivation, weight gain after pregnancy and a mother's love-hate relationship with her small children are not only funny but real.

The mystery is not too believable, nor is it realistic that any Chasid would give Juliet the time of day, much less reveal any inside information to her. However, the conceit of mysteries like this is that people talk to the investigator, even if she has no business asking any questions in the first place.

However, Waldman nicely describes some of the dynamics of the Chasidic community from the vantage point of a non-Orthodox Jew. The mystery is engrossing, if somewhat far-fetched, and you could do worse than spend an afternoon with the amusing Juliet Applebaum, mommy and sleuth.

Stay at home mom Juliet Applebaum is struggling to adjust to the birth of her second child, especially since 4 month old Isaac hardly sleeps at all. She finally hires a young Chasidic girl from her neighborhood to baby sit for a couple hours each day. But after the first day, the girl vanishes. Against all reason, Juliet finds herself drawn to find this young woman, especially after her parents refuse to call the police. But what could make her run away? And can Juliet find her while juggling an infant, pre-school, and her husband's strange work schedule?

I enjoyed the first book in this series but felt it had some flaws. This book was much stronger and the same flaws didn't plague this book. It has a fun sense of humor, and while I felt Juliet complained a bit too much at times, I appreciated her love for her family which still came through. The plot is better developed here, although why this woman would search for this girl is beyond me. Even Juliet acknowledges that it doesn't make much sense.

I'm glad I've been collecting the paperbacks as they've come out. I won't wait so long to revisit Juliet and her family.

I like cozy mysteries, but never would have bought this book if I hadn't met Ayelet at a book reading/signing because the Mommy-Track thing put me off a bit. Her wit and humor impressed me, and I thoroughly enjoyed The Big Nap. Now I'm looking forward to reading more of her work.

Her books will also make great gifts. There is no offensive language, graphic sex or violence that might offend readers, and her humor is warm and engaging.

One of the scenes in The Big Nap that I particularly enjoyed is when Juliet (the protagonist) is confronted by a thuggish gang of Hasidic men, warning her to mind her own business.

If you appreciate a mystery told with warmth, humor, and peceptive insights into human character, I recommend this book.

Juliet Applebaum studied extra hard and for long hours at Harvard to become a lawyer. However, to her own amazement and to the shock of her spouse, she quits her profession to stay home as a full-time mother. On a good night, her youngest child Isaac sleeps perhaps for ten minutes all evening (a slight exaggeration except when you're the parent with no sleep). Her spouse is not home to provide Juliet with any help with the wide-awake child. Suffering from sleep depravation, Juliet accepts the services of Hasidic Jew Fraydle.

Fraydle's baby-sitting allows Juliet to obtain some decent sleep. However, when the girl fails to return Juliet tries to learn why only to find out Fraydle is missing. Worried as time passes with no word, Juliet visits New York where her baby-sitter's fiance lives (as well as her own parents), but obtains nothing new. Juliet returns to Los Angeles where she realizes that Fraydle has a secret lover here in California who might have answers.

The trails and tribulations of a mother with a restless newborn and an older preschooler add a unique feel to a fascinating story line. Readers also obtain a glimpse into the social and cultural life of a Hasidic Jew, a group who isolate themselves from the rest of society. This adds an additional uniqueness to the entreating BIG NAP. Juliet is a modern heroine refusing to quit or take another snooze until she feels justice is properly served.

Harriet Klausner

Waldman has an easy way with words, and she seemed to hit her stride in this book. There are a few eye-rolling moments when even my quite liberal suspension of disbelief gene was twanging with outrage (Juliet thinks the Hasidic 18-year-old, looks-like-a-young-Liz-Taylor, reminds her of herself???), but I'm willing to overlook those in favor of a fairly seamless plotline and fun, lively characters.

I felt kind of bad giving this book only four stars but I did only because I really didn't enjoy it as much as I did the first book by this author with this main character. I did enjoy this though,and hope the four stars doesn't turn you away. For anyone who likes this kind of novel, light humorous mystery with real people who just become a "detective" because of circumstances, than this series is for you. I am looking forward to her next one.

New mother Juliet Applebaum Wyeth needs sleep. Between ferrying her three year old to preschool and playdates and a newborn who wants to party all night, she hasn't had a decent night's sleep in four months. Her screenwriter husband is no help either. He is working on a new series with a nearly perfect Mindy as a partner. By a stroke of luck, Juliet finds a babysitter at the local kosher grocery, a young Hassidic girl named Fraydle. She does a wonderful job but doesn't show up the next day. Her family doesn't know where she is and Juliet is determined to find out the truth. I enjoyed this book. It combined three worlds I know little about, motherhood, Hollywood, and Hassidim. The mystery is very good and the characters very real. Enjoy.

Ayelet Waldman has improved on her fun first book, Nursery Crimes, with this peppy new mystery. Juliet Applebaum, ever the ambivalent mom, gets dragged across cultures - and the country - to solve a crime. The story is solid, and the laughs pop up suddenly and often. This book will leave you with a smile on your face, hungry for Juliet's next big adventure...and wondering what in the world her children will be when THEY grow up.

This was a perfect blend of motherhood, mystery, and humor. I started giggling on the first page and just enjoyed it all the way through. Looking forward to more mysteries by this author!

Once again we get to see into the world of the sleuthing Mom of California. I enjoy mystery stories - but have been put off by some of the more gruesome stories that are out there. These books are just the right combination of mystery and detective work combined with an engaging heroine. Juliette's wry sense of humor about being a modern Mom who takes care of the kids (all day and all night) and worries about her lost career is both funny and insightful. For those of us also juggling Mom-hood and jobs it is a character who rings true.