From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Tucker offers a cure for modern readers seeking an enjoyable literary page-turner that also explores serious social issues such as addiction, ethics and genetics. Tucker's fourth and most ambitious novel (following
Once Upon a Day) is her first to have a male protagonist. Sardonic and emotionally aloof, Matthew Connelly directs his energies away from romantic entanglements and toward his work as an executive at pharmaceutical giant Astor-Denning. His bitter ex-girlfriend, Amelia, works as a medical ethics watchdog and is poised to take Matthew and his company down. But the appearance of homeless 10-year-old Danny and his toddler sister shakes up the lives of the combustible pair. In crisp, lively prose, Tucker cleverly executes a series of surprising twists that, coupled with the Big Pharma backdrop and cinematic feel, make the novel as fast-paced as a thriller, but with astute and often humorous observations about the shifting morality of 21st-century America. The relationship dilemmas at the center of this story make it an excellent choice for book clubs, but the novel should also increase Tucker's male readership and solidify her position as a gifted writer with a wide range and a profound sense of compassion for the mysteries of the human heart.
(Mar. 25) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"An enjoyable literary page-turner that also explores serious social issues. In crisp, lively prose, Tucker cleverly executes a series of surprising twists that, coupled with the Big Pharma backdrop and cinematic feel, make the novel as fast-paced as a thriller, but with astute and often humorous observations about the shifting morality of 21st-century America. An excellent choice for book clubs...solidifies her position as a gifted writer with a wide range and a profound sense of compassion for the mysteries of the human heart."--
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A touching and very modern relationship story with some compelling social issues...This fast-paced, funny, and smart novel is a sure bet for book clubs."--
Booklist"An inspiring, twisting story of redemption, forgiveness and morality." -
Romantic Times"An emotionally satisfying page-turner."--
Good Housekeeping"
The Cure for Modern Life is so inviting because it's about people we all know, or at least think we knowÉTucker deftly forces us to ponder what we'd do in this exploration of the complexity of human nature and our relationships with one another." --
The Salt Lake Tribune"Tucker's book works because she knows how to limn characters, tell a story economically, and propel it at just the right allegro-vivace tempo." --
The Philadelphia Inquirer"Lisa Tucker, once again, brings a fresh view to the intricacies of relationships in "The Cure for Modern Life"...Tucker continues to grow as a writer, and "The Cure for Modern Life" gives readers some ethical questions to ponder. It's an approach that has long been Jodi Picoult territory, but Tucker comes at it from a different direction. The questions aren't the source of the plot, but they drive the relationships among central characters. It's a structure that should make the novel attractive to book groups who've enjoyed Picoult's work." --
The Denver Post
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