The Dearly Departed [Paperback]

Elinor Lipman (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Fourth Estate (2001)
• ISBN-10: 158836013X
• ISBN-13: 978-1588360137
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Elinor Lipman started writing fiction by night while working at a teachers' magazine by day. Her first book, INTO LOVE AND OUT AGAIN, was published in 1987; its centerpiece was seven connected stories, novella-length, which gave her the courage to try a novel. THEN SHE FOUND ME came out in 1990 (18 years later it was adapted into a feature film), followed by THE WAY MEN ACT, ISABEL'S BED, THE INN AT LAKE DEVINE, THE LADIES' MAN, THE DEARLY DEPARTED, THE PURSUIT OF ALICE THRIFT, MY LATEST GRIEVANCE and most recently, THE FAMILY MAN. Her honors include the New England Book Award and The Poetry Center's Fiction Prize. She divides her time between leafy western Massachusetts and New York City, and tries to write 500 words per day no matter the location. She and her husband have one son, who lives in Los Angeles and explains the movie business to his mother as needed. She knits, follows politics, cooks, and walks, but not enthusiastically.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars not the great elinor lipman i know, July 27, 2003

By 

lisatheratgirl "lisatheratgirl" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Dearly Departed (Paperback)

I agree totally with the review of my fellow new yorker below. I love Elinor Lipman, but even the one other book of hers I didnt care for was better than this. It's as though she got another good idea, but wasnt really paying attention when writing the story. There are too many bit players in too many subplots that go nowhere. The main character is almost a complete blank. All we really know about her is she plays golf and seemed to have a rough time socially in high school. The main plot is also neglected. About halfway through I was asking myself, where is this going? What's the point? The usual snappy dialogue and feisty characters seemed to be watered down also. This is NOT typical Lipman. I found five of her other books to be excellent. If this is the first one you read, try one of the others. Even if you think this book is good, youll see how much better she can be. I'll try for better luck with her next one.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A witty, tongue-in-cheek romp., July 8, 2001

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dearly Departed (Hardcover)

Elinor Lipman creates off-the-wall characters (generally misfits), who have difficulty keeping jobs and maintaining relationships.

In her latest novel, "The Dearly Departed," Margaret Batten and her lover Miles Finn are found dead, the victims of a defective furnace that leaked carbon monoxide. Brought together for the funeral are Sunny Batten and Fletcher Finn, two half-siblings who never knew of one another's existence. Sunny and Fletcher are both at loose ends and they are dissatisfied with their lives. When they come to the small New Hampshire town of King George to bury their parents, they also try make peace with the past and figure out where they are headed in life.

Sunny revisits the people with whom she grew up, and she finds romance with the Chief of Police, Joey Loach. Joey had a crush on Sunny in high school. Although he is now a respected peace officer, Joey is also a stifled mama's boy straining to get out from under his mother's ministrations. This book is filled with comic characters, such as Dr. Emil Ouimet, who, although married, harbored a deep (albeit unrequited) passion for Margaret Batten over the years. The doctor publicly and embarrassingly falls apart at Margaret's funeral, and he continues to cry at the drop of a hat for days afterward.

What makes Lipman's books unique is her light touch with plot and characters. Everything is played for laughs and even sudden death is fodder for the author's droll humor. The characters trade witticisms, insults and assorted bon mots on every page and their repartee is entertaining and outrageous. For a light comedy of manners with characters too funny to be true, pick up Lipman's "The Dearly Departed".

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I love Elinor Lipman but..., July 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dearly Departed (Hardcover)

I looked forward to the release of this book so eagerly because I have loved- LOVED- everything else of Lipman's I have read... Ladies' Man, Inn at Lake Devine, Isabel's Bed, etc.

But I was so disappointed by this one that I left it on the airplane rather than drag it back home.

While it is Lipman's usual collection of eccentric characters with interwoven lives, I felt like nothing HAPPENED in this one. What did Sunny want? What was she after? She was a protagonist without a rudder. And the big revelation at the end is that her mother was slutty? So what? In the end it affected no one at all, apparently.

If you have never read Lipman I definitely would start with some of her others. In my opinion, she is usually a much better writer.