From Publishers Weekly
In a tradition familiar to readers of women's novels, four women, best friends through four decades, make up what one of the friends dubs the Girlfriends' Club. As a lovable first-grader destined to be a cheerleader, Mary Sue felt sorry for Dixie (who wore glasses and orthopedic shoes), and enlisted her, along with Gretchen (taller than the boys so they called her The Monster ) and Pamela, who had a retarded brother. Popular novelist Wall (If Love Were All; Blood Sisters) begins her latest at a Kansas lakeside cottage where the girls frequently meet to celebrate marriages and births, mourn losses by death or divorce, or share anxieties. Mary Sue faces a mastectomy the next morning, on her 45th birthday. She is asleep when a shocking event occurs, and her friends decide to keep it secret from her. In due course, Mary Sue commences chemotherapy while a series of flashbacks hint at how the others, in the light of past decisions, are likely to deal with their agreed-upon silence. Pamela, the only one still married, is constantly fearful of upsetting her demanding husband, presently slated for a judgeship. Gretchen, still handsome and athletic, hated all men when her spouse dumped her, but her loneliness is so distressing that she signs up with a dating service. Dixie's divorce was not bitter, and when she and her son encounter a robust vintner on a trip to Tuscany, she begins a relationship despite the fact that he supports a wife and daughter elsewhere. Each of the four women confronts her own demons, as well as those faced by all women of a certain age, with distinctive courage and the will to persevere. The neat twist that ends this suspenseful, highly readable tale is appropriate, credible and satisfying.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Is middle age really that bad? On the eve of Mary Sue's 45th birthday, four women who have been friends since childhood try to answer that question as they gather at a lakeside cabin to celebrate. Mary Sue is going in for a mastectomy in the morning. Gretchen, after years of dealing with her philandering husband, is torn apart by anger at his leaving. Pamela has made many personal sacrifices for her older husband in order to not become an "old maid." The divorced Dixie is the only friend comfortable with her life, but she also has the pleasure of a secret love in Italy. But after Mary Sue goes to bed, her drunk and arrogant boyfriend shows up looking for a fight. When he gets into a shouting match with the three women, he stumbles, falls, and breaks his neck. Dixie, Pamela, and Gretchen cover up his death and spend the next year covering their tracks. With this new work, Wall (My Mother's Daughter) has created four entertaining female characters. They are all trying to find their niche in the world, and it isn't until they give up looking for a man to save them that they realize they have what it takes to make their own lives full and happy. An enjoyable read for a lazy weekend. Marianne Fitzgerald, P.L. of Charlotte & Mecklenburg
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
