Her [Hardcover]

Laura Zigman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 7, 2002

A smart, deeply satisfying romantic comedy about a woman's obsession with the return of her fiancé's ex.

On the Delta Shuttle between New York and Washington, Elise finds herself sitting next to Donald—tall, with dark wavy hair, a big easy smile. She’s left the world of women's magazines in Manhattan for graduate school in D.C. He’s left investment banking to become a teacher. They are both unattached. They exchange stories. They fall in love. One year later they’re headed for an April wedding. Storybook finish? Not quite.

Donald has some serious baggage: an ex-fiancée named Adrienne. And she's not just any ex: she is "the mother of all exes." Yale educated, French extraction, ravishing, and she's just shown up in D.C. Adrienne is Elise's worst nightmare incarnate--and before too long her all-consuming obsession. Every man comes with baggage. But did it have to be her?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The problem with most of the post-Bridget Jones fiction is that the dithering heroines tend to inspire impatience rather than sympathy, but in the novel Her, Laura Zigman skillfully avoids that common pitfall. Elise is engaged to be married to Donald. Displaced New Yorkers living in Washington, D.C., they bond over the foibles of life in the capital: pundits at the grocery store, power brokers at the baggage claim. Donald seems a truly amiable fellow, a fine fictional creation worth fighting over. Enter the titular her, Donald's ex-girlfriend Adrienne, a dark beauty who's catty and gracefully catlike all at once. When Adrienne relocates from New York to D.C., Elise fights a pitched battle over the hapless Donald, who of course has no idea of the warfare on his behalf. Unfortunately, Elise can be so insecure and jealous that the reader guiltily begins to root for Adrienne--at least she's got a little self-respect. Such is the power of romantic formula, however, that when it all comes right for Donald and Elise, we close the book with a satisfied feeling. --Claire Dederer

From Publishers Weekly

Zigman's third novel, a wild tale of a woman's "transformation... from bride-to-be to madwoman" is for anyone who's ever felt prewedding jitters and the pangs of obsessive jealousy. Having left her job at a teen magazine in New York City to pursue a quieter life in Washington, D.C., Zigman's narrator, Elise, meets her perfect guy Donald, a reformed bond trader now teaching English at Sidwell Friends on the Delta shuttle. Or her almost perfect guy. Donald's one fault is that he was engaged to Adrienne, and her name crops up in just about every conversation. Though Donald and Elise swiftly fall in love and begin planning their wedding, Elise cannot help obsessing over the brilliant and "horrifyingly gorgeous" former fianc‚e. But like the paranoiac who is being followed, Elise may have good reason to be jealous. Only months before the wedding, Adrienne takes a job in Washington, D.C., and reinserts herself into Donald's life, fueling Elise's jealousy as well as a slapstick plot having to do with Donald's dog, Elise's wedding dress and liposuction. Zigman is better at caricature than characterization, and her emphatic, read-aloud style sometimes falls flat on the page. Yet some scenes when Donald meets Elise, for instance are fresh and smart and almost perfect, as are many of her one-liners.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1st edition (May 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 037541388X
• ISBN-13: 978-0375413889
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,703,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laura Zigman grew up in Newton, Massachusetts (where she felt she never quite fit in), and graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (where she didn't fit in either) and the Radcliffe Publishing Procedures Course (where she finally started to feel like she fit in). She spent ten years working (slaving away) in New York in book publishing where she was a (much-abused under-appreciated) publicist for Times Books, Vintage Books, Turtle Bay Books, Atlantic Monthly Press, and Alfred A. Knopf. After moving to Washington, D.C. (because she was burnt out and didn't know where else to go) and working briefly as a project manager for The Smithsonian Associates (she had a cubicle) and a consultant for Share Our Strength, an anti-poverty non-profit group (she didn't even have a cubicle), she (finally) finished her first novel (that she'd been writing in her 'spare time' for the last five years). (The thinly-disguised autobiographical novel) Animal Husbandry was published in 1998 by The Dial Press and became a national bestseller. It was published in fourteen countries (or more, she's not sure) and in 2001 the film based on the book, 'Someone Like You,' (they changed the title at the last minute because they were afraid people wouldn't 'get' the meaning of the original title -- not that she's complaining or anything) starring Ashley Judd and (excuse her while she drools) Hugh Jackman, was released by Fox 2000. Her second (thinly-disguised autobiographical) novel, Dating Big Bird, also published by The Dial Press, came out in 2000, and her third (thinly disguised autobiographical) novel, Her, published by Knopf (where she once worked ' an exquisite irony), followed in 2002. Her latest (thinly-disguised autobiographical) novel, Piece of Work, to be published by Warner Books on September 25, 2006 (finally, after four long years in between books ' maybe her parents will now leave her alone), is based on her (horrific but entertaining) experiences as a publicist and has been optioned by Tom Hanks' production company, Playtone Pictures, with My Big Fat Greek Wedding's Nia Vardalos (luff her) set to write the screenplay and star in the movie (please God let that happen).
She currently lives outside Boston (in the same town she grew up in '- how weird is that? ' and where she now feels like fits in) with her husband and young son.
(Oh, and she finally has a website: www.laurazigman.com).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ugh, what a terrible book -- do I have to give it a star?, June 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Her (Hardcover)

Why is it that books that have such a great plot (spying on your fiance's ex-fiancee -- that could be so funny) turn out to be so poorly written?

First, there's the main character, Elise, who is difficult to like even before she goes crazy and spends all of her time trying to prove Donald, her fiance, is cheating on her. Elise is extremely self-centered, very needy, is a witch to her friends, never treats Donald with an ounce of respect, and the whole time I read the book, I just wanted to KICK HER VERY HARD!

Then's there is Donald, who is too nice for words and has a weird habit of taking off his pants when he's upset, or excited, or whatever. Why that is supposed to be an endering trait is beyond me.

Elise's two best friends, Gayle and Fran, are even worse. Gayle lives by mooching off others and is an idiot. Fran owns a successful clothing store and gets her kicks off of making other people feel bad.

So by the time Her, the ex-fiancee, Adrienne, is written into the story, you're happy. At least she has some depth. At least all of her bad traits (manipulation, a huge ego, etc.) are supposed to be there. The reader is supposed to hate her, but you really end up hating everyone else.

The ending is chliched, and it happens too quickly, like suddenly the author realized how horrible the characters are and wanted nothing to do with them anymore.

The book is a fast read, thank goodness, but it isn't worth the two hours it will take you to finish it. Do something else instead -- take a walk, bake some cookies, or simply read a different book. You'll be glad you did.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Really Bummed - She's a better author than this ......, August 11, 2002

By 

Caroline P. Hampton (Columbus, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Her (Hardcover)

I usually like Laura Zigman's work. I loved "Animal Husbandry" and really enjoyed "Dating Big Bird" however, "Her" was a disappointment. To begin with - it's difficult to enjoy a book when you can't stand - understand and relate with the main character. She was annoying, crazy and really unsympathetic. I kept thinking she would get better or the story would unfold and you would understand her motivation. But - it never did.

Elise (the main character) is engaged to nice and comfortable Donald. Her ordered and calm life is turned upside down when Donald's former fiance Adrianne comes back into the picture. I have to say, I enjoyed her character more than another. She at least gave you something interesting to think about. I found her entire relationship with Donald completely unbelievable. There is no way this woman would ever have been with him - but, I will leave that up to you.

There were moments that I was interested - but all in all - the negatives outweighed the positives. Try her other books - they are better.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Paranoia's galore!, May 16, 2002

By 

CoffeeGurl - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Her (Hardcover)

I think Laura Zigman is one of the most gifted chick lit writers of this era. I loved Animal Husbandry and Dating Big Bird because I thought she brought something new to a genre full of Bridget Jones-wannabes. I looked forward to reading Zigman's third novel, Her. In Zigman's case, third time isn't a charm.

It's not that I didn't like the book -- after all, I thought it full of Zigman's signature wit -- I was just annoyed with the heroine, Elise. Threatened by her fiancés friendship with his gorgeous ex-girlfriend, Elise embarks on a search to find whether or not there is something sinister about the ex-girlfriend's insistence on being part of Donald's life. Though the heroine addressed the fact that she'd become extremely paranoid, I still felt as though I wanted to strangle her at times. Well, I guess I shouldn't judge her too badly considering I have had some bouts of paranoia myself...

Her is still worth reading. Laura Zigman's fun approach to romantic comedy is money well spent.