From the acclaimed author of Isabel's Bed comes a delightful collection of short stories. These wry and sassy tales illustrate the vulnerable heartbeat beneath the brash style of the eighties. Behind their professional self-assurance, Elinor Lipman's characters question and fear, search and yearn for that most elusive of commodities--love.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Modern domestic lifewhen to have children, whom to marryis the subject of most of these 16 stories. Though Lipman, whose fiction has appeared in many magazines, displays a sense of humor and occasional streak of originality, she does not take any of her ideas or her characters very far. Seven of the stories chart the relationship of Tim and Hannah: Tim falls in love with Hannah while standing behind her on line at the Motor Vehicles Registry. When she turns around, he learns that she is nine months pregnant, but completely unattached (she had a business-trip fling with the baby's father). They fall in love and out again several timeshence the book's titlebut in spite of their attempts to remain apart from social codes, both are merely cardboard figures, symbols rather than real people. The most thought-provoking tale, "Thick and Thin," about the relationship between self-esteem and weight, is so brief it undermines its own potential. Though some of the stories do begin to touch on human truths, they remain slight and, sadly, forgettable.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Lipman's short stories are filled with sweet, complex people in unusual relationships: gentle Tim, for instance, falls madly in love with unwed Hannah, who is in the ninth month of her pregnancy; sad Clair at last finds a true lover but breaks off with him because she senses parental disapproval of his low status as a supermarket produce man; Martha and Carl tenderly, tentatively exchange love and body fat. The stories, charming in a finely etched way, contain some wry, delightful twists of plot and oblique, often painful, dialogue. These people slide by each other, connecting only on occasion, their connections graced by both joy and despair, much ambiguity, and accommodation to different kinds of love. This first collection is recommended. Johanna Ezell, Mont Alto Campus Lib., Pennsylvania State Univ.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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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.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
collection of sweets,
By A Customer
This review is from: Into Love and Out Again: Stories (Paperback)
Like so much of Lipman's writing, these stories probably won't change your life, but they're truly sweet - not cloying or sacharine - which is a rarity these days.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Charming, Warm, and Funny,
By Liz W. "villagebookreview" (Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Into Love and Out Again: Stories (Paperback)
Maybe it's because I just forced myself to finish reading a book of strange, morbid fantasy/horror tales of varying (and sometimes questionable) quality, but I found Into Love and Out Again to be pure delight. Lipman's little book of stories could best be described as resembling a box of chocolates: weighing in at just under 200 pages, it bundles unrequited love, childrearing, self-image, and other universal trials of the modern day woman into sixteen stories, each offering a short, tasty revelation on the matters of love and relationships. Enjoy.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Into Love and Out Again,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Into Love and Out Again: Stories (Paperback)
I didn't realize they were all short stories and most of them downers.I love the author and will keep on reading her.
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