Customer Reviews

The Life Plan

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Patent attorney Kat Miller has had a life plan since college and means to stick to it. So far, she's gotten the husband and satisfying career and next on the list is a house and kids. But her husband Dan, unemployed and lackadaisical about finding a job, has other plans. Dan enrolls in a massage therapy course in Thailand and tells Kat she can come or not; either way, he's going. Kat, suspecting Dan's interest in Thailand has to do with a beautiful yoga mate from that country, decides to accompany her husband just in case. Once they arrive in Thailand, Dan changes from loving husband to irritable spouse and decides to pursue his enlightened course which translates to "share the love". Kat wallows in misery for awhile then decides since she's in an exotic country, she might as well enjoy it. Through friends she meets, she travels the countryside, visiting Buddhist ruins and spending time in a jungle village, and along the way rediscovers herself. By the time Kat's vacation is over, she has a big decision to make: continue on with the life plan or simply let life happen.

Sybil Baker pens a hilarious peek at one woman's journey as she discovers more about herself than she thinks possible. Kat Miller is an engaging character, a woman with insecurities and idiosyncrasies who initially seems frail and vulnerable but shows a propensity to roll with the punches and come out ahead. Secondary characters are well-developed and add zest to this thoroughly entertaining book.

As an American who in high school never understood why anyone would want to leave the US for any reason and now find myself married to a Turk and living in Turkey for the past 6.5 years, I found it easily relate to and laugh with Kat's experiences as an American abroad, her reflections on living life for the moment versus living life with a purpose, and how living abroad gives one a different perspective on the American dream. Great read Sybil Baker!The Life Plan

I am a middle-age man. I have only a few authors that I read on a regular basis. I picked up the book, The Life Plan by Sybil Baker, and could not put it down. Unexpected is the hook. I kept wanting to know what would happen next. At first, I was questioning the decisions of the heroin, and then by the end, I was cheering for her.

This book may be outside your normal genre, but definitely it is a great read for anyone. I highly recommend it.

I really enjoyed this book cover to cover. It totally transported me back to my holiday in Thailand 8 years ago with its amusing accuracy and attention to detail. The relationships between the main characters drew me in and the story clipped along at a great pace. The gang that went to Thailand with me are all reading it now and loving it too. But more than anything its a testiment to how God laughs when you make a (Life) Plan!

If you are looking for superficial packaged glop that a lot of undeserving chick-flick bestselling novelists are putting out these days then don't read this book. The Life Plan is an expertly written original novel that I enjoyed from beginning to end. I was rooting for the main character, Kat the whole time and was transported to Thailand with her. What a fun ride!

CHICK LIT FOR GUYS

I'm a man in middle age. Well into middle age. So I have no interest in chick lit. And I'd be about as likely to read a book about the travails of a woman lawyer under thirty as I'd be to walk onto an NBA tryout.

But Sybil Baker's The Life Plan was a worthwhile walk on the wild side. Forget that it's funny. Forget that its descriptions of Thailand are so lushly detailed that you can smell the ginger. Forget that its characters are believable and its plot compelling. No----the reason men should read this book is that it tells us how women think.

No kidding.

The plot revolves around Kat and her loser husband Dan. Dan drags Kat to Thailand in pursuit of his career in massage therapy (as I said, loser) and promptly makes himself even less attractive by cheating on her. What follows at first makes little sense to a man: Kat plots and conspires to get her worthless husband back, only abandoning her efforts when confronted with irrefutable proof that he can never be trusted. Why would anyone do that? Why not just dump him?
Baker shows us how and why Kat is willing to forgive all and bend every effort in furtherance of The Life Plan----that is, her hopes for security, stability, and maternity. Know anyone who's done the same?

This is a great chick book that no man should miss.

I'm not a chick lit fan, so at first I was reading about the main character worrying about her french nail manicures, her 15 extra pounds, and Hermes scarfs and I thought I might not bother finishing it. But once they get to Thailand, the zany comedic elements take off and the self-absorbed "sex and the city" story takes a backseat. I enjoyed the non-classic ending and the idea that there is something missing in a life devoid of danger, fun, too many drinks, and the foreign.

Alright, it isn't my typical fare but I have read my share of chick-lit. I suppose it is sheer snobbery that I was going to knock this down "One Star" simply becuse it is not my genre. But "Life Plan" and especially Kat, the narrator, stuck with me for weeks and weeks. Not wildly flawed and fragile but not unbelievably bold and heroic, Baker's strong voice keeps Kat in that narrow zone that's real and funny.

I guess everyone makes long term plans about what their life will look like, the fun comes when we have to decide whether to update the plan, add some footnotes, or throw the whole thing out and start over.

A romp, a romance, a travellogue, a confession, and a good bit of mystery.

Don't let Kat's slow start fool you, because the whirlwind arrives all of a sudden. Kat having been raised with the mind set of a traditional, goal oriented, focused, professional business women does get caught in a whirlwind. Not ready for a free-spirited life that she soon finds herself in. Will soon experience many twist and turns during this whirlwind of circumstance of raw betrayal, raw lust and raw truth. It's a battle of the yen and yang of the 21st Century not just for her but also for her family, friends and friends and her business world. There is also a glimpse of how the international world sees us Americans. -Lois

I read somewhere that a huge percentage of books are purchased but never read, or at best started and never finished. No chance of that with THE LIFE PLAN by Sybil Baker! Wonderful characters, exotic locations, and a liberal dose of humour make this an excellent book for a flight, a vacation, or just a great tucked-into-bed or curled-up-on-the-sofa book. As a male reader, I anticipated a soggy chick lit novel, but was soon surprised and delighted by the compexity of Kat and her life. What made it more fun than ever was author Sybil Baker's personal ruminations, laugh-out-loud one liners, and a delightful armchair excursion to discovering the sights, sounds, tastes and experiences of South East Asia. In fact, the book has been called "the most original, no-holds-barred, well-informed and readable traveler's guide to Thailand." Read it. I guarantee you'll enjoy it!