Lost in the Garden [Mass Market Paperback]

Philip Beard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 29, 2007

A wry novel of suburban life unraveled from the author of Dear Zoe

Like Tom Perrotta and Nick Hornby, Philip Beard writes insightfully, movingly, and with the lightest touch about the messiness of life. Michael Benedict, overprivileged but undermotivated, seems to have it all: a beautiful wife, two lovely daughters, a law practice, and a natural golf swing. But when his wife announces she’s unexpectedly pregnant with their third child, Michael’s underwhelming response disturbs the fault lines of both his marriage and his psyche. Seeking solace, Michael turns to his golf game and a kind of sex that isn’t exactly extramarital. A deft tightrope walk between heartbreak and hilarity, Lost in the Garden is a novel for anyone who’s ever felt life was a work in progress.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At first blush, 45-year-old attorney and golfer Michael Benedict seems a knowing, self-deprecatingly witty confidant as he details the breakdown of his long and happy marriage to a "mostly perfect" woman. When his wife, Kelly, announces she is pregnant with their third child at the age of 40, Michael, still traumatized by the miscarriage of their last baby, can only summon up a callous: "What are we going to do about it?" Predictably annoyed, Kelly soon refuses him sex, and heends up moving out of his suburban Pittsburgh house and back home with his wealthy, exasperated parents. There, he seeks out prostitutes and sex therapists, and sets his sights on breaking 70 in his golf game and making the PGA Senior Tour at 50. After a promising start, Beard doesn't provide enough plot to keep the reader from losing patience with Beard's self-absorbed mid-lifer and his games (sporting and otherwise).
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

By turns rollicking, ribald, poignant, and sweet, Lost in the Garden is a delightful gem of a book by a writer in complete control of his game. -- Austin Murphy, Sports Illustrated

Echoes Updike. -- Kirkus Reviews

[An] honest, comical, and oh-so-human story. -- Ronlyn Domingue, author of The Mercy of Thin Air

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Plume; 1St Edition edition (May 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452288428
• ISBN-13: 978-0452288423
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,091,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book about golf and life, July 2, 2006

By 

Dennis R. Beresford (Athens, Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lost in the Garden (Hardcover)

I bought this book because I enjoyed Mr. Beard's first book, "Dear Zoe" and I'm a sucker for books about golf. While the descriptions of Micahel Benedict's quest for the senior golf tour were great, his observations about love and life were what made the book so special. And I had to laugh out loud several times at his observations that brought back memories of similar experiences.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beard does it again, July 3, 2006

By 

Karin L. Fuller "Karin Fuller" (Charleston, WV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lost in the Garden (Hardcover)

Although this book didn't pull me into it in quite the same way as did his Dear Zoe, (which was one of my favorite books ever, so it would've been hard to do), it was a thoroughly enjoyable read. Beard is a skilled and observant writer. I have this habit of highlighting passages that I find especially well done, and my copy of Lost in the Garden is probably now more yellow than white.

I hope women and non-golf-lovers won't be discouraged from reading this book because of its golf theme. There's far more to this story than golf.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't miss this book, July 21, 2006

By 

Jane Doe (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lost in the Garden (Hardcover)

Despite the less universal subject appeal, this book is even better than Beard's first novel,'Dear Zoe.' It is not about golf and sex. It is about family relationships and personal growth. It is hilariously funny, poignant,wise and wonderful. Forget Kirkus' dumb plot review and live for a few hours with Beard's characters: Kelly, Sal and Hank. You will ache for Michael and his children and you will laugh out loud at Michael as a child. I challenge you not to love this book.