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Making It Up As I Go Along: A Novel
 
 
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Making It Up As I Go Along: A Novel [Hardcover]

Maria T. Lennon (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)


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Book Description

June 7, 2005
When California-born war correspondent Saffron Roch discovers that she’s pregnant (read: knocked-up, newly jobless, and single at thirty-eight), she decides to leave Sierra Leone and surgeon Oscar DeVries, the baby’s cheating father who, despite his huge ego and surprisingly small member, had captured her heart.

So Saffron turns in her backstage pass to the violent dissolution of third-world countries and returns home to Los Angeles, where she is about to inherit a beach property worth a fortune. There she throws herself into motherhood, joining a politically correct breast-feeding support group at the Pump Station. In full-blown culture shock, missing Africa, Saffron comes face to face with a group of unlikely women friends and a roomful of Scud nipples that, on looks alone, could bring any rogue nation to its knees.

Making It Up As I Go Along is a dazzling debut novel that questions the very meaning of motherhood, home, and family, while offering an unforgettable look at the camaraderie of women who, across borders and generations, teach Saffron a thing or two about what matters most in life.


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When 38-year-old war correspondent Saffron Roch quits Sierra Leone, pregnant with her unfaithful lover's child, she heads to London to have baby Halla and then returns to her native California to find herself catapulted into two new, unnerving conflicts. There's that single-motherhood business, for one, and then there's the fact that she's netted a $10-million estate from her adoptive mother, Heaven, whose disinherited birth son, the tofu-eating pseudo-guru Francis, seems weirdly okay with it. Meeting other new moms at the Pump Station, a haven for Malibu mommies that pushes breast-feeding and "bath products that Catherine Zeta-Jones used," gives Saff a much-needed boost, even if she's "better prepared at ambushing a pocket of Chechen rebels than... having brunch at Barney's with a baby in tow." Lennon ably shows Saff's growing friendship with her fellow moms; she also, through flashbacks, reveals Saff's complicated past in Sierra Leone--her troubles with Halla's father, the surgeon Oscar; her attraction to Joseph, a beautiful, mysterious African--while weaving quite a present-day plot. Back in Sierra Leone, Joseph may be put to death for treason, while in Malibu, Francis is cooking up a plot to get his mom's property back. Lennon's debut is a winning mix of humor and suspense. Agent, Marly Rusoff. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Saffron Roch, a California native, was living her dream as a war correspondent for the Times (of London). Sierra Leone was her home, the place where she fell in love with Oscar, a surgeon working for Doctors Without Borders. But when Saffron finds out that she is pregnant, Oscar is cheating on her, and her adoptive mother just left her a $10 million inheritance, she picks up her life and moves back to L.A. But her mind is always on Sierra Leone, Oscar's infidelity, and her unexplainable attraction for another man. She faces the decision to stay and live a life of safety or risk everything and return to Africa. This novel feels like two stories in one--a sassy, satirical, and funny story of life in California, and the serious, brooding, and dire story of life in Sierra Leone. Both are interesting and engaging on their own, but together they feel too disjointed to be complete. Carolyn Kubisz
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books; 1ST edition (June 7, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1400081904
  • ISBN-13: 978-1400081905
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,002,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Maria T. Lennon was born in Los Angeles, Ca. Abducted by her parents at an impressionable age and transported to a horse ranch north of California to live a "healthier" lifestyle, she had little choice but to run for boarding school in Europe. After a grueling round of Oxbridge Exams in Classics, Maria went to London School of Economics, and graduated with honors. This prepared her for absolutely nothing in real life. Not even the Peace Corps offered hope. There was little left to do. Life was over. All she had was a pen, paper, and wine, lots of wine. And a view of the Eiffel Tower from her roof top window. Her first book, Making It Up As I Go Along, was published by Random House. Since then she has had lots of children. Since then the publishing world has crumbled. Which may or may not be a bad thing. Now armed with her agent and editor, she brings her books directly to you. The reader. You are the only thing that matters. Please read. Please write back. I await your words, your thoughts, the effects that my fiction has on you. It is meant to shock, it is meant to transport. It is meant to make you think.

 

Customer Reviews

19 Reviews
5 star:
 (16)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars More sophisticated chick lit, January 7, 2006
By 
This review is from: Making It Up As I Go Along: A Novel (Hardcover)
I stumbled upon this book at the library, thought the story seemed interesting from the jacket summary. I am so glad I found this book! If this is considered chick lit, it definitely is a more sophisticated kind of chick lit. It deals with more serious issues such as war, poverty, Africa, etc. But you can still enjoy it as a chick lit novel ... meaning the politics of the issues I mentioned above do not swallow the story. It seems like the author may have used some of her own life experiences (London School of Economics references, etc.) which I always enjoy when an author does that ... makes the novel seem more real. This book is highly recommended by me. Read & enjoy!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a must!, October 23, 2005
By 
Susie (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Making It Up As I Go Along: A Novel (Hardcover)
After reading this book's more than favorable review in the Denver Post dated 6/19/05, I had to run out to buy it that very day! Upon delving in to the first chapter, I knew I would not be disappointed. Lennon has a unique ability to hook the reader by her funny and accurate insights into human nature. The story's heroine, Saffron, was someone I could relate to and identify with immediately. Although Saffron's story is adventurous and sometimes exotic, anyone who has ever been, or known, a new mother will have compassion for Saffron's real-life dilemma. Saffron's struggle with letting go of her independent, goal-driven past self and opening up to the boundless, albeit non-glamorous, love that she has for her new baby is a life experience that almost every new mother can relate to. Lennon will make you chuckle in recognition as Saffron goes through her transformation and experiences her new reality of changing dirty diapers and getting her baby to properly latch during nursing. Additionally, the contrast between Saffron's life as a war correspondent in the tumultuous political environment of Sierra Leone, with her new life as a single mother amongst the beauty-conscious and superficial mommies in Los Angeles is not only hilarious, but poignant. I was amazed at how Ms. Lennon was able to tell two stories simultaneously while keeping the reader equally involved in each and cognizant of the connection between the two. I especially loved the ending, and was rooting for Saffron all the way as she evolved into someone she didn't know was there, bringing along her flaws of course! This book is definitely a page-turner and will keep you wanting more from this talented new author. I can't wait to see what Lennon has up her sleeve next!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A fun read!, June 25, 2005
By 
This review is from: Making It Up As I Go Along: A Novel (Hardcover)
The long, hot, lazy days of summer are somehow just about perfect for certain books. Making It Up As I Go Along by Maria T. Lennon is one of those.

Saffron Roch, a war correspondent who is passionate about her career, leaves Sierra Leone, Africa for her home state of California after learning that her lover, Oscar, a surgeon with Doctors Without Borders, has been unfaithful. To complicate matters, Saffron is pregnant with the arrogant Oscar's child.

California brings another chapter to Saffron's life. She's a single mother to daughter Halla; her adoptive mother, Heaven, has left her a $10 million estate; her brother Francis seems to accept his disinheritance (or does he?); she's struggling between her love for her child and the loss of her career; and then there's the attraction to another man still in Sierra Leone whose life is in danger.

Saffron left the nerve-wracking and dangerous life of chaos and mayhem in war-torn countries for the equally tension-filled life of changing diapers, breastfeeding and coordinating life with baby in tow. Ultimately Saffron must decide about living the safe everyday life she now has in California - or risk all for what is in Africa.

Making It Up As I Go Along weaves two stories: the humorous one of the life Saffron is living in eccentric California and the other darker, intense and dangerous story of Sierra Leone.

As a mother I could identify with all those feelings Lennon so aptly expressed. I also thought about family, career and the choices we women are required to make about them. It does feel that we are making it up as we go along. This book grabbed me and took me along for a heartwarming ride.
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