Customer Reviews

Mourning Glory

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I consider myself to be a reader of discriminating and eclectic tastes. Favorite authors? James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, Anton Chekhov, Agatha Christie, John Irving (and even Jude Deveraux, I guiltily admit). Recently, I've added Warren Adler to that list! Granted, he definitely is no Hemingway in terms of talent and lasting literary value, but he knows how to write an engrossing read. He's not very well-known (he seems to have been more popular in the 70s and 80s), but definitely should be! One of his old novels, "The War of the Roses," somehow managed to find its way into my family's bookshelves, and, bored one day this summer, I decided to pick it up. I didn't expect much, and so I was very pleasantly surprised. I couldn't put it down; it was a fascinating story of the worst divorce imaginable and a great read. So I decided to try some of his other novels, and bought the ebook of "Mourning Glory." The great plot is what hooked me in at first. It's about an attractive Palm Beach woman in her thirties Grace Sorentino who is fired from her job at Saks, and, with little money and a teenage daughter who wants the better things in life, devises a plan to lure a rich widower to her side. By going to funerals of their recently deceased wives, of all things! Of course, things don't quite turn out as planned (she didn't factor falling in love with her prey into the equation) and Grace, the heroine of the novel, must deal with the consequences. "Mourning Glory" has romance, humor, drama, a wonderful portrayal of a mother-daughter relationship, and even steamy sex scenes to spice things up a bit. Not to mention a neo-Nazi skinhead! Adler, an older middle-aged man, somehow manages to make his two main female characters, Grace and her daughter, very real and vibrant, and he really seems to have a lot of insight into the female mind and psyche. I liked the fact that Adler wrote about people with flaws, whose lives were far from perfect but whom you empathized with because of those flaws. "Mourning Glory" is definitely not your typical romance, and it was refreshing! I would've liked more development of the daughter Jackie, however. She was a very interesting character, in my opinion, and more on her teenage, tortured soul would've been welcome. But I'm being very nitpicky there! There's not much to complain about. In short, if you're looking for a great and fast-paced read that would be perfect on a summer vacation or on the beach, or anywhere really, you can't go wrong with "Mourning Glory" by Warren Adler. Adler has his own website http://www.warrenadler.com with more information on "Mourning Glory" and his other novels.

I picked up this book on sale and thought what a treat, since I enjoyed the cynicism and nastiness in Mr. Adler's the War of the Roses... Unfortunately, I have to agree with all the other reviewers who have given this novel a low mark. It was pure dribble all the way through!

I got this book in audiobook, which should be really easy to take. It was not. The book is full of overly sentimental sentiments, old-fashioned ideas about male and females roles and relationship, and corny lines. It's plays on the couple's explicit sex life until I start to say "who cares." And, it goes on and on and on--ad nauseum about how guilty the lead character feels. Okay, okay, I get it. I could not even finish the story--and again, it was a book on tape.

I got this book in audiobook, which should be really easy to take. It was not. The book is full of overly sentimental sentiments, old-fashioned ideas about male and females roles and relationship, and corny lines. It's plays on the couple's explicit sex life until I start to say "who cares." And, it goes on and on and on--ad nauseum about how guilty the lead character feels. Okay, okay, I get it. I could not even finish the story--and again, it was a book on tape.

Got as far as page 50 and figured life was too precious to waste on a woman who would have such a horrible daughter and let that horrible daughter and her horrible boy friend treat her and speak to her like that. I am usually pretty patient with a book but this one just grossed me out.

"Potential" is a dangerous word; after the fact, its most common unstated implication is "unfulfilled." So, too, with MOURNING GLORY. From the title through the final page, this novel had the potential to be terrific.

Like the title, the underlying premise of the story is clever. MOURNING GLORY tells of the quest of a down-on-her-luck divorcee who decides that she will find husband number two by haunting the funeral parlors of a wealthy town. She hopes that she will be able to focus in on a heartbroken widower desperate for the attention of a good woman before the other predatory women of the community can get to him.

This story should have been great, it should have been funny. As it was, the novel only is distasteful. While there's nothing wrong with Mr. Adler's writing, it was odd to see a book with a 2001 pub date mention Bonwit Teller's, a New York based department store that has been out of business for about twenty years. Where was his editor? Also, "garter belts" are consistently referred to as "suspenders," and a sex toy consistently is called by a technical term that women do not use.

The sole compliment that I can find for MOURNING GLORY is that, for a change, the heroine is not just some young girl with firm breasts whose worst problem is a broken fingernail. It would have been nice if the author could have offered a more thorough description of Palm Beach, where he places this novel, and which is a unique and interesting town.

Finally, the sex scenes just...lie there. To compound the problem, the sex is pretty repetitive as well. Virtually any of the female romance writers do better with these episodes. Anyone who wants to read a juicy romance should buy something by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Nora Roberts, Elizabeth Lowell, Rachel Gibson, Jane Graves. There is a vast group of authors who do a superior job with this type of story.

I had never read any of Mr. Adler's book before picking up Mourning Glory. I did, however, see the movie The War of the Roses, an adaptation of one of his earlier books. I didn't know what I had missed. Mourning Glory had me hooked immediately. What I liked the most, aside from the great dialogue and fast paced reading, was the way in which Mr. Adler weaved this tale of one woman's fight to rise from the depths by finding a wealthy widow. The fact is that I am an ardent feminist and believe that a woman must seek independence on her own and not be dependent on any man's bounty. At first I was offended by Grace Sorentino's cynical approach to the method by which she chose to save herself and her dysfunctional daughter. Then I bonded with her and understood both her plight and the method she chose. This is the story of survival and in the end I cheered Grace on and understood how she might take this step. I am curious how other ardent feminists like myself might react to this story, which I found both maddening and profound.

Mourning Glory is a powerful story of a woman down on her luck with no prospects, a divorcee with a dysfunctional daughter, who embarks on an unconventional strategy to find a wealthy man to free her from her dilemma. Flying in the face of contemporary feminine doctrine she develops a unique strategy and finds her mark, only to discover how deep emotions can thwart any cynical plan. The character of Grace Sorentino is marvelously portrayed and one follows her strange and compelling journey with rapt attention and deep involvement. Adler writes with his usual flair for sharp dialogue, surprise plotting and bittersweet humor that will take your on a wild ride through a complicated and often hostile world.

This book has brought me to tears on several occasions, the first of which was the day I bought it for my wife and discovered shortly thereafter that I'd wasted my money. The second, as you might guess, was when my wife _told_ me I'd wasted my money. I tried to read it myself, and convinced myself that we were both right. This book is a tragic waste of trees and time. Do yourself a favor. Leave this at the bookstore. Get a good night's sleep instead.

If there is one book to recommend this season, then I would have to say Warren Adler's Mourning Glory. I can't tell you the last time I read something that so captivated me with laughter, intrigue, and bawdiness. My youngest daughter read Mourning Glory as well and we have been arguing about it around the dinner table. She thinks this books pushes the Woman's Movement back forty years. I personally wouldn't go that far but Mourning Glory definitely takes a closer look at the Modern Woman.