Neurotica [Paperback]

Sue Margolis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2003

If he always has the headache, why should you suffer?

In the bestselling tradition of Bridget Jones's Diary comes this outrageous, hilarious look at love, marriage, and sex, introducing Anna Shapiro, who believes that surely there must be more to married life....

Tabloid reporter Anna Shapiro can pinpoint the day, three years ago, that she and her husband, Dan, last had great sex. Anna would be grateful if something as ordinary as a mere headache was her husband's excuse; Dan's hypochondriac terrors include brain tumors, tropical diseases, and spontaneous combustion. While she loves her husband, she's not ready to give up on sex at age thirty-seven--so what can she do?

It's the perfect time for the distraction of a freelance assignment. But what her editor has in mind is a story on the explosive new feminist manifesto that prescribes no-strings-attached affairs for women. Anna's assignment is to interview three women who've had extramarital affairs purely for sexual pleasure--but she's inclined to take her research a bit further....

Can a woman have an uncomplicated affair purely for sexual pleasure--or do her emotions invariably interfere? Anna's determined to find out. And despite her worries about her middle-aged body, potential research assistants prove to be plentiful.

Going where no journalist has gone before, Anna delves into a world she'd never considered until now. What is, after all, the perfect outfit for committing adultery in? Is it truly beyond the pale to pick up a man--no matter how sexy he is--at a funeral? And what can be done about that single horrifying gray hair? The answers are more hilarious than Anna could ever have predicted.

But soon Anna finds herself facing the question that she never thought she'd have to answer: Is she willing to give up her marriage and her children for what may be the biggest gamble of her life?

A novel for every woman who's ever wondered--and every woman who hasn't--Neurotica will have you roaring with laughter as it takes you on a wickedly delightful journey of sheer indulgence.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Tabloid journalist Anna Shapiro has a problem. As she explains to her editor, Alison:

"I've been married to Dan for twelve years. He's been like this for yonks. Every week it's something different. First it was weakness in his legs and he diagnoses multiple sclerosis, then he feels dizzy and it's a brain tumor. Last week he decided he had some disease which, it turns out, you only get from fondling sheep. Alison, I can't tell you the extent to which no Jewish man fondles sheep."

Still, Dan's hypochondria might not be such an insurmountable obstacle if it weren't for the fact that he's afraid to have sex "in case the strain of it gives him a heart attack." Naturally, this state of enforced celibacy makes Anna the perfect person to take on a feature story about women and infidelity, to "go out and interview three slappers who make a habit of being unfaithful just for the sex." It isn't long, of course, before Anna decides that she would make a perfect subject for the story herself.

Neurotica, by British writer Sue Margolis, is one of many novels being compared to Bridget Jones's Diary. But whereas Bridget is frequently naughty, Anna tends toward the downright raunchy ("All through the lunch she had been aware that she was having a bad pubic hair day. The sideburns on her inner thighs were reaching a density that would have done a woolly mammoth proud"). Graphic sex scenes abound, usually followed by a punch line; eventually, however, Anna reaches a crisis point in which she must choose between her marriage or a new shot at love. Readers won't be unduly surprised by the choice she makes, for, despite all the bawdy talk, Neurotica is, at heart, a pretty conventional tale wrapped up in a risqué package. Though Margolis doesn't impart anything new on the subjects of love, sex, or marriage--or plastic surgery--her novel offers an amusing way to spend a few hours. --Margaret Prior --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Taking up where Bridget Joness Diary took off, this saucy, sexy British adventure redefines the lusty womans search for erotic satisfaction. At 37, tabloid journalist Anna Shapiro proves to be a real do-it-yourself expert. While researching an article on adultery, she embarks on three spine-tingling extramarital trysts. Annas husband, Dan, is a compulsive hypochondriac, spending his time agonizing over a plethora of self-diagnosed diseases, planning his funeral and dodging his dead mothers nagging, reproachful voice. All this, and the demands of their two young children, has drastically reduced the Shapiros sex life; Anna remembers the last time she and her husband had anything resembling mind-blowingly filthy sex was three years ago. While Anna is shaggin to her hearts content, she is unaware that her husband, still faithfully in love with her, is seeking to cure himself of his neuroses, secretly, through therapy and a wacky New Age psychic. And she is surprised when her most recent fun-loving Romeo snags her heart, forcing her to face the possible disintegration of her family. In the midst of humorous high drama, Anna maintains her mission to publicly reveal a shocking secret of one of Americas most hypocritical and arrogant feminist figures. This subplot blooms alongside racy sex scenes, near-death catastrophes, a Jewish funeral, and the cost of male strippers, shallow editors and loyal friends. Anna emerges with a new understanding of herself, her family and her happiness. Margoliss prose is witty and sure. Annas story is not simply a portrait of a marriage or fluffy erotic high jinks, but rather a taut and rambunctious tale exploring the perils and raptures of the pursuit of passion.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Delta (August 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385337574
• ISBN-13: 978-0385337571
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #897,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sue Margolis is the author of nine books, which have more than half a million copies in print from Bantam Dell. She lives in England, where she's at work on her next novel.

Visit Sue Margolis' website at www.suemargolis.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Naughty Fun, October 3, 2000

By 

"beckymajdoch" (New Orleans, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Neurotica (Mass Market Paperback)

Spicy and hilarious are two words I use when I describe this book to my friends. I picked it up as an impulse buy and was not disappointed. The story of this real woman and her completely messed-up personal life (an OCD mother and a hypochondriac husband, not to mention her quirky friend...) grabs you as a reader and makes you want more. This is the reason it loses a star, I wanted more at the end. The rest of the book was so great that the end was anticlimactic (I'm not giving anything away, don't worry). It was wonderful to see a strong woman in the driver's seat, both sexually and in the day-to-day. Margolis goes into heart-racing detail that will make you forget where you are because you just want to see what's next. "Neurotica" is definitely a book worth reading.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bedroom farce for the late 90s, February 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Neurotica (Mass Market Paperback)

As the title suggests, this novel explores the oft-interrelated themes of neurosis and sex -- and does so quite hilariously. The plot moves at warp speed, with bizarre twists that somehow work and many bust-a-gut-laughing, priceless scenes. The author has a nice ear for the psychological quirks this is not a book for the prissy or squeamish. There are explicit sex scenes (if you find words like clitoris unromantic, you won't like them) and the dialogue is full of expletives, body parts, and language not fit for those under age 18. And a large part of the humor revolves around sex. Also, the book is very heavy on British slang, which can be distracting if you're not used to it. I heartily enjoyed the book, with that vaguely guilty pleasure I get from reading Cosmo in the supermarket line or downing a big bag of M&Ms in one sitting.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hilariously Sexy, February 16, 2000

By 

Suzanne McNary (Minneapolis, Minnesota USA......formerly UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Neurotica (Mass Market Paperback)

I thought this book was very funny. The main character thinks,says and does alot of things that the average career/homemaker woman would love to do, but would never dare! It's a very easy read. It's a way of looking at a serious subject in a humorous way. The characters are great. They are very easy to identify with, although you might not want to admit that! A great, witty book to read if you want a break from all the books out there that are supposed to give you something to think about.Read it and have fun.