Other Woman [Paperback]

Jane Green (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 19, 2005

Ellie and Dan are living proof that opposites attract. He always follows instructions and she throws the manual away. He loves sports whereas Ellie's allergic to any form of exercise. Ellie doesn't have a mother. And Dan does - a mother who wants to take over ...Everything. At first Ellie is thrilled to have Linda as her 'adopted' mother but when she and Dan decide to get married and wedding plans progress, she starts to wonder: is it normal for Linda and Dan to speak on the phone twice a day? How on earth do they come to be having a reception with Chilean bloody seabass and humongous bloody white ribbons tied everywhere when all she wanted was a quiet registry office? In fact, is she marrying Dan ...Or his mother?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ellie's found her Mr. Right—too bad his mom's got him all wrapped up in her apron strings. Bestseller Green (Bookends; Jemima J; etc.) saddles her heroine with the mother-in-law from hell in her latest bit of comic frippery. Ellie's mom was an alcoholic who died when Ellie was 13, so it's understandable that at first she's "over the moon" about being embraced by Dan's entire family. But poor Ellie never saw the meddlesome Mrs. Cooper coming. Mrs. Cooper calls her three times a day at work, plays devoted son against desperate daughter-in-law, takes control of the wedding plans and then, after the wedding and then birth of Ellie's son, Tom, seems to forget that Ellie even exists ("Hello, my gorgeous boys," she croons into the answering machine). More and more significant troubles loom: having a baby is hard! Marriage is hard! Green offers scenes of real pathos. ("We've become one of those couples that I used to dread becoming: the couples that sit in restaurants all night and don't say a word to each other"). The setup is solid, but the prose is flat: Ellie narrates with all the energy and élan of a bored, middle-aged housewife. She perks up, though, at the requisite happy ending. (Apr.) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

When Ellie Black meets Dan Cooper, she feels as though she's found her best friend and soul mate. After an idyllic courtship, Dan proposes and Ellie happily accepts. She loves everything about Dan, even his family: his sister, Emma, has become her good friend, and his mother, Linda, might end up being the mother Ellie never had when she was growing up. Ellie's own family was far from ideal--her alcoholic mother died when she was 13, and Ellie and her father withdrew from each other almost completely. She hopes Dan's family will become her own, that is, until she gets to know Linda and realizes how controlling and manipulative she can be. Ellie's resentment toward Linda grows after she gets pregnant and gives birth to Tom. When an accident puts Tom's life at risk, Ellie's bottled-up emotions spill over and threaten not just her relationship with her mother-in-law but her marriage itself. Green, best-selling author of Jemima J (2000) and To Have and to Hold[BKL Mr 1 04], is particularly adept at producing engaging women's fiction, and her latest is a prime example--warm, convincing, and eminently readable. Although at times Ellie's venomous anger toward her mother-in-law grates, overall, she is a sympathetic heroine. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books (May 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014029595X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140295955
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,962,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jane Green is a bestselling author of popular novels. She has been featured in People, Newsweek, USA Today, Glamour, and Cosmopolitan. She lives in Connecticut with her family.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Great, But Amusing, March 29, 2005

By 

Wendy Kaplan (Houston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Other Woman (Hardcover)

Jane Green has written much better books than "The Other Woman," but I would still recommend it for a fun, fast, mindless read; maybe while you are holed up for a weekend with a head cold.

It has a strangely stilted tone that doesn't appear in Green's other books, almost as if she were telling the story from far, far away, through a telephone. I can't explain it more than that, but it has a curious lack of affect to it, maybe because the plot was not close to the author's heart?

At any rate, this book tells the story of Dan and Ellie, a couple who meet, fall in love, get pregnant and marry (in that order), falling into an idyllic life that is marred by only one thing: "the other woman"--in this case, Dan's overbearing, in-your-face, no-boundaries-whatsoever mother, Linda. This woman is so over-the-top awful that she reads as a caricature; you really can't believe her antics or the rather lame reasons that Ellie, a high-powered career woman, folds into helpless girlhood in Linda's presence.

The book meanders on, pleasantly enough, until a denoument is reached. I didn't believe any of it, but I cannot say I didn't like the book. It has Green's usual fun cast of characters (although not half as endearing as in most of her books) and moves along quickly. Just don't expect a "Babyville"--or you will be very disappointed.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Really bothered me, July 17, 2005

By 

Laura Mae (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Other Woman (Hardcover)

I thought I would like this book because I have a difficult relationship with my mother-in-law but it just bothered me. It started off good enough but just kind of fell apart. Unlike other reviewers I could understand how some of the things Linda did got under Ellie's skin, it was the inconsistancies that got to me. Ellie doesn't drink because her mother was an alcoholic (this point is made several times in the beginning of the book) and then all of a sudden she's a casual drinker like she'd always been, huh? She complains constantly that she doesn't have any friends yet she shares her deepest feelings and misses terribly her Sunday lunches with Fran. Her father reaches out to her at her wedding and then basically disappears from the book. And this is petty but she says at one point that she guesses she has "step" siblings or something. Who doesn't know that if your father has children with someone other than your mother that they are "half" siblings? I could go on and on but basically there were so many things that made me think "what?" it was hard to enjoy.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars If you enjoy self-punishment, read this book, May 1, 2006

By 

PhillyFlyersGirl "PhillyFlyersGirl" (Philly) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Other Woman (Hardcover)

I truly appreciate all types and forms of literature and very seldom do I come across a book that I will only finish reading out of sheer wonderment that it is truly as bad as it seems. And yes, "The Other Woman" is such a book.

I love chick-lit as much as the next "twenty-something receptionist with a lot of free time at work to actually complete an entire novel in a day..." but Green's mind numbing imposter almost made me feel guilty for getting paid to read. Not only is the "villian" just a slightly overbearing MOTHER with her intentions generally pointed in the right direction (our whiney and ungrateful main character becomes enraged that momma in law purchases new grandbaby a boat load of new fun goodies...any normal working class female citizan understands how strapped the dollars become once a new person is born into the family and would not only jump at a pile of lovely hand me downs but the idea of fantastic brand new baby things??? Thats enough to make one nearly wet herself! Why is Ellie so ungrateful? Her MIL beat her to the punch of baby shopping joy.) I was expecting truly unforgivable crimes of inlaw on inlaw but was left dissapointed and scratching my head asking the rehtorical question, "um...so what was your problem with her? She bought you nice things, took you on vacation, begged to babysit your child, and truely cared about your own wellbeing? How dare she?!?!"