Otherwise Engaged: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries) and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more



or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Start reading Otherwise Engaged: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries) on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

Otherwise Engaged: A Novel [Paperback]

Suzanne Finnamore
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (281 customer reviews)

List Price: $12.00
Price: $10.80 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $1.20 (10%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 2 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it tomorrow, May 23? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition --  
Hardcover --  
Paperback $10.80  
Audio, Cassette, Abridged, Audiobook --  
Unknown Binding --  
Image
Save on Popular Books This Summer
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more.

Book Description

May 9, 2000
Otherwise Engaged is Suzanne Finnamore's wickedly funny account of an intelligent, rational woman's transformation into the harpy of anxieties that is the bride-to-be.

When Michael pops the question, Eve is deliriously happy. She tells grocery clerks. She subscribes to bridal magazines. She delights in the rainbows that shower from the one-carat (okay, .81-carat) ring on her hand. For two days. As the cumulative stresses of ordering invitations, finding a dress, and organizing the Perfect Honeymoon fry Eve's nerves, the very real prospect of being with one man for the rest of her days reverberates through her consciousness like a Chinese gong. Suddenly the sight of Michael's discarded socks on the floor and his passing mentions of his former live-in French girlfriend incite doubt, argument, and public fainting.

Uproarious, insightful, tender, Otherwise Engaged dashes our soap-bubble fantasies in favor of a hilariously realistic walk to the alter.

Frequently Bought Together

Otherwise Engaged: A Novel + The Zygote Chronicles: A Novel + Split: A Memoir of  Divorce
Price for all three: $35.10

Some of these items ship sooner than the others.

Buy the selected items together


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

After 18 months of dating, hemming, hawing, begging, badgering, and threatening--as well as performing "really sincere fellatio"--the heroine of Otherwise Engaged has finally finagled an engagement ring. Eve seems confident that Michael, "the epitome of a Nice Jewish Man," is the person she wants to spend her life with. Yet she nearly kills herself soon after the celebratory dinner, staring at her newly acquired rock while speeding along a San Francisco freeway. And she may kill Michael, too, but not accidentally: "Michael leaves his socks on the floor when he takes off his shoes after work. This used to be fine. But now a sock on the floor isn't just a sock on the floor. It's a sock on the floor for the rest of my life."

Suzanne Finnamore's comic novel chronicles the happy couple's year-long engagement--which, to judge from Eve's Valium intake, is about 11 months too long. Eve and Michael bicker over every last detail: whether to hire a professional photographer or one of Michael's advertising-director buddies; which one of them wastes more money; who used up the last can of chicken stock and didn't add it to the shopping list. At 36, Eve throws more tantrums than the average toddler, and Michael's moodiness and problems with his ex-wife certainly don't help. The result is one drama-queen dilemma after another, none of them much ameliorated by Eve's slapstick sessions with "a seventy-year-old Marin County prominent Jungian."

Eve's troubles are primarily self-induced, of course, and the lush life she leads as a lavishly compensated advertising copywriter makes it hard to regard her as a tragic figure. Still, Otherwise Engaged is worth a quick read by any anxious bride-to-be who's delaying that inevitable appointment with Martha Stewart's premarital to-do checklist. --Erica Jorgensen --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Starting where Bridget Jones's Diary and Animal Husbandry left off, Finnamore's debut novel humorously chronicles one woman's life of limbo, now that she's achieved an engagement ring: "He didn't kneel. It's unlikely that I would marry someone who did. From then on, I would live in fear of Whitman Samplers." Narrator and ad-writer Eve, 36, finally maneuvers a proposal from her boyfriend, Michael. But she immediately panics, wondering if she can survive the pressure without losing her mind, her man, or both. Will Eve make it to the altar despite an invasive mother-in-law, the death of a dear high school friend, job woes and her fever-pitch anxiety? Now she's noticing many divorced couples, hoarding her Valium and squabbling constantly with Michael with a ferocity that reminds her of "two grouchy morbid orangutans in a small cage at a testing facility." Eve has a distinctively wry, endearingly comical voice, able to speak bluntly and incisively when examining her neuroses, and to mock her hysteria with deadpan wit. Toward the novel's end, her wedding blues may begin to jangle readers' nerves, however; her observations remain fresh, but one wishes that she'd get a grip, and the sooner the better. But her energetically told story, set in a vibrantly realized San Francisco, should appeal to anyone who can appreciate a cool, clever intelligence capable of discerning the zaniness of the purgatory known as engagement. 75,000 first printing; author tour.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; Vintage Contemporaries ed edition (May 9, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0375706429
  • ISBN-13: 978-0375706424
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (281 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #996,976 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

This has to be one of the funniest books I've read in a long time. Margery A. Yeager  |  16 reviewers made a similar statement
Suzanne - I look forward to reading your next one! "jlenj"  |  17 reviewers made a similar statement
I found the main character to be annoying. thebarkingcat  |  15 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful October 23, 1999
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
This is a brilliant novel. And I'm a guy. (And I have to say to those people who have written lonely one star reviews: it's a novel, get a life. It's make believe, just like, oh, I don't know, Barbie.) Funny, yes. But also interestingly profound. Which I feel, personally, is a fair fifty-fifty thing. This really is a book about the process (and it is a process) of engagement. I have a hunch, but no proof, that this is really a bio disguised as a novel. I like to think this, anyway. I like to think there is a real Eve out there somewhere. An actual woman. At least, I'd like to hope there is. On a personal note, I have to say: My girlfriend became the Bitch From Hell after we set The Date. She read this book and it was like she had suddenly entered a Valium haze. All of a sudden, she was calm, cool. The panic was gone. I think because she sort of identified with the main person in the book. She felt like she wasn't alone thinking she was crazy. The ONE complaint I have about this book is a line in the book that says something like, "a sock on the floor is a sock on the floor for the rest of my life" or something. Anyway, the same is true for me. For the rest of my life, I will walk into the bathroom in the morning and be greeted by nylons hanging over MY towel. And also, there's never any room in the medicine cabinet. At least I hope.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
61 of 70 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank God!!!! April 22, 1999
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
I am going to be married in four months. Assuming I'm not hit by a bus tomorrow or eat warm mayonnaise by accident. And I am going crazy. As a gift, my friend, Ann, gave me a copy of Otherwise Engaged, by Suzanne Finnamore. I was like, "you want me to READ???" She said, "Just read it." So I did.I would like my review to be a gigantic bullhorn to EVERY woman who is either engaged, about to be engaged, wanting to be engaged or wishing to be so. SOMEBODY FINALLY GETS IT.That's what I would shout. This book is absolutely important and wonderful. For the first time, SOMEBODY has come forward and talked about the anxiety that we feel when we are in a relationship. I mean the real stuff, the stuff we think but don't say and sometimes don't even admit we think. This is a very brave novel, and I am so personally grateful to the writer (Suzanne Finnamore) for writing it. Aside from being paralyzingly funny, it's all TRUE. She gets it. I have been going out of my mind thinking I am the only person who is feeling what I feel and then all of a sudden, SMACK. I read this book.I also saw New York Magazine recently because my husband-to-be is from NY and we subscribe, and there she was...except I didn't like one thing: they compared Otherwise Engaged to the Bridget Jones book and I read that (loved it) but this is really different...I almost want to say that BJ is about being single and Finnamore is about getting married, but that's not it. The difference is, to me, BJ is a really fun read. But Otherwise Engaged is astounding. Every word is perfect and you just read it and think, "I want to KNOW her..." There are so many good lines that I would wake up my boyfriend and say, "listen to this..." and he would say "what time is it?" and then I would say, "Just listen..." Because the thing is, it looks like a girl book, but it's really not. My guy was like, "This is really funny, who is this girl, this is great...that's so you..." This book gives me permission to feel what I feel. Validation, I guess is the term a shrink might use.Anyway, the only problem with the book is this: it goes from very funny to very deep and you have no idea when it comes. My copy of the book has ice cream stains on it because I laughed out loud and, well -splatt. So be forewarned. It IS this funny. Also, I hate the fact that the author had the nerve to end it. I NEED MORE!!! Don't borrow it, GET it...I know it's a little hard to get because everyone keeps selling out, but it's WORTH it. My advice is Amazon...only because all the bookstores in my area keep saying, "two more days" and they seem to be able to get books faster...Just don't combine it with food.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
As I write this review, 186 other people have reviewed this thing- so the question is: What incremental contribution can I make over and above the other 186 people who've had something to say about this book. Well, I'll try and be helpful by summarizing what everyone else has said, dispel some myths, and help set expectations:

I avoided reading this book because based on what reviews I had read, I was afraid it was this "madcap romp through the bridal world"- I was scared it was going to be Bridget Jones Gets Married. I like Bridget, but "being engaged" and weddings are already superficial enough in this culture without the added bonus of slapstick.

This book is honest, genuine and really has very little to do with ordering flowers (don't even think i saw the word "florist," actually) or invitations (she does talk about addressing them and picking them out, but it's fairly quick). It's more about a person going through a transition in life and coping with the fears associated with those changes than it is about being engaged. I found it to be very similar to "Welcome to My Planet" by Shannon Olsen- Eve (from this book) and Shannon (from "Welcome...") both are transitioning and having to grow up and realize that they have to stop looking backward and give up certain things in order to gain certain things. I'm not engaged and never have been married, and I still very much related to that kind of emotional growth.

I also liked the fact that she's not a screw up at work- It seems a lot of these 30-year-old-woman books (Lucy Sullivan, Welcome to my Planet, Getting over it) are about a woman who's a mess at work and in her personal life- This woman is successful at work (six figures no less), and I could really relate to her a lot more- I'm a little maxed out on screwups.

It is a fairly quick read but- I've read other reviews that said it's a superficial book. They are reading it too fast, which isn't necessarily wrong- it's just that they are sorta being like those dogs who gulp their food down without tasting it.

This book is hilarious. Partly because of its honesty, but also because of some one-liners. For example, she's discussing the fact that Michael (her fiance, obviously) has been married before and discussing her feelings about being a second wife:

"First wife, second wife. I will always be second. Even if his first wife dies, I don't move up the ladder. It's not like being an understudy. It's so much more complicated. Second. It's so Nancy Kerrigan."

So far, I think this is one of the better of this 30-year-old-woman books, for what it's worth. Thanks Suzanne- Do we get a book on the next stage of life too?

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, Smart, Layered, REAL.
I love love love Finnamore's writing and voice. Surprised to love a book about engagement because my wedding seems so long ago it might as well have been senior prom. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Benjamin T Imig
5.0 out of 5 stars I Couldn't Put This Book Down!
I am so glad that I picked this book up. It was so awesome that I found my eyelids closing, as I didn't want to put it down at bedtime! Read more
Published 2 months ago by ShanIam
2.0 out of 5 stars Blah
I'm sure this book is really "true to life" or whatever, but the couple both come off as such selfish jerks, it was hard for me to see why anyone would want to marry either of... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Erica Douglas
5.0 out of 5 stars Super smart and brilliantly written
Oh, how do I love Suzanne Finnamore! She seems to be able to get at the tender heart of anything that has to do with love and life, and to do it in a way that is compelling,... Read more
Published on December 21, 2010 by Caroline Leavitt
2.0 out of 5 stars Pitiful
I enjoy kicking back with some chick-lit "fluff" every once in awhile, but Otherwise Engaged was a much darker, more depressing and pathetic book than I expected. Read more
Published on January 31, 2010 by Breit-Bring
1.0 out of 5 stars Boring
I only made it through the 1st half of the book. Didn't keep my interest at all. Too much talk about the character's job and not the engagement/wedding.
Published on January 18, 2009 by loo
2.0 out of 5 stars Boring until last 30 pages
I found that I could have put this book down at any time and wouldn't have cared about finishing it. The plot was uninteresting, and the author's writing style was even worse. Read more
Published on November 30, 2008 by Kristy
5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh Out Loud Funny
Okay, you don't even have to be engaged or in a relationship for that matter to enjoy this book. I found myself laughing out loud at certain parts and could not wait to lend it to... Read more
Published on February 8, 2008 by Book Lover
2.0 out of 5 stars A waste of time
This book gave me a headache. It jumps around and the thoughts the author conveys are incomplete and at times make no sense. Read more
Published on August 6, 2007 by Sammy Dan
1.0 out of 5 stars They killed trees for THIS?
What a disastrously bad and unfunny novel. The self-involved main character is pathetic and whiny, the "plot" is see-through and cliched, and the writing style is far below what... Read more
Published on October 26, 2006 by Ribreader
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Forums

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions

Topic From this Discussion
THIS BOOK IS ALWAYS SELLING OUT ON AMAZON. BARNEs AND NOBLE.COM HAS THEM...
Because it is TOOOOOOO true and a fun read. Love this author's wit** she is stellar! Sadly, Split: A Memoir of Divorce is true to form with the author's style; we are just sad they split* would love to meet this author! sniff'sniff'
Jan 25, 2011 by LC |  See all 2 posts
"otherwise engaged" was FEATURED this morning ON NPR AS BEST OF ALL... Be the first to reply
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 




So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category