Amazon.com: Playing House (9780060534370): Patricia Pearson: Books
Playing House and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more

Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
Buy Used
Used - Good See details
$3.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
Kindle Edition
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Playing House
 
 
Start reading Playing House on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Playing House [Paperback]

Patricia Pearson (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

List Price: $13.95
Price: $13.93 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $0.02
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
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want it delivered Monday, February 27? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition --  
Hardcover --  
Paperback, Bargain Price $5.02  
Paperback, November 4, 2003 $13.93  

Book Description

November 4, 2003

Even in a tiny apartment, there were enough rooms for Frannie to get into trouble...

First, there was the bedroom...where it all began in such a casually romantic way.

Next, the bathroom...where things took a suspicious turn.

Finally, the living room...where she picked up the phone and prepared to break the news to the boyfriend she barely knew...

When Frannie Mackenzie got sick all over the sweater section of a major urban retailer, she couldn't quite believe that this was a reaction to gray being this year's black. So she went back to her postage-stamp-sized apartment and took inventory. Jeans tighter? Yes. Boobs bigger? Yes. And the absolute proof-positive...the stick had turned blue.

Frannie decides to give up cocktails, late nights, and anything else fun that the big city has to offer. But one thing -- or rather person -- she's not sure she's going to get to keep is the surprised father in the situation -- an experimental jazz musician with the improbable name of Calvin, who'd taken off to Europe before Frannie figured out parenthood had awkwardly united them. Falling in love was the last thing that Frannie expected, and the happiest surprise of all.


Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed


Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Having a baby gets the chick-lit treatment in this first novel about first-time motherhood. No glowing madonnas here. Frannie confirms her unexpected condition at the Gap when she throws up on a sweater display. Not trusting any of the doctors in her adopted city of New York, she flies home to Toronto. While trying to re-enter the U.S. she is informed that her visa has expired. Left jobless and homeless, Frannie camps out at her brother's posh mansion and contemplates how to tell Calvin, an experimental jazz musician on tour in Europe, about his impending fatherhood. During her major life crises, Frannie experiences all the minor travails associated with pregnancy--shopping for nursing bras, learning to operate a breast pump, and unhappily comparing herself with her fellow Lamaze classmates, all "paragons of Sears catalog motherhood." This clever and humorous look at pregnancy and motherhood will elicit laughs from readers with or without children. Kaite Mediatore
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“A love story for real people—people who understand that “happily ever after” must be taken one day at a time.” (Elin Hilderbrand, author of The Beach Club and Nantucket Nights )

“Playing House plays the perils of parenthood like a Canuck road movie. It’s a trip.” (Toronto Star )

“Hilarious. Pearson’s sophisticated storytelling is not only satirical but side-splitting.” (Toronto Sun )

Product Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (November 4, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060534370
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060534370
  • Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,069,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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

 

Customer Reviews

18 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A new voice in Urban Lit to keep an eye out for!, December 29, 2003
By 
PadreRat (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Playing House (Paperback)
Patricia Pearson's "Playing House" was such a treat. I was getting bored with the same old formula that seems to possess chick lit writers. This book reinvigorated by love of the genre. Nothing in this book takes itself too seriously.

Our friend, Frannie, is living the single life in NYC. She has recently hooked up with an experimental jazz musician. They are keeping things casual. Her work at a magazine is paying the bills (barely). Calvin takes off for a tour in Europe when Frannie puts two and two together and figures out she is pregnant. Her first reaction is to head back home, to Canada, to see a doctor and her family. Once there, she pulls herself up by her bootstraps and heads back to the big apple to prepare for the new addition. While on her trip home, she finds that her work visa has expired and she is stuck in Canada. Luckily, her yuppie brother and sister-in-law are leaving the country and she can housesit in their posh pad.

How to tell Calvin is another issue. Frannie breaks the news and he shows up. Calvin is sort of an Ethan Hawke kind of guy. (A little different, into obscure things, grungy and oh so cute.) Calvin is a typical artsy, poor, and unique guy. Sure he's frustrating at times but he basically wants to do the right thing.

There were many points where I just laughed and felt like Frannie could be one of my friends. Ms. Pearson's cleverly written story weaves a magical reality around this couple. It's more realistic than fantasy and funnier than fiction in its accuracy. I'm keeping an eye out for more stories from Ms. Pearson.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the funniest reads all year!!, November 8, 2005
This review is from: Playing House (Paperback)
I am so suprised to read the above negative reviews! I thought this book was so clever- it literally had me laughing out loud (much to the annoyance of the people sitting beside me on the airplane, but I simply couldn't put it down.) It reminds me of the kind of great discussions you have with a close girlfriend that have you both cracking up about all the little indignities of life. If you're looking for really fluffy chick-lit, a la Shopoholic series, then this is not for you. What makes it so funny is how real these characters are- the exhaustion, the ambiguity (what is true love?), the completely dysfunctional family. The fact that the ending isn't a perfect little wrap up of "happily ever after" was so refreshing, because that's not real life, yet you get the sense that these characters are going to live "happily sometimes after".

Highly recommended for those in search of chick-lit with a little more substance.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Just smart enough, March 16, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Playing House (Paperback)
Treading that fine line between chick lit and something a little more, this book explores the mystery of falling in love with a reticent Canadian, and having a baby just because you're 33 and might not have another chance, without putting too fine a point on things, or missing the humor of it all.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews











Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
New life announces itself as a mystery that a mother cannot solve. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
prenatal class
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Cape Breton, New Waterford, Tuna Helper, Michael Ignatieff, Calvin Puddie, Captain Haddock, Garden Snakes, The Pithy Review, Ice Age, Plummer Avenue, Rice Krispies, Riverdale Park, Temple Bar, Clan Calum Ruadh, Double Diamond, Expect When You're Expecting, Frannie Mackenzie, Love Maps, Wax Wizard
New!
Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:

Citations (learn more)
This book cites 4 books:
 
1 book cites this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums





Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject