3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Romp Through Creativity!, January 30, 2007
This review is from: The Queen Gene (Paperback)
"I can usually count on a phone call every day from my mother's dog, and today was no different." So begins a romp through the most zany, funny, yet endearing family whose antics will propel you to the very end of this creative tale.
Meet Jack and Lucy who are undergoing a marital renaissance that is so real yet sweet as they forge their new Berkshire artist colony. Are they prepared for the personalities to arrive? Is there something more happening when the new residents seem to undergo personality changes and experiencing recurrent injuries? Who will solve the dilemma of insane antics and chaos that follows?
Meet Anjoli, Lucy's mother, and her newly adopted Chihuahua - sometimes known as Paz, sometimes as Spot - indeed with a new name about every month. Anjoli, or "Honky" as Lucy's son Adam calls his grandma, is a successful entrepreneur who has much time on her hands to explore just about every new age healing fad in existence. Ah, but how graciously and outrageously she flows into every experience, making the reader laugh with her unorthodox but very real and honest comments. As she continues to seek healing for her dog's "anxiety-ridden" paw rash, the dog displays an uncanny ability. While perched in Anjoli's purse, the dog dials Lucy's number and oh what conversations, parties, and silliness Lucy hears and shares with the reader.
There is so much more to this delightful novel - elderly Aunt Bernice's first visit to a strip joint, the glazier artist who breaks every piece of glass he touches - that will make you roar with laughter and then smile deeply as you touch the human poignancy of connections these characters create and nurture.
Exquisitely delightful! You'll love it; I promise!
Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on January 20, 2007
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laughing out loud, July 27, 2008
This review is from: The Queen Gene (Paperback)
This was the first Jennifer Coburn book I've read, and I really liked it. It took me on so many twists and turns, each one wilder and funnier than the next. The characters are completely odd but very likeable. I actually laughed out loud during a lot of it, which I hardly ever do (unless I'm reading Dave Barry, in which case I usually shoot coffee out my nose).
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Royally Entertaining, January 31, 2007
This review is from: The Queen Gene (Paperback)
What I really like about Jennifer Coburn's novels is that they examine family dynamics in a way that is both hilariously funny, yet genuine and authentic. There were some crazy funny scenes in this book like when Lucy's mother, Anjolie takes her dog to different New Age healers to help him overcome his nervous habit. We get to belly laugh while the poor dog goes through energy healing, heat lamp therapy and acupuncture, but at the same time, the text is peppered with dialogue and relationships that are so real and honest that you can't help connect and care about these people. I highly recommend The Queen Gene to anyone who is a mother, or has a mother. It is a touching and charming look at a lovable and crazy family.
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