Customer Reviews

The Queen Gene

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"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

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).

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.

I am usually a fan of Jennifer Coburn - and read The Queen Gene last weekend. It is a fast read, like her others - but not so funny or clever.

Skip this one. There is better stuff out there to read during your precious free time.

Queen Gene follows Coburn's earlier book, Tales from the Crib. Although it shares some of the main characters introduced in Tales from the Crib, it really stands on its own merits. In both books, Jennifer Coburn deftly combines hilarious satire and witty social commentary with poignant and touching moments.

I read a wide range of books (mostly stolen from my wife's bedside table). These include Chick Lit like Sushi for Beginners (Marian Keyes) and Tara Road (Maeve Binchey) and "book club" books like 19 minutes (Jody Picoult). Left to my own devices, I tend toward comic novelists like Dave Barry and Carl Hiaasen.

The Queen Gene appealed to me in several ways. Jennifer Coburn made me laugh at the antics of her outrageous characters (a tiny dog and an elderly Aunt were my favorites). And yet, the main characters (Lucy, Jack, and a cast of supporting family and friends) are very human and appealing. Although this book does not tackle deeply disturbing topics like the school shootings in 19 minutes, it does tap into some deeper themes about love, acceptance, and even (in a very light way) death.

I really enjoyed the Queen Gene and I look forward to reading more of Coburn's novels.

I've read other Jennifer Coburn books and been sorely disappointed, but I decided to give this one a chance because everyone raves about her as though she is a great author. Obviously a mistake and a waste of money. This book had no plot - none at all. A pushy, self-centered, drama-queen mother does not make for a plot. I had to force myself to finish this book (which I only did because I was on vacation and did not have other readily available options), and when I did, I was kicking myself for buying it. If you want to read a plot-less book with yet again, unlikeable characters, then this is the book for you. Otherwise, I'd recommend one of the other, better chick lit authors such as Meg Cabot, Jennifer Weiner, Jane Green, Marian Keyes, etc... Really just about anyone.

Jennifer Coburn fans have much to chortle about with the arrival of her latest. While The Queen Gene is ostensibly a sequel to Tales From the Crib, it stands on its own quite well. I think it's her best work yet.

Lucy is a woman in the middle. Raising her toddler while at the same time founding an artists colony with her husband, she's reached that point in life when a woman gives and nurtures to all generations that surround her. This book focuses on Lucy's self-absorbed au courant mother, Anjoli, who apparently has never nurtured anything beyond her own desires and who has a fascination with the trendy and the spiritual. Well,the spiritually trendy at least. Think Edina Monsoon, only better dressed.

Anjoli tends to suck the energy out of any room she enters, and so it's little surprise that her latest acquisition, Paz the handbag Chihuahua, suffers from neuroses and must endure therapy from every quack healer in the known new age universe. As Paz subconsciously signals for help while purse bound by pressing the redial button on Anjoli's cell phone, Lucy hears much more of the details of her mother's life than she wishes to know. Sex with the Pilates instructor. Machinations involving real estate purchases even as the current owner's dead body is still being wrapped up by the paramedics. Yikes.

Add the notion of an art colony which immediately kills the muse of all who enter, an elderly Floridian auntie who is fascinated with strippers and today's methods of bikini waxage (aka the daily Snatch Report), and a nude wedding that clashes with the art colony open house and you get a sense of Lucy's dizzying difficulties. Indeed, depilation is a recurrent theme in this volume. Paz pulls out his fur, Bernice attends to her octogenarian pubic area, brides are rhinestoned in unusual places for the sake of modesty, and Lucy herself is about to pull her hair out in frustration at the chaos that surrounds her.

This is a great little read, and heartily recommended. I have it on confidential communiqué that the next Coburn book will be even more outrageous and satiric, so read this one now, and whet your appetite in anticipation. There is much more to come, and we shall all be laughing.

Lucy and Jack Klein have moved into their house in the Berkshires. After all of the remodeling, they will finally be able to open up their artist colony. While they are working on their home, Lucy learns that her mother, Anjoli, has decided to exert her maternal instinct and adopt a puppy. The problem is that Anjoli isn't exactly the maternal type. This is the same woman who left her ten dollars for meals on the table while she went out. Needless to say, Lucy is rather skeptical about her mother's newfound instincts. Not that Lucy has time to worry about her mother. She and Jack are getting ready to host three artists at their home to hopefully inspire their artistic abilities and maybe spark Jack as well. However, small accidents and artist block may turn their colony into a disaster.

THE QUEEN GENE is the hilarious follow-up to TALES FROM THE CRIB. Lucy and Jack have achieved their dream. However, they seem to be the only sane people around. The artists that come to live in their guest houses are slightly mental while her mother, Anjoli, is larger than life. She isn't exactly the mothering type so Lucy has a hard time figuring out how her mother can handle and take care of a puppy. I thought Lucy did pretty well trying to balance raising her son, marriage, her mother and finally the artists with great aplomb. If I was Lucy, I'd probably have my head examined. Despite everything though, I really enjoyed Lucy's unusual relationship with Anjoli. It isn't exactly normal but how do you define normal? Most mother and daughter relationships are very unique and special and I thought that Lucy's calm is a perfect foil to Anjoli's flightiness. However, when the chips were down, Anjoli rose to the occasion and shocked even Lucy's sensibilities.

Posted with the permission of Romance Junkies

Ann
Romance Junkies Reviewer

I just got this book from the author, and have to admit I was excited -- I loved all the books I read by Jennifer and this is no exception. Her works are light and fun yet smartly written. They make for a very enjoyable read. Any fans of chick lit, looking for a more adult feel pick up this book you won't be disappointed!

The first book to this is called "Tales From the Crib". So if you don't read that book first, you are at a total loss at what some things mean in this book. Jennifer is such a great writer. This follow-up book is just as funny as the first one! I plan to read more of her books and hopes she writes more in the future!