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Recalculating (Kindle Single)
 
 

Recalculating (Kindle Single) [Kindle Edition]

Jennifer Weiner
2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)

Kindle Price: $0.99 includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
This price was set by the publisher

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Book Description

October 31, 2011
On the surface, Maureen’s life appears no different from any other stereotypical 54-year-old housewife's: a suburban home in a small Pennsylvania town, two loving kids, grandchildren, and a husband to dote on at the end of the day with a home-cooked meal and a crisp martini. Fat bitch, dumb bunny, slut, tramp: these are just a few of the cruel words that echo in Maureen’s ears every day and define the harsh reality she actually lives in. For years, Maureen has harbored a dark secret known by only one other person: her husband, Tommy.

After Tommy dies, Maureen imagines that the years of physical and mental abuse are over. But just six months later, while looking for the Halloween decorations in the attic, Maureen finds a gift-wrapped GPS with her name on the box: an early birthday present from her late husband. When the voice from the machine starts giving her sinister directions, she learns that sometimes the dead are restless... and she's locked in a battle not just for her life, but for her soul.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Jennifer Weiner has a particular gift for breezy storytelling. It's that breeziness, in part, that's helped to brand her insightful, funny work about suburban women as "chick lit," a term she both embraces and resents. While Recalculating moves by as effortlessly as her other writing, this chilling modern-day ghost story is anything but breezy. Weiner has created yet another identifiable character in Maureen, a middle-aged woman haunted by a husband whose controlling grip remains tight around her even after his death. Drawing on Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," Weiner's experiments with the paranormal achieve spooky effect. But the true horror of this story lies in the ordinary, the quiet, cruel everyday that happens behind suburbia's closed doors. Deftly structured, Recalculating covers both the terrain of a hellish marriage and the emotional revolution of one woman's trying to find her way to freedom. Even in Maureen's darkest moments, the reader can't help but root for her. --Simone Gorrindo

Product Details

  • File Size: 674 KB
  • Print Length: 40 pages
  • Publisher: Atria Books (October 31, 2011)
  • Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B0060M8GYY
  • Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,754 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
All the women married to someone who on occasion acts like an insensitive lout are especially going to enjoy "Recalculating," where that dirt bag husband Tom gets just what he deserves, and although he strikes back from the grave, "everything good in the world" has its own way with everything evil.

Despite some evil doing and menace appropriate for Halloween, this is really a lighthearted romp of a story, told by a writer who seems to be a natural at spinning a straightforward tale and who is very good at keeping things moving headlong toward a satisfying conclusion. Satisfying, especially, for the women readers; not so much so for the men.

There are many things implausible scattered throughout like old shoes left lying around but they really don't distract from the fun of it all, not really.

Tom is verbally abusive to Maureen, a suburban mom in her fifties, who has put up with a lot of cruelty during the couple's long time together. He also attacks her physically but he has never hit her. Tom pinches. And his pinches are by no means love tweaks. Maureen has the deep purple bruises to prove it.

The Stephen King moment comes after Tom has been dispatched from the scene and Maureen finds a box with her name on it tucked away in the attic next to the Halloween stuff. The story's title refers to the GPS unit wrapped nicely inside the gift box with a card that reads simply "Love always, Tommy." A gift from the grave that can talk and give directions. You can only imagine what happens next.

"Recalculating" is a story that's spooky not scary. It gets an adult rating for some of the language (coming from Tommy, of course), but all the chills are mixed in with the gentler jibes. Despite the treachery, you'll have some good natured fun cheering for Maureen. In the end, the story is as sweet as the single piece of chocolate covered caramel Maureen unwraps and pops in her mouth.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Flawed but Fun November 21, 2011
Format:Kindle Edition
For $.99, this is a very worth-while purchase if you are a Jennifer Weiner fan and wonder what she's like when she tries out a new genre. It's not perfect--the premise is a bit wonky and Maureen is a bit slow on the uptake toward the end. It feels like a rough draft (and I gather from other reviews that it was written and published very quickly). As a fan of Jennifer Weiner's, that doesn't bother me much. Maureen, Tommy, and the secondary characters are all very well-developed for so short a story, and the plot is fun if a bit outlandish.

All in all, I'm glad I gave it a shot.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Thanks Jen for making our Halloween extra spooky with your creativity and originality! I love everything that you write-and this Kindle Single was a welcome holiday surprise!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Truly awful
I've read almost all her books and this is like another author altogether. Obvious, overbearing, fake and totally banal. Notworth even a penny. Where did she go?
Published 13 days ago by shazam
Not What I Expected!!!
I wanted a quick read and always enjoyed Jennifer Weiner's books. This was not what I expected at all...... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Swede who likes to read
Disappointing
I have really enjoyed Jennifer Weiners book but this one did not cut it. I should have taken the suggestions from the other reviews here and not read it.
Published 1 month ago by keas mom
Calculated Creepiness
I loved "Jennifer Weiner - the Dark Side". Holy Smokes keep on going. This short story had enough content to build suspense and deliver the punch just like a full length novel. Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. Twohy
Ehh...
The story was ok for her first foray into horror, but it really was not one that I would recommend for others to read.
Published 1 month ago by Ruth
What to do with hubby
It was different than other Weiner stories but in a good way. I liked the characters. It was easy to relate to them. It was a quick read and it held my interest.
Published 2 months ago by kamie
Recalculating
This was a great short story, read it one night. Really kept my interest, looking forward to more from Jennifer Weiner.
Published 2 months ago by gabbi
Waste of a few hours
If you are considering this book--don't even bother. It is not entertaining, and it's barely long enough to last more than a few hours. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Amanda
No humor
I didn't like the book. It was way too short and I didn't like it at all. I am not much into the short stories. Read more
Published 2 months ago by cruzinaround1
Too short
i know it was a kindle single, but the author did a good job of developing the character in a short time, leaving me wanting more.
Published 2 months ago by Tall red
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More About the Author

JENNIFER WEINER is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including Best Friends Forever, Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, which was made into a major motion picture, and Certain Girls. A graduate of Princeton University, Weiner lives in Philadelphia with her family.

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