Starting From Square Two (Red Dress Ink (Numbered Paperback)) [Paperback]

Caren Lissner (Author)

Book Description

Series: Red Dress Ink (Numbered Paperback) | Publication Date: March 1, 2004

Is it possible to find that perfect once-in-a-lifetime love twice?

Gert Healy thought she was finished with dating. She thought she'd never again have to worry about what to wear and what to say and whether she was pretty enough. She thought that she'd be picking out strollers and booties for the children she and her husband were planning to have. Instead, she's mourning his loss and coming to terms with being a widow at twenty-nine.

It's been over a year now, and her friends -- with the best of intentions, really -- have convinced her it's time to get back into the swing of things (even though looking for love is the last thing she wants to do). Although they've developed many a dating rule between them, now that Gert's a part of their single-girl crew, she's beginning to realize they don't know the first thing about men. Of course, Gert doesn't know the first thing about dating, since she married her college sweetheart, so maybe joining forces will work out after all. But does Gert have it in her to fight her way through the leather-jacketed and miniskirted crowds in search of a second miracle?

It's back to square one on everything. Well, actually she's done it all before. Square two, then.

From the author of Carrie Pilby comes this charming and bittersweet tale of love, loss and starting over.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Everything comes easily to Gert Healy: dating, love, marriage. But when her husband, Marc, dies in a car accident, 29-year-old Gert must search for happily ever after—again. A morbid take on romantic comedy, to be sure, but in Lissner's hands, Gert's story is poignant, sweet and smart. Gert re-enters the dating world with the help of her college roommate, Hallie, and Hallie's high school friend Erika. Erika and Hallie moan about the difficulties of dating, but Gert finds a wonderful man on her first foray into New York City's notorious singles scene. Todd, a sensitive young train conductor, differs from the sharp-edged Marc, and Gert finds herself falling into a different kind of love with him. She hashes out her inevitable feelings of guilt with the members of her young widows support group. Marc died only a few days before September 11, a plot device Lissner does not exploit, but uses sensitively to broaden the scope of the book. Hallie and Erika grapple more shrilly with their unbearable singlehood—especially Erika, who broke up with her college sweetheart and now faces the agony of hearing about his charmed life on his wife's Web log. Though Lissner's supporting characters aren't as nuanced as the appealing Gert, even Hallie and Erika gain depth as the novel builds to a thoughtful conclusion. Lissner's sturdy prose and sympathetic, detailed evocation of young widowhood makes this a solid entry in the genre.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Lissner's second novel is quite a departure from her first, the charming Carrie Pilby [BKL Je 1 & 15 03]. The heroine of this novel, Gert Healy, is a fairly well-adjusted young woman, but she's still grappling with the loss of her husband. It's been a year and a half since his death, and Gert's two perpetually single friends, Hallie and Erika, are urging her to get back into the dating game. Reluctantly, Gert accompanies them on a wild night out on the town and meets Tom, a train conductor and a sweet guy. She and Tom hit it off right away, but her friends think it's impossible that Gert could fall for the first person she meets. From Gert's perspective, Hallie and Erika are going about dating all wrong, alternating between being too picky and too desperate. Though it lacks the unique voice Carrie Pilby possessed, Lissner's second effort is an entertaining look at dating from multiple perspectives. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Red Dress Ink (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373250525
• ISBN-13: 978-0373250523
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #369,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Caren Lissner's humorous first novel, CARRIE PILBY, was published in 2003. She has published humorous essays in the New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Weatherwise Magazine. She is a full-time community newspaper editor. Interests include dogs, trivia, road trips, bad weather, bad jokes, and good food. She is currently working on her third through seventh novels. She advises you not to eat tomatoes over your keyboard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Change is difficult but necessary, March 15, 2004

By 

Sarah Ackerman (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Starting From Square Two (Red Dress Ink (Numbered Paperback)) (Paperback)

The theme of this page turning gem of a novel, by author Caren Lissner, is change and the consequences brought about by it. For a plot summary, simply read the description above. I found myself wiping tears from my eyes at the end of the book not from over sentimentality but due to Lissner's ability to get her point across simply and poignantly, without being overly wordy. First off all, this book is too beautifully written to be placed in the romance section. I hardly consider it a typical 'romance' novel. The concept of 'change' is frequently a topic I read about but rarely do I find it written about in such a universal way that it can connect to a wide array of women. I loved the metaphor of Todd working on a train and studing history (past connecting with present and constant movement, etc.) and the fact that while change is often difficult, painful, and hard to accept, it is a part of life, necessary and unavoidable and good in fact can come from it even when one least expects it. I love the comparisons between generations (if we were women in the 50s and 60s we all would have married our college sweethearts whether or not it would have ended happily or not)...rather like Laura in The Hours. Women have choices now, like we see in character of Erika, which only causes a entirely different type of pain. Do these choices allow us freedom, or only cause us more confusion and unanswered wonders?
I found the character of Erika extremely compelling and she was with whom I most identified with. I loved reading the lack of understanding between Gert and Erika and towards the end how Gert came to almost empathasize with Erika's situation. When an ex boyfriend cuts you out of their life (even when the breakup is on your part) and the only contact you have with him is an abprupt and cold e-mail or info from the new girlfriend's website it is like a death and hence you have to mourn the loss, as I believe Erika learned. While this is very different from Gert's loss, Gert came to understand that everyone's pain is in fact, painful to them, and I liked seeing her slowly shed her judgements. The Gert/Hallie relationship was also very well developed and kept in tune with the theme of change. Hallie was nicely created and the dynamic between the three women was very realistic. The references to 9/11 are subtle, are go along with the theme of change. The world is changing along with us and we must keep up or die trying. I found this novel comforting in many ways. Life goes on, regardless of tragedy. Like an unstoppable treadmill, we all must tread through and learn to find to see the good in things. This book is certainly a fantastic place to start.
Overall, I thought the book was truly phenomenal. I loved the mix of seriousness and humor and the message was hopeful and positive.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hits the nail on the head, sensitive but still fun, February 21, 2004

By 

"jf_in_ny" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Starting From Square Two (Red Dress Ink (Numbered Paperback)) (Paperback)

This book is fun to read even though it's partly about a sensitive subject. It also has alot to say about singlehood and couplehood. I read the author's other book Carrie Pilby, and this is very different from that one, but it's still smart.

In the book, Gert Healy lost her husband Marc a year and a half ago. Her friends, who have been single for a long time, think it's time to take her out in New York City to get back into the dating arena. But she met her husband, Marc, in college, so she has no clue what dating is like out of school. She thinks her friends have always whined over nothing. But she also finds it hard to imagine dating anyone new. She goes along with her friends only because she thinks it might be good to get out of the house.

I won't spoil all of the things that happen next, but the book says alot about how you should be able to get over someone at your own rate. A character who was very interesting was Gert's friend Erika, who is obsessive about an ex-boyfriend she still cares about. Even if she goes too far, she says she can't help it, and it's an interesting look at how people get closure on things. I enjoyed reading it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poignant tale of moving on after losing your first love, June 20, 2005

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Starting From Square Two (Red Dress Ink (Numbered Paperback)) (Paperback)

Gert never thought she'd have to date again, but her world came crashing down when her husband Marc is killed in a car accident. Wracked with survivor guilt, she reluctantly bar hops with her single friends who try to teach her the ins and outs of dating. The only problem is that Gert hasn't been on a date in almost ten years. She's also struggling with the disintegration of her relationship with Marc's family - when he died, her role in their family ceased to exist.

On her first outing, she meets Todd and they hit it off, much to the dismay of her friends. Apparently their rules state you cannot date the first guy you meet. Soon her friend Hallie is asking to be set up with his friend. Gert's relationship with Todd is sweet - the polar opposite of Marc. As they get closer, she realizes that she must eventually tell him about Marc. When she finally does, he appears understanding, and then slowly seems to drift away (but perhaps it is all in her mind).

Meanwhile, Erika is stalking former boyfriend Ben and his wife. She dumped Ben in college, and after three months, decided he was her soul mate. Of course, he found another soul mate, married her, and now has a second baby on the way. Ben's wife is so happy that she has created a webpage that Erika becomes obsessed with, which eventually takes it's toll on Erika's sanity.

The story is heart wrenching, particularly Gert's moments of reflective solitude, her participation in grief counseling comprised primarily of young widows from the 9/11 tragedy (Marc died a few days prior), and the feeling that while her friends mean well, they really don't have a clue what she's going through. Notht ekind of friends a widow would want to surround herself with. Another book with a similar theme is "Good Grief" by Lolly Winston.