The Thing About Jane Spring [Hardcover]

Sharon Krum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2005

There’s something eating Jane Spring. At thirty-one, she has everything a woman could ask for and seemingly everything a man could long for—great legs, brains, rising star status in the Manhattan D.A.’s office—but she just can’t find a man who’ll fall madly in love with her. Men are always lining up to ask her out, but for some reason no one wants a second date.

So Jane resolves to change her tack, but what is it that men really want in a woman? One snowy night while watching a Doris Day marathon on cable it hits her: Doris Day always got her man. Trading her nondescript black pantsuit for petal pink Chanel and pearls, Jane dyes her hair, stops cursing, softens her voice, paints her nails—even her apartment—and embarks on a fun-filled journey to find the smart, sweet, gorgeous, capable, ambitious, courageous, loving, adoring, hard- working man of her dreams.

Sharon Krum’s magical and funny novel is the story of a driven young woman who must shed her rough exterior and embrace her inner ultra-femininity in order to truly find herself and, eventually, true love. The Thing About Jane Spring is a delightfully light and lively romp sure to charm readers all summer long.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One of the first things the reader learns about the leggy blonde heroine of Krum's sprightly, high-concept novel (after Walk of Fame) is that she can't keep a man. An assistant DA for the city of New York, Jane Spring soon discovers her aggressive personality might have something to do with it—she overhears colleagues describe her as a "ball-breaker." The daughter of a general, Jane was trained to value honor, duty and discipline and to "study all the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent before you go into battle," an approach that doesn't serve her well when it comes to dating. Comically, Krum sets Jane on a softer plan of attack. Jane watches a Doris Day marathon on TV and has a drunken epiphany: men want "kittens, not tigers," and she will become the sweet-as-honey Doris Day, since Doris always got the guy. So she dons her grandmother's vintage clothes instead of her usual shapeless black suits, paints her apartment yellow and becomes nice to everyone, including scheming playboy Chip Bancroft, competing counsel in the murder case that will make or break Jane's career. Over the course of this confection, Jane learns to maintain her integrity while softening her edge.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Jane Spring is on a horrible first date. Food is gobbled, conversation is littered with thinly disguised insults, and sexual performance is questioned. And it's all Jane's fault. The beautiful, brainy, successful attorney is militaristic in her approach to all life's situations, including her social life. When she is dumped at the end of yet another in a string of endless first dates, Jane finally understands--it's not them, it's her. Trapped in her apartment by a blizzard with two bottles of wine and a Doris Day movie marathon, Jane hits on a plan for a total makeover. She will channel Doris and get her man, whoever he is. Her transformation into the '50s icon astonishes her coworkers, charms the jurors in her latest trial, and befuddles the opposing counsel, a former law-school buddy. A charming modern fairy tale with all the essential chick-lit elements: witty banter, quirky secondary characters, dueling love interests, and personal makeovers. This frothy summer confection will please fans of single-in-the-city comic romance. Kaite Mediatore
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 315 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (January 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670034177
• ISBN-13: 978-0670034178
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,055,361 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Silly and implausible but totally engaging, March 22, 2006

By 

camille (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Thing About Jane Spring (Hardcover)

Thirty-year old Manhattan attorney Jane Spring is the product of an austere, military upbringing by her United States General father, who wanted a boy and in many ways still controls her life. Like many the heroine of a fairy tale, Jane's mother died at a young age, leaving the young girl vulnerable to poor paternal efforts - in this case, her general father has indoctrinated all of his children that `civilians' are an unruly, insubordinate lazy lot who need constant criticism and correction. It is no wonder then, that Jane is unpopular with her coworkers, potential dates, her own housekeeper, or occasionally, the juries she must persuade to her side of the case. Following a devastating court loss due to her overly-aggressive courtroom behavior, a very bad date, and overhearing two male coworkers denigrate her attractiveness, Jane has an early mid-life crisis aided and abetted by a blizzard that strands her at home watching a Doris Day movie marathon. With a good bit of alcohol coursing through her veins, Jane comes to the conclusion that since Doris always got what she wanted - including a man - she would be wise to use her considerable abilities to focus and set goals using a proven technique: act like Doris Day. Using her grandmother's inherited clothes, as well as memories of her grandmother, Jane physically transforms herself and her apartment into a modern day version of Doris Day and learns from the results.

The transformation was, indeed, somewhat ridiculous, especially in the apparent ease with which Jane eschews her past behaviors (including changing her voice, which would require a great deal of effort and practice in reality). I didn't ever understand why Jane tortured herself by wearing her grandmother's too-small spike heels - surely somewhere in Manhattan she could find a pair of spike heels in her own size! I also didn't know why her grandmother would have saved her cone bras and why Jane would have stuffed and worn them rather than going out and buying bras of her own.

Those caveats aside, the book is amusing and fast-paced (I read it in 2.5 hours) and impossible to put down. Especially effective were the multiple points of view (a difficult feat for an author, but well done here), which enables the reader to see Jane as others see her. The multiple povs allow us to judge the results of her transformation on everyone from her housekeeper (who is thrilled to be cleaning something other than the grey prison) to her family (who thinks she is clinically insane as a result of the stress of working with civilians) to her coworkers (who think it is an act to win an upcoming court case). In the end [spoiler ahead] Jane does get a man, although one she hadn't expected and begins to see that she needs to integrate `old' Jane with `new' Jane - I wish that we could have seen more of that second, more integrative transformation.

This book bears a passing resemblance to Sophie Kinsella's The Undomestic Goddess in that both are about 30 year old city lawyers who face a crossroads in their life and choose a more `traditional female' route to happiness. Both books manage to avoid strident anti-feminist tones, while making the point that being a feminist doesn't mean adhering to male criteria of success and fulfillment. I consider myself a feminist and was not offended by Jane's search for happiness. If you are willing to suspend your disbelief for a silly, quick read that brings visuals to mind similar to the movie, Down with Love, then this book would be a great choice.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who's My Icon?, September 19, 2005

By 

Phyllis Le Chat "Le Chat" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Thing About Jane Spring (Hardcover)

Reading the Editorial Reviews gives you the meat and bones of this book. I'd like to say that I was, as a feminist since the 70's in High School, not quite sure about the premise, but the writing (Chick Lit) is fast paced and I read the book in one weekend. I found it cheerful, inspiring, funny, and uplifting. I usually read nonfiction - science, psychology, Mental Floss Magazine, etc. This was a welcome diversion, and I'd like to find more books like this to divert me from politics as usual.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyable!, July 19, 2005

By 

Upstate Jill (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Thing About Jane Spring (Hardcover)

Usually I try to avoid reading books with implausible plots. Too much suspension of reality makes me overly critical and I get so caught up in thinking "now that couldn't really happen!" that I'm unable to enjoy the book for what it is.

"The Thing about Jane Spring" falls into this category for me, but really enjoyed it's Ally McBeal-type humor. Jane was a great character - completely competent and successful in her professional life, but inept when it comes to sustaining any relationship. Her self-improvement campaign starts off as a way to attract men, but Jane sees how some of her changes in how she interacts with others benefit her in many ways. This would make a wonderful movie.

A great escape novel - enjoy!