Through Thick and Thin (Paperback)

by Alison Pace (Author)
Key Phrases: origami swan, apricot poodle, detox diet, New York, Weight Watchers, Valentine's Day (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Pace (Pug Hill; If Andy Warhol Had a Girlfriend) delivers an endearing third novel about two sisters and their quests for companionship and an effective diet. Meredith Isley is very single and not so skinny. She's a restaurant critic for The NY magazine and finds in haute cuisine what she has trouble finding in romance: satisfaction. Across the Hudson, Meredith's sister, Stephanie, is a married new mother who was skinny growing up, but hasn't yet lost her pregnancy weight. Stephanie, too, fights her own loneliness and tries to survive motherhood and a troubled marriage. When both sisters decide to diet, what they gain, instead of pounds, is, not surprisingly, sometimes trite insight. Meredith's work begins to suffer, but a four-legged addition to her life heralds change. By craftily portraying the balancing act between work and play, family (be it four-legged or two) and friends, and food and fasting, Pace doesn't capture anything revolutionary; rather, she writes the ordinary well. (Aug.)
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Product Description
The acclaimed author of Pug Hill and If Andy Warhol Had a Girlfriend returns with a story of two sisters who've grown up, grown apart--and grown a little too much for their liking...

These days, the Isley sisters' sense of camaraderie isn't what it used to be. They're leading their own lives, with less in common every day. Stephanie is an overwhelmed stay-at-home mom with a handsome husband and a six-month-old baby. Meredith has a successful career as a New York restaurant critic, but her only future companion may be a yoga-loving dog. Sometimes it seems the only thing they still share is their mutual desire to lose weight.

So they decide to do it together, to turn back the clock to the slim self that Stephanie wants back and Meredith always wished for, and to the easy affection that once let them share everything. Only "everything" is harder now. Because neither sister has been completely honest about things that are very close to home...

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (August 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042521561X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425215616
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #232,643 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching, Funny and Beautifully Written, August 31, 2007

By	Robin Epstein - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm an Alison Pace fan, I have been since the "Andy Warhol" days. But "Through Thick and Thin" is a tour de force novel of a different nature. Pace's wit, attention to detail, and warmth are still hallmarks of her writing, but the stakes here have changed. This is a book concerned with the relationships between women and sisters, and they're presented in a true, deep and complex way. The resolutions she finds are neither pat nor easy. That said, she also finds the moments of hilarity in the lives of her characters and lets us laugh along with them.

If Pace fundamentally sees life's complications, writing about them in a way that shows her ability to relate to her characters, she also manages to convey a sense of hope for them as well.

It's ultimately that feeling of hopefulness that one walks away with at the conclusion of this novel. Though she doesn't shy away from the hard stuff in this book, Pace leaves us nodding, laughing and feeling inspired in the end. Does it get better than that? I suppose I'll have to wait until her next novel appears to find out.

This is a great read pure and simple. Do yourself a favor and buy this book!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars lonliness, love and yoga, September 4, 2007

By	book.of.the.moment "reviewer" (USA) - See all my reviews

Last year I read and reviewed Alison Pace's novel "Pug Hill," a book which I adored. I was thrilled to receive a copy of her new novel, "Through Thick and Thin," in my mailbox. Again, Pace didn't disappoint. From the first chapter I was connected to the characters, and was invested in the story through the duration.

The story is that of two sisters. Meredith is a successful NYC restauant critic while her older sister Stephanie lives her picture perfect life; the nice house, the perfect husband, the beautiful new baby. The sisters have always been close, but lately Meredith is starting to fear that they have little to nothing in common anymore.

Unbeknownst to Meredith, Stephanie's life is far from perfect--while Meredith struggles with some self confidence issues, Stephanie is battling several demons of her own. Both are a long way from being content with their lives. On an afternoon visit, Stephanie explains to Meredith that she is about to start a new diet, an effort to rid herself of those unwanted pregnancy pounds. In an effort to forge a connection of any sort with her sister, Meredith decides to try the diet as well.

The story has a little bit of everything thrown in: diets, a wire haired daschund, yoga, drug addicts, lonliness, love and a journey of inner growth. It can all be found in the pages of "Through Thick and Thin." As with "Pug Hill," Alison Pace writes with wit and humor; I chuckled several times as I read the story. Her characters are endearing, and you find yourself rooting for their success...whether it be in losing a few pounds, or figuring out how to be happy in their own skin--you want to see them get there.

I really enjoyed it. Alison Pace has a very promising career ahead of her.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable but predictable..., April 6, 2008

By	M. Nichols (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Up until page 198, where it becomes glaringly obvious which way this book is going to go, I liked "Through Thick and Thin." I would put it in a new genre of chick lit, the "fat girl tries to get thin" novels. In most of the books I've read in this genre ("Good In Bed" "Conversations with the Fat Girl" "She's Come Undone" and a few others), the protagonists either gain self acceptance and lose the weight, or gain self acceptance and give up on wanting to lose weight. I won't give away which one "Through Thick and Thin" is.

The problem is, neither of these scenarios rings true. Women who work to lose weight often gain it back, because there is both a physiological and an emotional aspect to obesity. Even if you solve the emotional aspect of eating, your body is in rebellion wanting the fat back. For most fat women, weight is a lifelong struggle. And, in a fat phobic and sexist society, obese women who claim to have high self esteem seem self-deluded to me. Rejecting prejudice and feeling good about yourself are two vastly different things. So, that is the condundrum of these books -- either way they go, there is always something false about them.

That said, Alison Pace is an entertaining writer, peppering her prose with tons of pop culture references. The structure of this novel, each section focusing on a different diet, is clever. I liked how real it felt. It could have used some more geographical detail... I didn't really feel like I was in New York or New Jersey. And at times I was distracted by the third person narration. This book might have worked better as first person.

All in all, I liked "Through Thick and Thin." However, I'm giving it only 3 stars ecause I get very tired of novels whose concepts wear out by the last third. This happens a lot -- strong set up, promising middle section, then almost no payoff. Such is the case with this one. As soon as a few details were revealed, there was no mystery where the characters were headed. I guess I didn't care enough about them to enjoy the predictable journey.