Five Women (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Jaffe (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Jaffe again delves into the lives and relationships of a select group of American women. She started down this road with The Best of Everything (1958), in which she detailed the experiences of young working women in New York City. Fourteen novels later, in this same city, we encounter a group of mid-life friends: Gara, a divorced psychologist and cancer survivor; beautiful black attorney Felicity, married to a rich but controlling man; Kathryn, haunted by the brutality of her parents' marriage; the unabashedly narcissistic actress, Eve; and former rock star Billie, owner of the bar where they meet weekly. Scrutiny into their pasts and presents offers lively if predictable reading. Jaffe's fans will be looking for this title in their public libraries.?Sheila M. Riley, Smithsonian Inst. Libs., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Jaffe, author of 14 novels, including The Cousins (1995), has got it down to a science: she designs a group of formulaically diverse women who, over wine and salads, recall the traumas of their past while negotiating the trials of the present. In this long, lulling mind-commute of a novel, four women friends meet regularly at a hip hangout called Yellowbird, a "monument to Janis Joplin," which is owned and run by the fifth woman of the title, Billie, a husky voiced loner who tells folks that she could have been like Janis. They wonder how; it doesn't seem possible that she could ever have been a singer. She was, of course, but what she means is that she could have died young, like her idol. But she survived and got her life back on track. Sigh. And that's only one melodramatic story out of five: there's Gara, the divorced psychologist; Kathryn, the rich and cheery gal with a bloody family history; Eve, the mediocre actress who likes to tie up men; and Felicity, the lawyer with a bullying husband and a fickle lover. There are no small moments here, no ordinary events; it's all domestic violence, psychosis, adultery, abandonment, even murder. But, hey, that's what the readers who make best-sellers sell best want, and Jaffe, at least, writes with polish and momentum. Donna Seaman --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 475 pages
• Publisher: Mira; Reprint edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551664240
• ISBN-13: 978-1551664248
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,061,786 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pathetic, middle-aged lonelyhearts, November 1, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Five Women (Hardcover)

I couldn't wait to be finished with this book. I only continued after the 18th chapter because of the time invested; and there's 44 of them! What a waste of time. The story moves quickly enough; for some characters their lives moved within a matter of sentences, others times you are dragged through the emotional pathos and dysfunction for pages. Every character in the book has had or is having some crisis that steers the course of their lives. These women are all looking for 'love', but will take shallow, self-serving, non-committal sex in it's place, and places the reader in a postion to pity them when it doesn't work out. The weekly 'pity party' these characters have lures you into thinking there is a true commaraderie; only to discover it's pathetic agenda.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Readable and not Jaffe's best, January 25, 2004

By	Julie Jordan Scott "Writer, Life Coach - Owne... (Bakersfield, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

What I liked about this book: the characters were not young, nubile women only... they were multi-faceted over 30's types with lots of history behind them.

What I didn't like: the history was primarily struggle filled and very loosely wrapped. Because there were five different women involved, I didn't feel very deeply involved with any of them.

Two I liked and two annoyed the heck out of me for the most part.... and the fifth? She was ok... I think? I really didn't get to know her very well.

I also wished there was a straight, normal man we could all appreciate.

I captured several really good lines from Jaffe, but that was not worth the more than 400 page read. On the other hand, I did keep reading so there must be something redeeming about the story.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars ENJOYABLE FAST READ, December 15, 1998

By A Customer

I enjoyed this story about five friends - It was a fast read, but nonetheless, a good story.