We have Jules - a impoverished student trying to find a way to help her father out of his addiction and to put him into rehab, we have Annie her husband an airline mechanic student whilst working, also a mother of two infants trying to stay afloat each month and desperately seeking a way to add to the family income. We have India - rich, forty threeish surprisingly in love with her much older husband and desperate to have a baby and we have Bettina her step-daughter who hates her guts, thinking that she is out for what she can get from her father who is besotted with India.
The story winds around surrogacy - the pitfalls and obstacles surrounding it - because you are not dealing with something, you are dealing with several someones. All with feelings that they think they can control and which they sometimes cannot, all human beings dealing with an issue in different ways.
How the four women handle the question of donating an egg, being a surrogate mother, (and also deal with a bewildered father), dealing with the adoption of the baby when it comes and how does the welcome for a baby happen when his father dies just before his birth and the mother disappears and the step sister is forced to take over guardianship is the story of this very complicated saga.
I liked the manner in which the four different characters acted out their roles. I also liked how each person accepted their childhood and were determined that this time around with their own children, those same mistakes were not going to be repeated. That is a very good thing from the parenting angle! if we can improve our parenting skills and how we handle situations with children would be a very good thing avoiding any mistakes that may have happened with our own parents.
My first read of Jennifer Weiner (who is described in one review as the Queen of Chick Lit). I wouldn't have said this was Chick Lit but maybe I am wrong. I enjoyed this read.
On a lighter note the dreadful heat of Melbourne has gone and we are now back to a very pleasant, slightly chilly 25. For me bliss!
I remember reading about this book before it came out and thinking it would be good. Nice to hear that it worked well for you. Complicated issues indeed.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've read any of her books but I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll add the title to my list.
ReplyDeleteHappy the weather has become pleasant.
When I think of chick lit, I think light and fun and I would not describe Weiner's books as fun and light. I find them more serious than chick lit but in a good way. I think this one will have to go on my wish list. It sounds very good!
ReplyDeleteI would consider this one to be "women's fiction", a book that deals with predominantly female characters dealing with a particular issue. I really enjoyed it, I'm glad that you did as well!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed this - if you are looking for another of Weiners books to read I'd recommend Goodnight Nobody or Good in Bed :)
ReplyDeleteShelleyrae @ Book'd Out