LOOKING FOR LOVE

by Ellen Feldman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 31, 1989

The dangers of female bonding make up the subject of this third mildly sassy novel by the author of a. k. a. Katherine Walden (1982) and Conjugal Rites (1985). Here, Feldman inspects the inner life of a New York editor in chief--which generates some entertaining jabs at the women's magazine industry. Madam Editor is 41-year-old Nora Heller, born in a cozy New Jersey suburb, educated at Smith, divorced, and, as the story begins, relatively happy wielding a red pen at American Homemaker (fatuously retitled AH! in a recent repositioning). She likes living alone but indulges in affairs occasionally--like one that begins aboard a train headed for Florida and lands her in a berth with divorced lawyer Max Miller. They're both headed to Palmetto Estates, where their widowed mothers live. Nora's mom, Bea, is being courted by Charlies Saperstein, a retirement community lothario whom Nora doesn't care for. And back in New York other things stick in her craw as well--including plummeting ad revenue at AH!, Bea's marriage to Charlie, memories of her sister's suicide, and Max's divisive daughter. Still, she hangs tough--but just a little too tough in the opinion of old Charlie, who finally puts his finger on Nora's real trouble: she's too cowardly to let anyone besides her mother and niece into her tidy little world. Of course, Nora takes his criticism to heart and does a little life repositioning. Pure, trendy rehash, but you've got to like a character who comments on Charlie's white shoes and key-lime trousers by saying, ""Couldn't he get the rest of his band out of Havana?

Pub Date: Jan. 31, 1989

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1989

Categories: FICTION