Another act of literary terrorism from British satirist and live-wire Weldon (The Cloning of Joanna May, 1989, etc.), only this time far more wide-ranging and rabidly polemic than even before. Weldon's subject now is Eleanor Darcy, the high priestess of Darcian Monetarism, a utopian ideology aimed at saving shabby old Thatcherian England from the ills of inflation by phasing out money altogether. The theory, ostensibly the brainchild of Eleanor's second husband (now in prison because of the chaos that ensued when the economic strategy was implemented for one morning only), really came from Eleanor herself, known in the press as Rasputin's Bride. And Eleanor, being interviewed in this novel by two journalists—trim Valerie, writing for the women's rag Aura, and Hugo, of the higher-toned Independent—has thoughts of a world of topics besides money: namechanging, a practice that will be encouraged in Darcy's utopia ("My advice to everyone is to change their names at once if they're the least unhappy with their lives"); sex, the source of all good in the world; Marxism and Catholicism, both palliatives; elocution and miscegenation, two waves of the future, and much more. Piecing together hints from the evasive Eleanor, Valerie concocts a personal biography for her magazine's readers, revealing that Eleanor, born with a caul and originally named Apricot (after the shade of her mother's nightie), is a bigamist, social-climber, and witch who wrecked the lives of the men who loved her. Hugo concentrates on the theoretical, and on Valerie, who becomes his mistress. During the time they're in contact with Eleanor, the two of them leave their spouses and children and shack up together in a Holiday Inn. Once their pieces are finished, though, the affair collapses—presumably a romantic utopia, given too little time. Nonetheless, Eleanor has changed their lives, and will change others, since Hugo starts a religion dedicated to her. An ideological mine-field, with Weldon-as-Eleanor birthing a wild idea a minute. Still, some shrapnel hits home, for what Weldon seems to be saying is that desperate, possibly lunatic measures are called for if we're to transform a desperately sick world.
Pub Date: March 1, 1991
ISBN: 670-83645-1
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...
Sisters in and out of love.
Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-345-45073-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
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