In Her Shoes - Jennifer Weiner
Title: In Her Shoes
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Year: 2002
Rating: A-
Pages: 424pgs
In Her Shoes was a quirky, fun read. I usually pick up "chick-lit" books as a break from a really tough, invigorating read. This time, it was a follow-up to Foucault's Pendulum.
I have to say I like Jennifer Weiner's writing, and her characters, much better than the last chick-lit books I read; the Shopaholic books by Sophie Kinsella. Basically, it's the story of two sisters. Rose is a 30 year-old attorney who is troubled by her physical appearance but has great taste in shoes. Maggie is Rose's younger sister, a gorgeous woman who struggles to overcome the challenges of dyslexia, and living in the shadow of her sister's success.
The story may sound trivial, but Jennifer Weiner does a great job of uncovering the deeper aspects to the story: self-esteem and body image; growth and empowerment; reconciliation; and family relationships. And I absolutely loved the parts of the novel from their grandmother's perspective at Golden Acres retirement community. Mrs Lefkowitz, the elderly lady that Ella (Rose and Maggie's estranged grandmother) assists, is a riot! I loved her!
A few gems:
Lewis, asking Ella out on a date for the first time,
Come on, old man! he told himself. He's been in a war; he'd buried a wife; he'd watch his son become a Republican with a Rush Limbaugh bumper sticker on the back of his minivan. He'd survived worse things than this. "Would you like to have dinner with me?" (p77)
Mrs Lefkowitz,
Mrs. Lefkowitz nodded. "He's a good one. Reminds me of my first husband." Ella was puzzled. "Your first husband? Did you have two?" Plant, sigh, stomp, shuffle. "Oh, no. I just call Leonard my first husband. It makes me sound more worldly."
6 comments:
I'm about half finished with the book. I'm loving it so far, and you are right about it being a decent chick-lit book. Have you seen the movie? It's great! Diane
Diane -
I have seen the movie, and also thought it was really good!
I have a similar habit. I pick up "light" books as a break after demanding ones, or just at times when I'm busy or tired or have a cold. I also sometimes reread books I know and love when I'm less up to thinking.
I'd like to read this someday. I haven't yet seen the movie as I've been kind of hoping I'd get around to reading the book first. Not sure when that will happen. :-) Great review!
Ew, I'm going to start calling Pete my first husband! What a novel idea! ;D
@dewey - I haven't been rereading my favorites nearly as much as I'd like. I think I signed up for too many challenges this year! Thanks for visiting my blog!
@literary feline - This is one of the rare books where the movie pretty closely followed the novel. I only noticed one big deviation. Both good!
@maggie - I thought that was too funny!
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