Helpful Score: 1
Excellent novel. A very easy read that will make all mothers laugh out loud and sympathize with Amanda at the same time
Helpful Score: 1
At first I was a little offended by this book, felt it was slapping at SAHMs, but then as it went on...enjoyed and recommend!
Best line ever:
Even the rounded tips of their manicured fingers and toes reminded Amanda of the shores of a coastline whose jagged edges and distinctive outcroppings had long been smoothed away. Amanda sometimes suspected that she could confess to murdering both her children and Kim and Ellen would nod sympathetically and say yes, they too had buried many infants in their basements, but if you placed open boxes of baking soda around the house it helped absorb the smell.
Even the rounded tips of their manicured fingers and toes reminded Amanda of the shores of a coastline whose jagged edges and distinctive outcroppings had long been smoothed away. Amanda sometimes suspected that she could confess to murdering both her children and Kim and Ellen would nod sympathetically and say yes, they too had buried many infants in their basements, but if you placed open boxes of baking soda around the house it helped absorb the smell.
funny, witty, great read!
A funny book - a realsitic look at a mum trying to do it all - be a good mother at home and also hold her own in the working world. A lot any mother can identify with.
Working moms on two continents found a kindred spirit in Kate Reddy, frantic heroine of the megaselling I Don't Know How She Does It; stay-at-home moms may become similarly attached to Amanda Bright, the bedraggled, deeply ambivalent heroine of this witty debut by journalist and TV pundit Crittenden (What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us). As she slogs through her day with five-year-old Ben (dangerously on the verge of flunking preschool) and three-year-old Sophie, Amanda, a former NEA publicist, soon stops deluding herself that she is "not a homemaker," just temporarily at home to care for her children. As husband Bob petulantly points out, it's not much of a home-cramped, chaotic, cluttered with doll body parts "as if it had been attacked by suicide bomber Ken." Play dates and cocktail parties at swank Beltway McMansions painfully remind Amanda of the folly of subsisting on Bob's government paycheck. Bob isn't even home much, thrilled to be leading the Justice Department's investigation of software giant Megabyte. Envious of Bob, alienated from her rich female friends, estranged from her disapproving feminist mother, Amanda turns to the one sympathetic soul in her life-Alan, a stay-at-home dad. Originally published as weekly installments in the Wall Street Journal, this breezily polemical tale is lively and sometimes poignant. Crittenden writes knowingly about Washington politics, but is just as astute describing the politics of play dates and private schools. At times she overplays the satire, surrounding her likable "domestic curator" with a supporting cast of self-promoting narcissists and cutthroat workaholics, none of them worthy of the heroine's ambivalence or her precious free time. Still, this is a fun read, perfect for poolside.
Working moms on two continents found a kindred spirit in Kate Reddy, frantic heroine of the megaselling I Don't Know How She Does It; stay-at-home moms may become similarly attached to Amanda Bright, the bedraggled, deeply ambivalent heroine of this witty debut by journalist and TV pundit Crittenden (What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us). As she slogs through her day with five-year-old Ben (dangerously on the verge of flunking preschool) and three-year-old Sophie, Amanda, a former NEA publicist, soon stops deluding herself that she is "not a homemaker," just temporarily at home to care for her children. As husband Bob petulantly points out, it's not much of a home-cramped, chaotic, cluttered with doll body parts "as if it had been attacked by suicide bomber Ken." Play dates and cocktail parties at swank Beltway McMansions painfully remind Amanda of the folly of subsisting on Bob's government paycheck. Bob isn't even home much, thrilled to be leading the Justice Department's investigation of software giant Megabyte. Envious of Bob, alienated from her rich female friends, estranged from her disapproving feminist mother, Amanda turns to the one sympathetic soul in her life-Alan, a stay-at-home dad. Originally published as weekly installments in the Wall Street Journal, this breezily polemical tale is lively and sometimes poignant. Crittenden writes knowingly about Washington politics, but is just as astute describing the politics of play dates and private schools. At times she overplays the satire, surrounding her likable "domestic curator" with a supporting cast of self-promoting narcissists and cutthroat workaholics, none of them worthy of the heroine's ambivalence or her precious free time. Still, this is a fun read, perfect for poolside.
I really liked this book and I found that I could really relate to the main character. Her husband and her "friends" really annoyed the hell out of me and i don't know why she put up with the 'friends as long as she did. Her husband at least redeemed himself later on.
A funny, smart novel about family life, the class structure of Washington DC, and children who need remedial scissoring. Highly recommended.
