Friday Finds -- 2/11

This meme is hosted by Should Be Reading.

Happy Friday! My find this week is After You by Julie Buxbaum. Here is the Barnes and Noble description:

The complexities of a friendship. The unexplored doubts of a marriage. And the redemptive power of literature...Julie Buxbaum, the acclaimed author of The Opposite of Love, delivers a haunting, gloriously written novel about love, family, and the secrets we hide from each other-and ourselves. It happened on a tree-lined street in Notting Hill to a woman who seemed to have the perfect life. Ellie Lerner's best friend, Lucy, was murdered in front of her young daughter. And, as best friends do, Ellie dropped everything-her marriage, her job, her life in the Boston suburbs-to travel to London and pick up the pieces of Lucy's life. While Lucy's husband, Greg, copes with his grief by retreating into himself, eight-year-old Sophie has simply stopped speaking.

The book club I belong to read Julie Baxbaum's first novel The Opposite of Love (click to read my review), so I am looking forward to reading this. What did you find?

Review -- The Opposite of Love

The Opposite of Love

by Julie Baxbaum

Random House, 2009

320 pages

Summary: Emily's life begins to unravel the day she breaks up with her boyfriend just as he is about to propose. So she throws herself into her job only to be sexually harassed by her boss, starts spending quality time with her grandfather as he memory slips away, and tries to connect with her father who is still grieving the death of her mother.

Review: Even with the substantial plot, The Opposite of Love is a light and quick read. Emily is an interesting character, whose life is complex and funny. At the same time, Emily can be a difficult character to understand and empathize with. Her choices are sometimes hard to swallow even though they eventually lead her to a happy conclusion. Baxbaum's writing is clear and flows nicely keeping the reader entertained. Many of the supporting characters are wonderful, such as Ruth -- the retired judge that takes Emily under her wing. While other characters are not as clear, such as Emily's father -- a man who seems to be unable to communicate with his own father and daughter. Rating:*** out of 5.

Friday Finds -- 8/28

My Friday Find this week is The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum. This is my library book club's October selection. Here is the Barnes and Noble description:

When successful twenty-nine-year-old Manhattan attorney Emily Haxby ends her happy relationship just as her boyfriend is on the verge of proposing, she can’t explain to even her closest friends why she did it. Somewhere beneath her sense of fun, her bravado, and her independent exterior, Emily knows that her breakup with Andrew has less to do with him and more to do with...her. “You’re your own worst enemy,” her best friend Jess tells her. “It’s like you get pleasure out of breaking your own heart.” As the holiday season looms and Emily contemplates whether she made a huge mistake, the rest of her world begins to unravel: she is assigned to a multimillion-dollar lawsuit where she must defend the very values she detests by a boss who can’t keep his hands to himself; her Grandpa Jack, a charming, feisty octogenarian and the person she cares most about in the world, is losing it, while her emotionally distant father has left her to cope with this alone; and underneath it all, fading memories of her deceased mother continue to remind her that love doesn’t last forever.

What did you find this week? Friday Finds is hosted by Should Be Reading.