Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Tuesday Intros: The Three Weissmanns of Westport


"When Joseph Weissmann divorced his wife, he was seventy-eight years old and she was seventy-five. He announced his decision in the kitchen of their apartment on the tenth floor of a large, graceful Central Park West building built at the turn of the last century, the original white tiles of the kitchen still gleaming on the walls around them. Joseph, known as Joe to his colleagues at work, but always called Joseph by his wife, said the words "irreconcilable differences," and saw real confusion in his wife's eyes. 
Irreconcilable differences? she said. Of course there are irreconcilable differences. What on earth does that have to do with divorce? 
In Joe's case it had very little to do with divorce. In Joe's case, as is so often the case, the reason for divorce was a woman. But a woman was not, unsurprisingly, the reason he gave his wife."
The Three Weissmanns of Westport
by Cathleen Schine

I'm about to start our next book club selection. The intro sounds very much like women's fiction, but we usually select lighter books for summer. My understanding is that The Three Weissmanns of Westport is a modern retelling of Sense & Sensibility, and several bloggers I trust have really enjoyed it. I love Jane Austen and think this might be fun. What do you think of the intro?

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she decided to read based on the opening paragraph(s). Feel free to grab the banner and play along.

28 comments:

  1. LOL...."a woman" even in his seventies...too funny. Yes I would keep reading.

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    1. Diane - I think I'm going to like this one!

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  2. There's life in the old dog yet. Lol, sounds interesting. Looking forward to your thoughts on this one. I would definitely keep reading.

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    1. Kaye - The first two chapters get a thumbs up!

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  3. It is a modern reteling of S&S and I did like it, though I had a few issues with it. I'll be interested in hearing your response.

    Enjoy!

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    1. JaneGS - Had time to read the first two chapters and, so far, I like it!

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  4. I enjoyed this one and think it will provide good discussion for your book club.

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    1. Nise' - Think I might try to fit in a reread of Sense & Sensibility, too.

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  5. I'll be honest, this isn't my kind of book, but a friend gave me her copy and told me I'd love it. Looking forward to your review -- maybe that will inspire me to read on!

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    1. Audra - I had some time this afternoon and was pleasantly surprised by the first two chapters.

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  6. I did enjoy this one, JoAnn....and I really like that opener. Thanks for sharing, and for visiting my blog.

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    1. Laurel-Rain Snow - I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed this book! The first two chapters have been very promising.

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  7. I love the excerpt! I haven't read Sense and Sensibility before. Maybe I'll just skip it and go straight to this retelling! Happy reading!

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    1. Vasilly - After two chapters, it seems like this will be a lot of fun! If I don't have time to reread Sense & Sensibility before book club, I'll at least try to watch one of the film adaptations.

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  8. This was a lot of fun! {It's on my Ipod for s re-read (technically, a re-listen, but that sounds silly.) She's so good - I've read all or most of her books and always enjoyed them. Did you ever see the movie Love Letters? I can't remember who was in it, except for Tom Selleck, but it was set on Cape Cod or one of the islands, in a bookstore, with lots of star-crossed romances. That was one of hers.

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    1. Audrey - Schine is a new author for me, but I'm really enjoying this so far. Have just added The Love Letter to my Netflix queue. Thanks!

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  9. This looks like fun. I'm not feeling Sense and Sensibility. I'll have to look at it again.

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    1. Paulita - Now that I've read 6 chapters, I can definitely see the similarity to Sense & Sensibility... and want to reread that, too.

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  10. I hope you like this book, JoAnn. I thought it was wonderful and found Cathleen Schine insightful. She makes some wonderful observations on human nature. I am interested to see if this book surprises you as it did me, especially the last quarter of the book. I also found that this book wasn't the light fiction I expected, also a nice surprise.

    Happy reading!

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    1. Amy - I actually suggested this book to my group based on your review. It's been on my shelf for a year and your post reminded me how much I wanted to read it. The first six chapters are wonderful. Now I want to reread Sense & Sensibility before our meeting. Thank you!

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  11. I liked this book. It's not a classic of Western lit but it's fun and light and a reasonably good adaptation of Sense & Sensibility. I like how she modernized the story and it's a good lesson on the do's and don't's of how to adapt a classic- more do's than don't's in my opinion. Enjoy it! I think it's a great pick for your club.

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    1. Marie - I'm enjoying this very much. Will share your comment on the do's and don't's of adapting a classic with my book club. Seems like she's got it right so far!

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  12. I didn't realize this had S&S ties!

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    1. Stacybuckeye - It does! And those ties are becoming more evident, and more fun, the further I read.

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  13. I would keep reading this one. A retelling of "Sense and Sensibility" huh? Sounds like one I would love...can't wait to read your final thoughts!

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    1. Staci - I recommended this to my book club after being reminded of it by Amy's recent review. It's a great audio and now I want to reread Sense & Sensibility, too!

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  14. This sounds like a good one to discuss with a book club.

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    1. Kathleen - The meeting is a week from Friday. I'm sure we'll have a lot to discuss!

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