She Is Me

by Cathleen Schine

Greta finds her life and her home turned upside down by the arrival of her grown daughter, Elizabeth, and her son, who has arrived in town to write a screenplay, by the increasingly eccentric behavior of her widowed mother, and by unexpectedly falling in love with someone other than her devoted husband.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Novels, Chick Lit

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Cathleen Schine is the author of The New Yorkers, The Love Letter, and The Three Weissmanns of Westport among other novels. She has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine, and The New York Times Book Review.

Reviews

[Nada Elshabrawy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. Very well written.
Update: one day after finishing this, i think i liked this novel even more.

[Bethany W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when I was 23 and really coming into my own. This book was about an author who wrote a remake of the classic book Madame Bovary. A movie company wanted to make a film out of it so she moved to California with her mom. Both her and her mom go through major changes in their lives which bring them closer. I've always been close to my mom, but after reading this book I got a better understanding of who my mom was as a woman. I had always seen her as my mom and nothing else. After reading this book I realized my mom was my best friend and not just my mom. This book also got me interested in reading Madame bovary which I read shortly after I finished She Is Me.

[Chloe (Always Booked) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not nearly as bad as the ratings made me think it would be! This is a multigenerational story about 3 women. This book does heavily reference the story of Madame Bovary and that was annoying but just googling a quick synopsis helped me get the point the author was going for. This book is about Elizabeth, Greta and Lotte. Elizabeth is the youngest generation. She is a mom to a 3 year old and she has the baby daddy that she lives with but she's very anti-marriage. Great is her mom and she's married. Early in the book she gets a cancer diagnosis that forces her to face her own mortality. She also has a relationship that causes her to question her marriage and her sexuality. Finally there is Lotte. She is the Grandma and she has always been very fancy and beautiful, but she has cancer on her face and her standards of beauty are being tested. This book is definitely a character study following these 3 generations as they discover who they are, what love means and how it all works together. It's nothing exceptional, but it wasn't bad!!

SPOILERS AHEAD:
Elizabeth and Greta both have affairs. Elizabeth ends up back with her baby daddy and realizes that marriage isn't the problem-- relationships just have issues. Greta's affair is with Daisy-- a woman involved in Elizabeth's screenwriting career, and they end up together.

[Judy]

From a review on Cathleen Schine's website: http://www.cathleenschine.com/books/s...
This is the second paragraph of the review:

”She Is Me” shouldn’t be any fun at all. But Cathleen Schine is not in the business of being depressing — or boring. Over the last 20 years, she’s perfected the underappreciated art of the domestic comedy. It’s a genre boasting few very skilled practitioners (in America, at least), and Schine has carved out a unique place in their cadre: darker than Elinor Lipman, more intellectual than Stephen McCauley. In her very first novel, ”Alice in Bed,” she managed to siphon fun out of the year a crabby teenager spends flat on her back, suffering from a mysterious joint disease. Clearly, Schine is the woman you want to have around when you’re negotiating the shoals of cancer and family strife.

[Blue Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written story of adultery, marriage, and illness, involving 3 generations of women in one family. The novel loosely ties it all together through the story of Madame Bovary, which I thought was a clever device for the story.

However, sigh, yet another entry in domestic fiction written by a woman where the cheating woman is accepted back by her partner. What fun she had cheating! I think the only novel I've read in this genre where the cheater is kicked out on her ass by her man is Still Life With Husband by Lauren Fox. I would have preferred Elizabeth and Brett's story to end something like this: Brett realizes Elizabeth has cheated on him and leaves the funeral with their toddler. The next day Elizabeth receives an envelope by courier. She opens it, finds a letter and a bottle of rat poison. She reads - Keep out of my life, don't bother coming back to New York, stay in LA. Your lover can have you. I want to grow old with a good woman not a lying, slut like you. Do everyone a favor like Emma Bovary did.

When Elizabeth tries some pathetic rationalizing telling Brett "When I slept with another man it wasn't adultery because we aren't married". Come on Brett, here's the response to that: "You're right we aren't married, so I don't need a messy divorce to get you out of my life. Goodbye Elizabeth."

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm really glad that I listened to this on tape and didn't waste time reading it. I would have been really pissed if I had spent time out of my life to read this. Although the book started off rather interesting I just couldn't see how everything fit together. Madame B was mentioned so many times that if a person hadn't read the book they would have been totally lost. She tackles so many topics within the book as well that the characters are someone shallow. The reader did a good job with some of the funny parts but that is about all. I was really really disappointed and will probably not read another of this authors books. I'm giving it 2 starts instead of one purely for the fact that at least she did mention some classic literature which is always a nice thing for authors to do...

[tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initially I found this book confusing and had to backtrack a few times to figure out which characters were which. About half way through I was thoroughly involved with the characters and their lives. The grandmother was particularly endearing as was the character of Elizabeth. I definitely enjoyed the read into the lives of the three generations of women and their interactions with the other people in their lives. By the end, I wanted more....so if you have the patience to get through the rather slow and forgettable beginning you may be surprised at how much you get involved and feel a part of the family. If you haven't already, I would read Madame Bovary before this one as the references are easier to follow.

[MM · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one isn't great -- it's cliche-ridden and superficial. But hey, I'm on a vacation and it's perfect airplane-reading. It's not offensive, doesn't require brain-power, and has moments of humor and insight.

[Mrinal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do not know if I like the book end to end but some parts were definitely darkly/grey Humour which I like the most about Schine books.. All in all its ok read.

[Rachel Leber · Rating 5 out of 5]

a simple lovely deep and well-written book, more of an internal experience about family and relationships rather than a whole lot happening, and, i loved it!

[Katlyn Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though this book was kind of boring because there wasn't much of a plot (it was more a collection of linear short stories about each main character's daily activities, thoughts, and daydreams), I found it very insightful. I was surprised about how many real/common? Delmas a lot of people deal with. It touched on adultery, struggles of people with cancer and how it affects their families, different roles people have (mother/daughter/wife etc), struggles with some long term relationships (married or not), and struggles with the acceptance of death. I wonder how common the characters' experience and thoughts on there issues really are.

My favorite thing about the book was the writing style; it was just how I like it. I also loved it because it stood out from other books with similar wringing style because the characters' thoughts were written in a "stream of consciousness" style which I think is really rare. I loved that because that is how people really think and I think it make the characters seem more relatable and realistic.

I also really liked the romance in the book. Instead of the author going into graphic detail of the sex scenes, she focused more on the connections and feelings of the characters with their sexual partner at that time.

There were a few things I didn't like about the book. I don't like how it kind of requires the reader to have know,edge of Madam Bovardy (what even is that? A book? A movie? A play?). I also wished the family was more open with each other about their thoughts and feelings. It seemed
Ike they were a close family so I found that odd. The only thing I hated was how it doesn't really say what happens with the script in the end. I felt like if the author was going to leave that unresolved, then why include it in the book in the first place?

Would make a great book club book.

[Jenine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Need some emotionally true and clearly seen female characters? Here you go. Elizabeth's experience of mothering a three year old, and caring for her grandmother and mother was so convincing that I felt a little out of breath at times. But it's not a smothering book, CS has a cool voice even as she's laying out all these tangled love lines. And these characters are privileged enough to soften the edges and allow a leisurely confrontation with life and death issues.

It's been too long since I've read Mme Bovary for me to pick up much in the way of nods to the text. The thing I remember most vividly about that book is the absurdly long hired coach ride for the purposes of illicit sex. This book is wordy and good.

This is the author of the practically perfect Three Weissmans of Westport which takes inspiration from Austen. Now I'm wondering if all CS's books have a great book foundation?

[E. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan of this book. While the story line is interesting enough, I just really didn’t click with the writing style. Even though I understand why it was written the way it was, I just felt like having all 3 protagonists speak at the same time felt too disjointed for me to really get into the story. I don’t think I’ll be keeping this on my bookshelf.
Also: I feel like I missed quite a bit of the underlying meaning of what was happening since I’ve never read “Madame Bovary,” which played a big part in this book.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is based on the audio version of the book. Three generations of women - Elizabeth, her mother Greta, and Greta’s mother Lotte. One is dying, one has cancer. The book is about their states of health and the states of their relationships with each other and their spouses/partners/others. Not much of a plot. Not much about any of the characters that I found particularly engaging. Meh.

[Danielle Bryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a bargain dud via Bookbub. The writing was uninspired and, based on other reviews, I wish I'd read something else by this author. As it is, life is too short and there are too many great books to read.

[Ralph Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it (I'm a 78 yr old man) and wife (66 yr old female) is reading it and appears to like it too. We both loved Fin and Lady. Schine's work has a definite feminine twist, but so do Jane Austen and Mary McCarthy. Funny and wry and true deep in the bones. Made me want to re-read Madam Bovary.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many tender moments without becoming maudlin. The characters are very well developed, but I did have a hard time wrapping my brain around Greta's new love relationship in the middle of her treatment for colon cancer.

[Suzanne MacPherson · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Girl gets the girl. Yes. Yes Yes.
-Other than that, what a bunch of self-absorbed children in adult bodies. Especially Elizabeth, the self pronounced academic turned screen writer.
-I love Ms. Schine's writing and I will always read her books

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read this despite the reviews. I even gave up on it after chapter 1. Not being a quitter I pushed on and I’m so glad I did. It felt so real. These characters were real. The dialogue real. Their trials and tribulations real. Very happy I pushed through.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not find it as enjoyable as other books by Schine I have read. Grandmother, mother, and daughter are all dealing with pivotal points in their lives. I think I didn't like them very much.

[Fay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever homage to Madame Bovary.

[Amina Khiri · Rating 1 out of 5]

scritto male. trama confusa e non chiara e finale insensato

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't connect with this one. I think the author was in search of a highly interior work of fiction, but I found that part very forced. I did like the description of the family ties.

[Danielle Cozzola · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not finish the book. The characters are very boring, and there is virtually no plot at all. I just couldn't get into it, so I abandoned it.

[Robin Jansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a 'rose colored glasses' every day life book. This is hard core reality with life, cancer, death, new job, adultery, forgiveness. I enjoyed the book.

[Carly Schaelling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it.

[Pat McCaffrey]

I love Cathleen Schine

[Julie Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

gd read

[Lauren Wood · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Margaret · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know why I continued to read this all the way to the finish. All I can say is that the premise that middle-aged children often find themselves becoming the parent to their parents. In this case, Elizabeth is trying to care for her grandmother Lotte who is suffering from skin cancer. Lotte's own daughter, Greta, wants to care for her own mother; but she too has cancer (colon) and is trying to hide it from Lotte. In the meantime, Elizabeth finds herself stretched thin as she tries to care for the two women in her life, be a mother to her toddler, and find time for her son's father whom she claims to love but refuses to marry.

Add to that, Elizabeth has been asked to move to LA to write a quirky, edgy, updated screenplay of Madame Bovary. I read that novel years back in college and remember very little about it except that the main character was an adulteress. Enter adultery in the lives of the main characters.

The story could have been very powerful if it had just run with the theme of parenting parents, but it was so tangled with the Madame Bovary references that I became frustrated. That added element was only a distraction and made me gnash my teeth. I didn't like Madame Bovary back in the day and I still don't. Now I don't like Elizabeth or Greta or Lotte. Sadly, the women were selfish and shallow when the main plot could have been a tender story of love, need for mothers and mothering, and the terror of fighting a dreaded disease.

It was difficult to keep the three women's identities separate because paragraphs, rather than chapters, bounced around from the thoughts and circumstances of one character to another. I had no connection to the characters and certainly no compassion for them. The ending was a total loss on me and just completed my thought that this particular Schine book was not well-planned nor was it one that the author herself truly believed in.