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Then She Found Me
April Epner teaches high school Latin, wears flannel jumpers, and is used to having her evenings free. Bernice Graverman brandishes designer labels, favors toad-sized earrings, and hosts her own tacky TV talk Bernice G!
But behind the glitz and glam, Bernice has followed the life of the daughter she gave up for adoption thirty-six years ago. Now that she's got her act together, she's aiming to be a mom like she always knew she could. And she's hurtling straight for April's quiet little life....
But behind the glitz and glam, Bernice has followed the life of the daughter she gave up for adoption thirty-six years ago. Now that she's got her act together, she's aiming to be a mom like she always knew she could. And she's hurtling straight for April's quiet little life....
307 pages, Paperback
First published April 12, 1990
85 people are currently reading
2836 people want to read
About the author
Elinor Lipman
27 books1,345 followersI love talking with readers - for 1:1s and Book Club visits, find me on Skolay: www.skolay.com/writers/elinor-lipman
Elinor Lipman is the author of 14 humorous novels about contemporary American society; essay and short story collections. Born and raised in Lowell, MA, she divides her time between Manhattan and the Hudson Valley of New York. She received the New England Book award for fiction in 2001. Her first novel, "Then She Found Me," was adapted for the screen, starring Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Colin Firth and Matthew Broderick. Her fourth novel, "The Inn at Lake Devine" was adapted for the off-off Broadway stage by Tongue in Cheek Theater. In 2011-2012, she held the Elizabeth Drew chair in creative writing at Smith College. Her novel, “Ms. Demeanor," was a finalist for the 2023 Thurber Prize for American Humor. In 2021, her hometown Library, Pollard Memorial Library in Lowell, established The Elinor Lipman Prize, awarded annually to Lowell residents and students at Lowell universities.
Elinor Lipman is the author of 14 humorous novels about contemporary American society; essay and short story collections. Born and raised in Lowell, MA, she divides her time between Manhattan and the Hudson Valley of New York. She received the New England Book award for fiction in 2001. Her first novel, "Then She Found Me," was adapted for the screen, starring Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Colin Firth and Matthew Broderick. Her fourth novel, "The Inn at Lake Devine" was adapted for the off-off Broadway stage by Tongue in Cheek Theater. In 2011-2012, she held the Elizabeth Drew chair in creative writing at Smith College. Her novel, “Ms. Demeanor," was a finalist for the 2023 Thurber Prize for American Humor. In 2021, her hometown Library, Pollard Memorial Library in Lowell, established The Elinor Lipman Prize, awarded annually to Lowell residents and students at Lowell universities.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 451 reviews
June 20, 2008
I saw the trailer for the movie that is based on this book and thought I would like to see it - then I found out it was rated R. Saw the book in the grocery store last week and bought it. The first chapter is one of the greatest hooks I have ever read, starting with the sentence, "My biological mother was seventeen when she had me in 1952, and even that was more than I wanted to know about her.", and ending with the sentence, "Then she found me." What follows is a reunion story set in 1988 between a quiet 36 year old high school teacher and an eccentric, quirky, almost-famous 50 something birth mother. I still want to see the movie, which has been perfectly cast with Bette Midler as the mother, and Helen Hunt as the daughter. I kept picturing the characters as exactly those actresses. But, given some of the story lines, I can see how it could be a raunchy movie depending on its focus. The book was pure entertainment, a quick read, witty.
ps - just read a review of the movie - and everything about it seems to be wildly different from the book - the story line is completely different, some of the movie characters don't even exist in the book. So, I can pass on seeing the movie now. Don't know why they did that - it certainly would have made a very entertaining movie as is.
ps - just read a review of the movie - and everything about it seems to be wildly different from the book - the story line is completely different, some of the movie characters don't even exist in the book. So, I can pass on seeing the movie now. Don't know why they did that - it certainly would have made a very entertaining movie as is.
May 16, 2019
April Epner is a 36-year-old Latin teacher, living a quiet life. Her adoptive parents have recently died. Her birth mother, Bernice Graverman, a talk show host, decides the time is perfect for her to contact her. I kept thinking that if I had been April, I would have changed my phone number and moved after the first meeting with Bernice. Bernice is flamboyant, self-involved, loud, bossy, overly dramatic….and those are her good qualities. But April is kind and patient and slowly the 2 women begin to connect. One of my favorite parts of the book is how Bernice’s story of who April’s birth father was constantly changes. But in the end Bernice finally started to grow on me – in her heart of hearts she was a mother just wanting the best for her daughter and she was the catalyst for a lot of positive changes in April’s life.
unfinished
December 12, 2019April Epner, a Boston woman in her thirties, learns that her biological mother is cringe-worthy television presenter Bernice Graverman and reluctantly lets the woman into her life. But can she trust Bernice’s stories about the past? The first 100 or so pages were pleasant enough reading during a beer festival, but I had little impetus to pick it up afterwards. I got to page 166.
January 8, 2009
Boring, snoring. I was listening to this on downloadable and missed a part. I realized then that I didn't care enough about the characters or the story to go back to here I had left off. So I quit. It was quite liberating, really.
December 20, 2017
I was on the fence debating whether I wanted to rate this book 3 or 4 stars. I really look forward to the day, as I am sure many of you do as well, when we can rate books with half stars. I ended up going with 4 because the story was better than just okay to me. Actually, a large portion of it was really interesting and kept me wanting to know how everything was going to turn out. I listened to the audio version and unfortunately felt that the story was about two hours too long. I was looking for an quick, easy read, and I got just that.
May 27, 2008
Elinor Lipman is one of my favorite authors. I re-read Then She Found Me in preparation for the April release of the film -- directed by and starring Helen Hunt. The book and movie are different (plots vary greatly) but both have the same Lipman charm. Yeah for Elinor (and Helen)!
June 2, 2008
Features an overly histrionic birth mother, who hosts her own local talk show, finding the daughter she gave up for adoption some thirty years ago. If you know some people that like to "perform", even in the absence of cameras, you might get some good laughs reading about the birth mother.
Poignant and funny.
Poignant and funny.
June 2, 2019
Great book...ending wasnt what i expected...
August 6, 2023
"Then She Found Me” is a fiction novel focusing on answering the questions of what it means to be a family as well as if there’s an expiration date on repairing fractured relationships.
The novel consists of thirty-nine chapters and begins with main character (April Epner) reflecting on learning that her biological mother had her when she was seventeen years old. After April is adopted, she worries about biological mother’s return until the age of twelve. By her teen years, April wrestles with being annoyed at the unknown teenage mother that gave her up for adoption then later relieved for the life her adoptive parents Gertrude (Trude) and Julius Epner gave her. All is well until her biological mother, local TV personality Bernice Graves, finds her.
Chapter two transports the reader to the past to Boston where eighteen-year-old Bernice Graverman is visiting the adoption agency to provide positive updates on her life as well as sneakily learn the location of the d baby girl she gave up for adoption. Two years after her visit to the adoption agency, twenty-year-old Bernice discovers her daughter living in Providence, Rhode Island but decides to no act of this knowledge.
Bernice Graverman eventually recreates herself as Bernice Graves, a designer clothes wearing celebrity with a larger-than-life personality known for her TV talk show “Bernice G!” Meanwhile, April is now a thirty-six-year-old high school Latin teacher who lives in Quincy, Massachusetts, enjoys wearing flannel jumpers and having her evenings free.
Although Bernice has been following April’s life from afar, she eventually decides to insert herself into April’s quiet life. April Is resentful that she biological mother she’s worked so hard to forget about has now decided to appear in her life. Likewise, April is livid when she learns that her Bernice has known about her for years but has just recently felt ready to meet her in person.
When April meets Bernice in person, April quickly realizes that Bernice expects her to be dazzled by her celebrity status. Furthermore, April is surprised when Bernice is upset that she hasn’t seen her TV show or followed up on finding her biological mother. In an effort to create a relationship, Bernice convinces April to meet for dinner weekly at various restaurants in Boston and April is annoyed by how quickly the situation escalates.
After a month of knowing each other, April is happy to discover that she has a grandmother but sad that Bernice’s relationship with her mother Dora is strained due to her teen pregnancy. After April is introduced to her widowed grandmother Dora. Dora surprisingly comes to Bernice’s rescue when it seems that April blames Bernice for her uneventful life. Bernice makes it her mission to find a boyfriend or husband for April. In an attempt to soothe Bernice’s hurt feelings over April not telling her friends about her therefore she invites Dwight to meet Bernice.
As the novel progresses, the reader learns about the background of April’s adoptive parents and how she was adopted after two years of them not being able to get pregnant. Seven years after the Epners adopt April, Trude gets pregnant, and they have a son named Frederick (Freddie.) As April and Freddie get older, April is resentful of her twenty-seven-year-old brother living at home with April taking care of him while he sneaks out to sleep with various women. Twenty- three months after the Julius’ death, Trude dies.
In an effort to learn more about the identify of her biological father using information provided by Bernice, April uses resources at her job to find books in the library to confirm the identity of father. After getting help from the school librarian Dwight Willamee and learning that Bernice has lied to her, April severs communication with Bernice. Bernice eventually clarifies the true identity of April’s father as a guy who tricked her by pretending to be a student at Harvard University.
As a thank you to Dwight, April tries to get her co-workers to be more friendly to him as lunch to no avail. The longer she develops her relationship with Bernice, the more she begins to have romantic feelings for Dwight.
By the end of the novel, Bernice has established a relationship with April, April finds a way to connect her adoptive family with her biological family, and April learns to not judge people by their initial impression.
I’ll admit that this novel wasn’t enjoyable for me and I only finished it because I kept hoping that despite Bernice being an arrogant, lying, self-absorbed woman, she’d eventually become more thoughtful and mindful of other people’s feelings. Likewise, I was turned off by how angry and self-righteous April is from the start of the book until the midway point of the novel and hoped that she’d be less angry by the novel’s end which she is (somewhat.)
The novel consists of thirty-nine chapters and begins with main character (April Epner) reflecting on learning that her biological mother had her when she was seventeen years old. After April is adopted, she worries about biological mother’s return until the age of twelve. By her teen years, April wrestles with being annoyed at the unknown teenage mother that gave her up for adoption then later relieved for the life her adoptive parents Gertrude (Trude) and Julius Epner gave her. All is well until her biological mother, local TV personality Bernice Graves, finds her.
Chapter two transports the reader to the past to Boston where eighteen-year-old Bernice Graverman is visiting the adoption agency to provide positive updates on her life as well as sneakily learn the location of the d baby girl she gave up for adoption. Two years after her visit to the adoption agency, twenty-year-old Bernice discovers her daughter living in Providence, Rhode Island but decides to no act of this knowledge.
Bernice Graverman eventually recreates herself as Bernice Graves, a designer clothes wearing celebrity with a larger-than-life personality known for her TV talk show “Bernice G!” Meanwhile, April is now a thirty-six-year-old high school Latin teacher who lives in Quincy, Massachusetts, enjoys wearing flannel jumpers and having her evenings free.
Although Bernice has been following April’s life from afar, she eventually decides to insert herself into April’s quiet life. April Is resentful that she biological mother she’s worked so hard to forget about has now decided to appear in her life. Likewise, April is livid when she learns that her Bernice has known about her for years but has just recently felt ready to meet her in person.
When April meets Bernice in person, April quickly realizes that Bernice expects her to be dazzled by her celebrity status. Furthermore, April is surprised when Bernice is upset that she hasn’t seen her TV show or followed up on finding her biological mother. In an effort to create a relationship, Bernice convinces April to meet for dinner weekly at various restaurants in Boston and April is annoyed by how quickly the situation escalates.
After a month of knowing each other, April is happy to discover that she has a grandmother but sad that Bernice’s relationship with her mother Dora is strained due to her teen pregnancy. After April is introduced to her widowed grandmother Dora. Dora surprisingly comes to Bernice’s rescue when it seems that April blames Bernice for her uneventful life. Bernice makes it her mission to find a boyfriend or husband for April. In an attempt to soothe Bernice’s hurt feelings over April not telling her friends about her therefore she invites Dwight to meet Bernice.
As the novel progresses, the reader learns about the background of April’s adoptive parents and how she was adopted after two years of them not being able to get pregnant. Seven years after the Epners adopt April, Trude gets pregnant, and they have a son named Frederick (Freddie.) As April and Freddie get older, April is resentful of her twenty-seven-year-old brother living at home with April taking care of him while he sneaks out to sleep with various women. Twenty- three months after the Julius’ death, Trude dies.
In an effort to learn more about the identify of her biological father using information provided by Bernice, April uses resources at her job to find books in the library to confirm the identity of father. After getting help from the school librarian Dwight Willamee and learning that Bernice has lied to her, April severs communication with Bernice. Bernice eventually clarifies the true identity of April’s father as a guy who tricked her by pretending to be a student at Harvard University.
As a thank you to Dwight, April tries to get her co-workers to be more friendly to him as lunch to no avail. The longer she develops her relationship with Bernice, the more she begins to have romantic feelings for Dwight.
By the end of the novel, Bernice has established a relationship with April, April finds a way to connect her adoptive family with her biological family, and April learns to not judge people by their initial impression.
I’ll admit that this novel wasn’t enjoyable for me and I only finished it because I kept hoping that despite Bernice being an arrogant, lying, self-absorbed woman, she’d eventually become more thoughtful and mindful of other people’s feelings. Likewise, I was turned off by how angry and self-righteous April is from the start of the book until the midway point of the novel and hoped that she’d be less angry by the novel’s end which she is (somewhat.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 13, 2022
Another Kindle download when I knew nothing about the book but needed for a plane trip. The subject is an adopted daughter's biological mother wants to reunite with daughter. Being adopted myself, it caught my interest. I have read Lipman before but not for some time. A charming read with likeable, really human characters once I got past the initial brashness of the biological mother. Heartwarming but not saccharine. A good read. It's 30 years old, so may seem not realistic in terms of Internet searching as if it had been written today, and April's adopted parents were actually Holocaust survivors, which could not be very possible in 2022. But it displayed genuinely felt emotions in all the characters.
March 4, 2011
"My biological mother was 17 when she had me in 1952, and even that was more than I wanted to know about her.” But April Epner is about to find out more - a whole lot more. Then She Found Me is a bittersweet gem of a novel dealing with the reunion of mother and daughter, when the daughter is 36 and the mother in her fifties. April is a serious, reserved Latin teacher whose adoptive parents have since died. Bernice G is a local talk show host, brash, narcissistic, and determined to always have lots of attention and her own way. She also tells a lot of lies. Their attempts to get to know each other bring about many situations, some poignant, but most exasperatingly funny. Along the way, as a side effect of some of Bernice's ceaseless micromanaging, April is stunned to find herself in love with a most unlikely guy.
Ms. Lipman has created a quirky, attractive, and genuine cast of characters in this story about all kinds of love. She has authored eight other novels, and smart but gentle satire is a hallmark of her work, , which has prompted some critics to label her "the Jewish Jane Austen." But you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy her writing, just human. Then She Found Me is a breath of literary fresh air.
Ms. Lipman has created a quirky, attractive, and genuine cast of characters in this story about all kinds of love. She has authored eight other novels, and smart but gentle satire is a hallmark of her work, , which has prompted some critics to label her "the Jewish Jane Austen." But you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy her writing, just human. Then She Found Me is a breath of literary fresh air.
April 28, 2009
I snatched this book off the library shelf randomly one day. The cover has an image of Bette Midler on her knees in front of Helen Hunt. Although these two were well cast as Bernice and April, I was frustrated that I couldn't create these characters in my own mind, but oh well.
This is another story of an adopted child, now adult, who ends up in contact with her train-wreck of birth mother (see The English American by Alison Larkin).
I could not put it down, but didn't necessarily want to read it, either.
Bernice's obession over sex and men wasn't much fun and I was definitely feeling April's annoyance with it.
In the end, all the underdogs are winners and the liars speak the truth. There is healing and hope for happiness.
This is another story of an adopted child, now adult, who ends up in contact with her train-wreck of birth mother (see The English American by Alison Larkin).
I could not put it down, but didn't necessarily want to read it, either.
Bernice's obession over sex and men wasn't much fun and I was definitely feeling April's annoyance with it.
In the end, all the underdogs are winners and the liars speak the truth. There is healing and hope for happiness.
September 9, 2008
I had my doubts when I first started reading this novel - narrated by an adult adopted person (sensible and down-to-earth) who is unexpectedly contacted by her birth mother (flamboyant to say the least - in the movie the birthmom is played by Bette Midler). The plot seems headed for improbable and unrealistic, but takes a surprising turn toward reality and ends up being a nice, sweet story. The movie is apparently not as good as the book.
This was the author's first novel, published around 1990, and she has published quite a few more since then. Amazon.com reviews says "Lipman is a modern-day Jane Austen and her characters crackle with wit and intelligence."
This was the author's first novel, published around 1990, and she has published quite a few more since then. Amazon.com reviews says "Lipman is a modern-day Jane Austen and her characters crackle with wit and intelligence."
August 30, 2016
I could not even make it half way through this book. As a birth mother, I found it offensive that Bernice kept referring to herself as the "real mother" while April did nothing to correct her. April even referred to Bernice as her "real mother" at first, though she does deserve credit for later stating that the parents who raised her were her "real" parents. I understand that this book came out in 1990, and that open adoptions and what-not were not as common, but again, from a birth mother perspective, I could not make myself finish this book.
January 8, 2018
This was a pleasant enough read, but it went on way too long, and the main character is so passive I have to wonder - if she were real, would she be entirely healthy? I think this is one of the author's first novels so she can be forgiven for all this, I'm sure.
The mom is 100% certifiable and a total narcissist. Kinda weird that this book is from the late '80s and there wasn't the sort of focused armchair-diagnosing that seems so common now.
The mom is 100% certifiable and a total narcissist. Kinda weird that this book is from the late '80s and there wasn't the sort of focused armchair-diagnosing that seems so common now.
December 31, 2008
I don't know why I read this...maybe the report on NPR about Helen Hunt working so hard to make the movie. I don't know, reading it made me NOT want to see the movie. It was okay but not real memorable. Another one of those contemporary bestsellerish books. I'd recommend this to folks who don't like Danielle Steel but like Jodi Picoult.
August 23, 2020
Cute romantic-comedy, fluffy and forgettable. I found it a little uneven at times. April Epner has never been interested in knowing her biological parents, but soon after her adoptive parent's death, she is approached by a flamboyant local celebrity/talk show host claiming to be her mother.
February 2, 2015
Most annoying book I've read in a long time. I listened to it while driving and only finished it to see what happened. I think the voicing by the reader of the mother and daughter contributed to the annoyance level.
May 14, 2023
This was just okay for me. April is a high school Latin teacher who was adopted. Her biological parents have both died and an eccentric TV show host shows up and says she's her bio mom. The rest of the book is April falling in love with the school librarian and exploring the new relationship with her mom, as well as discovering her biological dad. It wasn't bad, its just very forgettable.
January 13, 2020
I liked this, overall. The bio mother could be annoying, but there were a lot of more likeable characters that saved this for me.
It was written in the late 80s, so people will see it as outdated, but I thought it was charming.
It was written in the late 80s, so people will see it as outdated, but I thought it was charming.
March 15, 2022
I must have read this the first time before I was on Goodreads. This is SO much better than the movie, which completely alters the storyline. I find Bernice exhausting and her bickering with April wearing, but I find the April/Dwight love story to be true and extremely romantic.
October 14, 2022
I loved the writing style of this book! Would definitely read another book from this author.
June 21, 2017
I do not remember how this book appeared on my "to read" list....because it has been there for so long, but somehow it made it there. And....as the reading challenge required "a book that's been on your TBR list way too long"....I decided to FINALLY take it off. This did not prove to be easy--- I could not find this book in my library, so I went to the inter-library loans, and borrowed a copy from Arkansas. Do not go to this trouble.
The book is about a woman who learns that her birth mother is a talk show host for a regional tv channel--- and wants to be a part of her life. Through manipulation and aggression, the mother is able to take a part of her adult daughter's life--- and also witness her daughter fall in love with a colleague and create a "happily-ever-after" story.
I could not get over how much I disliked Bernice. I can't imagine this person could really exist--- and would be able to survive in the world. I only stuck with the book and continued reading because I really enjoyed April and Dwight's relationship. The book is also EXTREMELY outdated. This is one of those books that will not survive in the real world because the technology that appears is very...80s/90s. I cringed every time April had to leave her classroom to take a call (not only is a teacher not allowed to leave a class unattended, but this also doesn't hold up in reality with classrooms having phones)...though I digress. I really only liked about 20% of the book and had a hard time finding anything redeeming between Bernice and April.
Read: only if this book has been on your TBR list forever and you refuse to take my warning.
The book is about a woman who learns that her birth mother is a talk show host for a regional tv channel--- and wants to be a part of her life. Through manipulation and aggression, the mother is able to take a part of her adult daughter's life--- and also witness her daughter fall in love with a colleague and create a "happily-ever-after" story.
I could not get over how much I disliked Bernice. I can't imagine this person could really exist--- and would be able to survive in the world. I only stuck with the book and continued reading because I really enjoyed April and Dwight's relationship. The book is also EXTREMELY outdated. This is one of those books that will not survive in the real world because the technology that appears is very...80s/90s. I cringed every time April had to leave her classroom to take a call (not only is a teacher not allowed to leave a class unattended, but this also doesn't hold up in reality with classrooms having phones)...though I digress. I really only liked about 20% of the book and had a hard time finding anything redeeming between Bernice and April.
Read: only if this book has been on your TBR list forever and you refuse to take my warning.
September 7, 2008
This charming little story reveals how a reunion between a grown woman and her birth mother can totally change the lives of each of them, in unexpected ways.
April Epner teaches high school Latin, dresses for comfort, and lives a no-nonsense life. Not much going on socially, but this doesn’t seem to bother her.
Her adoptive parents have died, within two years of one another, and April does feel at loose ends. She doesn’t think much about her birth mother, so when she is contacted by a friend of the woman, she doesn’t really believe it at first. This celebrity talk-show hostess couldn’t possibly be her mother!
They gradually come to know one another---kind of like mixing oil and water---but April finds that her life is changing pleasantly, in subtle ways. She opens herself to a relationship with the school librarian and she even allows herself to make small changes in other aspects of her life. Closed off and detached from relationships as she has been, she finds that, even at the unlikely age of thirty-six, one can find love and family connections.
There are some predictable moments in this tale, like seeing a “talk-show reunion moment” played out, but the book leaves the reader with a warm, tingly glow.
April Epner teaches high school Latin, dresses for comfort, and lives a no-nonsense life. Not much going on socially, but this doesn’t seem to bother her.
Her adoptive parents have died, within two years of one another, and April does feel at loose ends. She doesn’t think much about her birth mother, so when she is contacted by a friend of the woman, she doesn’t really believe it at first. This celebrity talk-show hostess couldn’t possibly be her mother!
They gradually come to know one another---kind of like mixing oil and water---but April finds that her life is changing pleasantly, in subtle ways. She opens herself to a relationship with the school librarian and she even allows herself to make small changes in other aspects of her life. Closed off and detached from relationships as she has been, she finds that, even at the unlikely age of thirty-six, one can find love and family connections.
There are some predictable moments in this tale, like seeing a “talk-show reunion moment” played out, but the book leaves the reader with a warm, tingly glow.
September 5, 2015
A friend recommended this but I don't know why. While it had an interesting premise (36 year old schoolteacher raised by Holocaust survivors meets her crazy birth mother), it didn't work for me.
April Epner is a flat character. A smart woman with a masters degree in dead languages, she teaches at a Boston High School and has no goals or motivation. She's perfectly happy with her dull life which includes no hobbies, no interests of any kind, no boyfriends and no family beyond her brother, Fred, who she rarely sees. Then Bernice comes charging into her life, claiming to be her mother. Bernice has a talk show on TV, is larger than life and lies constantly. If she'd been amusing, this might have saved the story but Bernice came off as annoying and vulgar. They cast Bette Midler in the role of Bernice in the movie version which makes perfect sense and also makes me not want to see the film.
Anyway, April discovers that the 6 foot 5 inch giant in the library has had the hots for her for years despite never hinting that fact to her in a way which would let her understand it. They develop a relationship which Bernice wants to micromanage, and decide to get married.
The happy ending left me rolling my eyes and pleased that I could finally move onto something else.
Not recommended.
April Epner is a flat character. A smart woman with a masters degree in dead languages, she teaches at a Boston High School and has no goals or motivation. She's perfectly happy with her dull life which includes no hobbies, no interests of any kind, no boyfriends and no family beyond her brother, Fred, who she rarely sees. Then Bernice comes charging into her life, claiming to be her mother. Bernice has a talk show on TV, is larger than life and lies constantly. If she'd been amusing, this might have saved the story but Bernice came off as annoying and vulgar. They cast Bette Midler in the role of Bernice in the movie version which makes perfect sense and also makes me not want to see the film.
Anyway, April discovers that the 6 foot 5 inch giant in the library has had the hots for her for years despite never hinting that fact to her in a way which would let her understand it. They develop a relationship which Bernice wants to micromanage, and decide to get married.
The happy ending left me rolling my eyes and pleased that I could finally move onto something else.
Not recommended.
August 29, 2008
I was surprised that this book was so good and I can even say that Elinor Lipman is a bit of a discovery for me. The edition that I have is from one of my library booksale forays into the "oversize paperback" section (which evolved from the slightly higher brow "trade paperback" section, which I LOVED!) The cover art and blurb are chick-littish. I'm not a snob, but I'm not usually attracted by ultra-modern girly stuff. However, something about it seemed Bridget Jones-ey or Nanny Diary-ish to me, and I was right! (I later found out that there is a film of this movie, but the movie plot seems really over the top--the book is very real and funny at the same time.) Anyway, the mark of a good book for me is if I remember stuff about the plot and characters several weeks (or years) after reading it--and I do! Bravo, Elinor!
June 8, 2018
One of the first Elinor Lipman novels I read years ago, and the first book published by the author.
Very entertaining to listen to years later as an audiobook. A mid-thirties high school Latin teacher meets her somewhat narcissistic birth mother, the host of a local Boston morning talk show, a few years after her Holocaust survivor adoptive parents have passed away. Her skepticism leads her to the school library where a romance develops with the librarian, a charming, geeky man she'd never really noticed before.
This storyline may have played out differently if this decades old book were written now, with DNA testing and social media affecting some of the plot points. A charming story, (Dwight is one of my favorite fictional romantic heroes ever,) with humorous dialogue and the ability to tug at the heart strings, too.
Very entertaining to listen to years later as an audiobook. A mid-thirties high school Latin teacher meets her somewhat narcissistic birth mother, the host of a local Boston morning talk show, a few years after her Holocaust survivor adoptive parents have passed away. Her skepticism leads her to the school library where a romance develops with the librarian, a charming, geeky man she'd never really noticed before.
This storyline may have played out differently if this decades old book were written now, with DNA testing and social media affecting some of the plot points. A charming story, (Dwight is one of my favorite fictional romantic heroes ever,) with humorous dialogue and the ability to tug at the heart strings, too.
June 7, 2020
From my blog post in 2009:
Meh. When I saw the cover art on a new edition of this novel, I noticed it had been made into a movie, starring Bette Midler (Bernice) and Helen Hunt (April), with supporting roles going to Colin Firth and Matthew Broderick. Anxious to read the book before renting the dvd, I went home and found the copy I had picked up several years ago (probably after reading The Inn at Lake Devine). I should've have just rented the movie. The book was mediocre at best. Bernice's character was extremely annoying and the storyline dull and unmemorable. It's been almost a full month since I finished the book and I have only a vague recollection of what it was all about. This is definitely one to either borrow from the library or skip all together. However, I'm a big fan of Hunt and Firth and I still plan to see the film. How bad could it be?
Meh. When I saw the cover art on a new edition of this novel, I noticed it had been made into a movie, starring Bette Midler (Bernice) and Helen Hunt (April), with supporting roles going to Colin Firth and Matthew Broderick. Anxious to read the book before renting the dvd, I went home and found the copy I had picked up several years ago (probably after reading The Inn at Lake Devine). I should've have just rented the movie. The book was mediocre at best. Bernice's character was extremely annoying and the storyline dull and unmemorable. It's been almost a full month since I finished the book and I have only a vague recollection of what it was all about. This is definitely one to either borrow from the library or skip all together. However, I'm a big fan of Hunt and Firth and I still plan to see the film. How bad could it be?
June 9, 2008
I've enjoyed Elinor Lipman's books in the past, and picked this one up to read after seeing a trailer for the Helen Hunt/Bette Midler film. It became immediately apparent that, outside of the main characters, the film holds little resemblance to the book. (See Lipman's blog post on Amazon.com for the story of how the film came to be so different.) I enjoyed the book quite a bit, and although I couldn't get Midler out of my mind as Bernice G! - she really rings true to the character in the book.
While it's not great literature, I found the book very enjoyable. Lipman writes well, and draws believable characters. It would make a great Summer read, for those who like a little substance in their beach books.
While it's not great literature, I found the book very enjoyable. Lipman writes well, and draws believable characters. It would make a great Summer read, for those who like a little substance in their beach books.
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