The Trouble with Catherine

by Andes Hruby

Hurled into a dark and dismal premarital abyss teeming with engagement parties, boring business functions, and dress fittings, Catherine Lacey, a successful wholesale fish dealer, begins to question her beliefs on love, fidelity, and marriage, in a hilarious debut novel that navigates the tumultous landscape of modern love, sex, friendship, and womanhood. A first novel. Reprint.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be brief: this book was just kinda lame.

To give it the rant it deserves: It tries way too hard to be smart and quirky by making the protagonist an employee of a fishing business and having her fiancé’s proposal involve a pretentious little note, but with each "unique" characteristic and forced idiosyncrasy, the book fell deeper into your formulaic and uninspired style known as "chic lit" and illustrated just why that genre has such a bad rap. The book takes some unexpected turns (which really are more confusing than exciting or intriguing) and painfully (for me, not the character)ends with a "faint" promise of happily-ever-after once Mr. Perfect--whose reemergence you can predict from a mile away--fully enters the picture. Gag me.

[Zoe Right · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading an author with only one story published is akin to having a one night stand. Sometimes you have a fierce need, just a little something to get you through the night, so you settle. You choose, take it home, whirl around in the sheets for a couple of hours and the next morning, oh the next morning. Walking the sidewalk to work, coffee in hand remembering all the delicious details. You tell the girls gathered around your desk all about it, inwardly enjoying the looks of envy. The joy, peace, the sense the world is an absolutely lovely place full of wonder and charm.

But then you start to wonder...was it really that good. A few days pass. Life settles in once more.You know what would make this day just a little bit better...just a small hit of Aaron, Adam, Jason??? But you're stuck, after all it was just a one night stand..an aberration, a fluke. Never even got his number...

I first read The Trouble with Catherine almost seven years ago. -And do you want to know the trouble with Catherine- she is one of those characters that stays with you. Andes is one of those authors that stays with you. If you are like me...you'll remember her name-AFTER SEVEN YEARS- and look for something new in the bookstore every once in a while and find....well...nothing.

Bear with me...it has been seven years after all.

At 29, Catherine, a fiercely independent woman takes over her father's fish dealer business at New York City's Fulton Fish Market.(I'm not a native New Yorker but according to Google -this is a real place) Settling with fiancée Steve, a lawyer, Catharine is suddenly suffering from cold feet. Despite the fact Steve looks good on paper Catharine starts to wonder if she's marrying the wrong person.

Constantly struggling with her sense of self, Catherine isn't entirely sure where she fits in. The true charm in the story comes from watching Catharine figure it all out. Plus a supporting cast of family and friends truly make this story a hit.

So Andes please- get busy!

read more @www.zoereads.blogspot.com

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

While strongly reminiscent of Suzanne Finneman’s Otherwise Engaged, this novel diverges wildly in tone, trajectory and plot. Ms. Hruby’s heroine Catherine seems initially wild to get that engagement ring from her longtime partner Steve. But cracks are all too apparent right from the start. While Steve seems perfect—ticking off many of the boxes on Catherine’s mental checklist for the man of her dreams—it becomes apparent that he’s not the man for her.

This book touches on many of the subjects encountered by single women beset by the messages tacitly and orally bombarding them from their married and marrying friends. If you wait too long (past 30), your options shrink. Better to marry and divorce than wind up alone. Settle, if he makes you happy.

Catherin’s voice is that of an acerbic, talented, knowing, tough, independent, hard-working and capable lass. She tells Johnny what she wants out of sex; she decides she’s going to sleep with that hot young model because they both want it; she lets no one drive her cherry-red Mustang except herself (and the old man who sold it to her). You chuckle, applaud and secretly envy her strong-willed attitude.

But she’s not perfect either. When she suffers what reads like rape-sex with her fiancé, you flinch in horror. When she gives in to maudlin self-pity that she might, because of her defiance, wind up a dreaded spinster, you long to comfort her—or slap her.

Ms. Hruby makes Catherine achingly real and sympathetic, even as she casts away Mr. Perfect and settles into long days of work, mope, smoking and drinking.

Marriage, the prospect of marriage and multi-faced notions of love are ruthlessly explored. We come to realize once more that there are many reasons we may marry a particular individual and love may be all, part or none of the picture.

This novel is sobering, amusing, poignant and, above all, entertaining. We sense that Catherine will be all right and, by extension, so shall we.

[Shamsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Promising first book by Andes Hruby who has a great chance of becoming a successful chicklit author. Her book is fun and interesting as well as down to earth and realistic for the most part.
Catherine is a 29 year-old woman who is about to marry a great catch when she realizes they are not the right match, but she is almost 30 and all her friends are getting married. Will she be the last single lady standing?
On the other hand, she was raised by unconventional parents who taught her to be independent and told her she could be whatever she wanted to be. Would that buy her a ticket to happiness or would that cause her more problems to find her knight in a shining armor? Was her mother right to say she was looking for something that didn’t exist when she broke off her engagement ?
Well, the book is the journey Catherine takes from the depths of despair and heart break until she finds peace again.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

A “dime store” paperback that I bought because of the title. Easy, diversionary read. Seems dated as it took a long time to get to the main event and then a fast cliff to a trite ending. But with that said, it was a pleasant read on vacation.

[Claudette Christensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a “swing & a miss”. The plot was good but characters not well developed and too predictable. The ending was really a stretch. I did enjoy it overall but found my mind wandering too much.

[Chelsea Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick easy read, not very much to the story though.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the story of Catherine, a confused 29 year-old who isn't quite sure she wants to be engaged to be married anymore. I had pegged this book for a classic tale of the confused "bride-to-be" with pre-wedding jitters, and in the end everyone ends up happily ever after. I was happy to discover that this book was NOT telling that tale.

Some of the characters confused me a little - I think they could have been a little better developed. I think Catherine had too many friends whose lives we got little glimpses into but never fully understood their stories. The book could have been better with one or two close friends that we saw more of rather than trying to keep track of the many friends that we did meet.

By the end of the book the author did a good job of explaining Catherine's parents to the readers, and why she was the way she was. I thought Chelsea could have played a larger role.

Lastly, I thought the whole "Johnny" episode on the train was a little overkill. I understand the need to introduce that character into the story at that point, but maybe he could have been introduced in a different setting. That was a little over the top for me.

Overall, I did not love the book. I would read more by this author though - I think there is a lot of potential there.

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the authors style of writing. The way she told Catherine's story had me very invested in her life. I came to know her and like her, and I came to want to sit her down and lecture her for her poor choices in life. Catherine is a dichotomy. At once fiercely independent, and incredibly lonesome. Controlling to a fault, her world is sent spiralling out of control for awhile.
Catherine lived an unsupervised childhood on the docks helping her father in his fish business. Her family was always viewed as a little off, who ever heard of good Catholics CHOOSING to have only one child. And a mother who wears men's suits to dress up, being averse to dresses and skirts. It seems that Catherine was guided from an unguided childhood, to never need anyone, and yet she desperately wants to be able to be vulnerable. She feels compelled to push everyone away so she doesn't look weak, even as life brings her to her knees. She waffles back and forth between wanting to end her engagement to a man she feels she should want to marry, and though every bone in her body tells her its wrong, she stays and stays.....
I wrote more, but I inadvertantly erased it, and I don't feel like writing it again.
I like it, worth a read,
the end.

[Yessiwrites · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was originally just going to give the book three stars and move on - with no written review - but after reading the few reviews I decided to write something down.

The short of it: it was an incredibly fun read. I flipped through it tonight as a refresher, and had to will myself to stop reading.

The long of it: I read this book while still in high school, and yes it does have some escapist "chic-lit" aspects, but I still think that reading about Catherine's life was better for me as a feminism than I lot of other books I've read. I don't think the quirky aspects of the story (like Catherine's parents and her career) are forced, any more than any other unusual story elements in any other story are forced. As a vegetarian from Florida, I might not know much about the fish business (including if that's the right term for it), but if the author originally didn't either, it's obvious she researched it. Catherine's career wasn't just a quirk either, it actually added to the story and was a defining characteristic of her personality.

However, I agree that the ending left much to be desired. I still highly recommend this book; it's perfect for one night of non-stop reading.

[Julie High Horse Gregg · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a good book about the race that women of a certain age make to the altar. I was hoping for a bit more when it came to the ending. But reading about the history that people bring to a relationship made this book interesting.

[Heather Graber · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a fun book to read.

[Oguz · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK book. Was not really excited about it..

[Diana Hathaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it, couldn't put it down!

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't great, wasn't terrible...it just was. Not sorry I read it, but it left a lot to be desired.

[Rebekkila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first half of the book, I kind of emphasized with Catherine. The last half, not so much...

[Elizabeth]

More escapist chick lit. Where did I find this stuff?

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cute, light, chick-lit read. Like some other reviewers, I finished it in one day. The story is not too terribly complicated, and kept me reading along.