Emily and Einstein

by Linda Francis Lee

He was a man who didn’t deserve a second chance. But he needed one…

Emily and her husband Sandy Portman seemed to live a gracious if busy life in an old-world, Upper West Side apartment in the famous Dakota building.  But one night on the way to meet Emily, Sandy dies in a tragic accident.  The funeral isn't even over before Emily learns she is on the verge of being evicted from their apartment.  But worse than the possibility of losing her home, Emily is stunned when she discovers that her marriage was made up of lies. 

Suddenly Emily is forced on a journey to find out who her husband really was . . . all the while feeling that somehow he isn't really gone.  Angry, hurt, and sometimes betrayed by loving memories of the man she lost, Emily finds comfort in a scruffy dog named Einstein.  But is Einstein's seemingly odd determination that she save herself enough to make Emily confront her own past?  Can he help her find a future—even after she meets a new man? 

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Animals, Romance, Book Club, Dogs, Contemporary

356 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2010

About the author

Linda Francis Lee is a native Texan now calling New York City home. Linda's writing career began when her article "There Is No Finish Line" was published in her university's quarterly magazine. But she got sidetracked from writing when she started teaching probability and statistics. Later she found her way back to writing, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution called her breakout novel, Blue Waltz, "absolutely stunning."
Now Linda is the author of nineteen books that are published in sixteen countries around the world, in languages as diverse as Japanese and Russian. Two of her most recent novels are in development for feature films, and she is in the process of co-developing a television series set in her beloved Texas. Lee's next novel, her twentieth, is a large work of fiction about the redemption of a man, and will be released in 2011.
When Linda isn't writing, she loves to run in Central Park and spend time with her husband, family, and friends.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“In order to live a life truly worth living you had to have strength in the face of adversity, patience when confronted with challenge, and bravery in the face of fear.”

I wasn’t sure where this novel was going to take me as a reader when the first sentence in the book said…

“A week passed before I understood the enormity of my situation, a week before I realized I was dead.”

To find out more, readers will be taken into the lives of Sandy and his wife, Emily. Told in their POV.

It doesn’t take readers long to know that this story isn’t a typical one. We are immediately introduced to Einstein the dog, who has an impact on both Sandy and Emily’s lives. But if I told you how, it would completely spoil the story and journey that both voices take readers on.

This is a different kind of love story. As readers we experience second chances, finding oneself, individuality, love, grief and secrets.

How will these secrets affect our main protagonist’s journey?

And, for anyone who loves dogs, Einstein is truly special. Afterall, look at the book cover of cuteness.

This story may be predictable, but it is also an easy, feel-good read.

Kleenex might be handy.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first read the review I thought, no way - a jerk who dies and comes back as a dog in his wife's life? I am not a big dog lover so I didn't think this was for me. However, I have to say, I am loving it! I know it sounds a little far fetched, but you have to try it to understand that it really is a great book and very realistic, given the premise. Don't know how it will end, but with 100 pages left I will find out soon!
*******
I FINISHED IT!! Had to lock myself in the bathroom for the last 25 pages or so as my 3 year old would NOT stop talking to me!!!! I LOVED IT!! The ending was perfect and the epilogue really tied everything up so nicely - I love a good story! When I returned it at the library I had to find someone to give it to read as I could not stand the thought that it would not be enjoyed by someone else IMMEDIATELY! READ IT!! :)

[Jess ❈Harbinger of Blood-Soaked Rainbows❈ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read a book your mom loves.

This is going to be a strange non-review.

I have a lot on my heart and my mind that I'd like to share with you all, but I've been struggling with the platform with which to share it. I know I've written personal reviews on here before and its been therapeutic in getting out the things that I'm not really able to say out loud. I read this book over the summer and it stuck with me even though its not usually the type of book I read. It was weirdly reminiscent of my life at the time, and now that things have changed in my life, this story kind of haunts me. Due to things that have changed in my life over the past month, I kind of want to read it again with fresh eyes, but not sure how it would change the story for me. Since this is a book review, I'm going to do my best to make it a book review, but since this is also MY review space with which I can do and say what I want, it is also going to be the place where I tell you all whats been going on with me this year. It may get long and it will probably get emotional and it will get personal, and if any of those things bother you, then, well, stop reading here.

So I read this book because I still needed to read a book my mom loves for this challenge. And well, needless to say, my mom and I have completely opposite taste in books. So I grabbed this one thinking it was light and fluffy and I could read it in a day or two on vacation, and well, I did. But this book really wasn't light and fluffy.

Emily is a successful book editor for a small publishing house that has just been taken over by new management. Once mentored by a father-figure type character, she now finds herself amidst the sharks of the industry where manipulation and lies are the only way to get ahead. She's struggling to find her voice in the industry when late one night right before the holidays, her beloved husband Sandy is involved in a terrible accident and is killed. And suddenly Emily's whole world is completely turned upside down. And it shows that all it takes is one single second to change your entire life forever. Pay attention to that. It's a theme.

But what this book also is saying is that we are all in control of our own lives. We cannot make anyone do anything. The only people we have direct influence over are ourselves. And that's a fact. Emily takes in a stray dog she names Einstein, a dog that was also involved in the same accident Sandy was. And as the reader begins to glean, Einstein is way more involved in Emily's life than what she thinks. But when Emily discovers secrets that Sandy was keeping from her, her life begins to unravel. And these were BIG SECRETS. The kind of secrets that change your life. The kind of secrets a lot of people would prefer never to find out. Sandy was a lying, cheating, sociopathic, malicious scumbag of a piece of shit. And let's just leave it at that.

And because this is women's fiction and all about redemption and moving on, Emily finds a delicious hunka hunka man to rescue her broken heart. And this man, named Max is a great man, but one who is fighting his own demons. Ex-military, struggling with purpose and direction, struggling with decisions he had to make overseas and otherwise. And so these two broken souls connect and really do start to heal. And Emily begins to forgive Sandy for all the shit that he did.

So that's this book in a nutshell. And when I read it I got to the end and was pissed off. I thought that douchebag scumscrotum Sandy got off just a little bit too easily and it pissed me off. But this book wasn't all roses and puppies and chocolate covered unicorns. There was a lot of deeper stuff in this that I wasn't expecting, but nonetheless, I was pissed off by the author's choice for redemption. Maybe I was a bit too influenced by my own story. And here it is.

When I was in my mid-twenties, I became involved in a very abusive relationship that lasted five years. But the thing of it was, I didn't know that the relationship was abusive. I didn't figure that out for years. All of it was sugar-coated and manipulated to look normal for me, and so I never rocked the boat. I was brainwashed and manipulated for so long that I actually thought that it was normal to be told I was fat and lazy on the reg. That a twenty-something girl shouldn't have friends. That she should be told what to do every single day and that she should obey without question. And this was my life. I lived those five years in a cage that he built for me of solid gold. And it was so pretty that I never realized it was there. Until one day, I woke up and realized I had enough. And I left. But my partner still manipulated me. I opened the door of my cage, but never ventured outside. I didn't find a reason to because the loveliness of that solid gold cage still gave me the illusion that the cage didn't exist. And three years went by and I lived my life in that cage though I had been free. And then right before this past Christmas, three years after my partner and I had split up, I received a phone call. It was from his wife. It changed everything.

In one night I realized that every single thing I had thought my life had been for over 8 years was a lie. And so all of those realizations that Emily had about her husband, I had that night. The lies. The cheating. The web of people who had been involved. It was overwhelming to say the least. I hadn't even realized that he had gotten married (though since we had split three years before, not totally unexpected), but what I wasn't expecting was that she told me she was three months pregnant when we had split up. That for the last three years of our relationship, while he was living with me in our beautiful apartment we shared, he was also living part-time with her in a different state every time he "had to go out of town on business." The ways our lives had overlapped is not something I'm going to get into nitty gritty detail about here, but I will say that it was very difficult to come back from. And for a while after that phone call, I was pissed about her need to tell me any of this at all. I had moved on with my life. I was free. Or so I thought.

What that phone call did was make me recognize that solid gold cage I had been living in. I became very acutely aware of its presence. And these truths I had been told definitely did their part in helping me come to this realization, but the other half of that realization came to me in the form of my own solider who entered my life a few months before this happened. Just like Emily was helped to heal by Max, my marine helped me recognize the abuse that I had suffered for so many years, and with him I began to heal. I dubbed him my guardian angel, and not only did I fall in love with him, he became my best friend.

But unfortunately, my marine suffered many more demons that Max did in this book and due to societal pressures outside both of our control, we drifted apart. And that separation was extremely hard for me. I went down a really dark hole and did some stupid things. And one of those stupid things was get a DUI ten weeks before I graduated from nursing school.

I'm not going to talk more about that stupid decision because the only relevance that it bears is that it caused me a lot of grief after graduating. Right after I graduated, I received my dream job offer. An emergency room nurse in downtown Harrisburg working night shift. As an adrenaline junkie, that was exactly the type of job I was going for. I thought about how many peoples lives I could potentially save, how many I could change, and I couldn't wait to start. However, because I made one stupid decision one night, the state wouldn't give me a nursing license until I jumped through a lot of hoops. And it was during this time in my life when I read this book. I was pissed off because I felt like I couldn't catch a break. I was forced to wait for my job to start, I was forced away from the man I loved, and I had a lot of anger and resentment built up inside of me. I kept thinking of that phone call right before Christmas and it made me angry. And it affected the way I read this book. I wanted Sandy to pay just the way I wanted to make the people who hurt me pay. I kept thinking of how that one night changed my life and I was seriously butthurt about it.

Earlier in September, a couple things finally started looking up. I finally got cleared to take my nursing boards exam, I was released from probation, and my job was still mine. And my marine walked back into my life. I thought that finally everything I had been forced to wait for was going to finally become mine again.

Sometimes the sun comes out and tricks you right before the storm really hits. Or sometimes, you are so focused on one single ray of sunshine, that you fail to notice the rainclouds surrounding you.

On September 19 of this year, my marine was taken from me one final time. He had too many demons that he battled, and ones that I failed to see even though all the signs were there. I had been so focused on my own butthurt that I failed to notice how our separation had affected him. I had been so focused on my own pain that I didn't help him with his. And he died. Alone.

One moment can really change the rest of your life.

My test date was coming up only two weeks after his passing, and I was such a mess that I didn't know how I would be able to get through it. I tried to call the higher ups with my job to see if I could potentially push my start date just so that I could have time to process and grieve. And I was pretty much told that because he and I weren't married, it didn't count as a legitimate excuse to change the start date. So I told myself to buck up and study and perform well so I could move on with my life. And I did. I didn't go to his funeral. I didn't visit his grave. I didn't let myself be sad or mourn or grieve the way I needed to. And the day before my test I checked into my online account and found that the testing center had "lost" my reservation to take my test due to an internet error. I freaked out since I needed to take this test before I could start the job, and I was due to start the job the following Monday. After spending several hours on the phone with tech support, I found a test center with an opening for the following day a little further away from my home. So I booked a hotel room and traveled the night before, walked to my test the next morning and was told that their internet was down and that even though my registration had gone through, my test was not available. I was able to book for Saturday afternoon at yet another testing center, but knowing that my results needed to be in by Monday, I knew I had to contact my job and let them know. Hoping that they would work with me and push the start date, I told them what happened and knew that it was no fault of my own. What I wasn't expecting was for them to make me feel like the glitches were my fault and that I was making it up to avoid taking my test. They told me that if my scores were posted Monday before the job started I could come in and start a little later that day, but if the scores weren't posted, they might rescind my job offer.

Everything I thought I had three weeks before was gone. My life changed in a moment.

But remember what I said up there in the beginning of the review? That the only people we have the power to change are ourselves? The news that I'd lose my job was devastating. And so much pressure. And as I still hadn't properly grieved for the man I loved, my anxiety was causing serious bodily harm to me at this point. I was physically ill and not sleeping and not eating. I wasn't taking care of myself, and as I processed everything I realized that this isn't what my marine would have wanted for me. If he'd been alive he would have told me to tell them to fuck themselves and that if they wanted to let me go because of this than it was their loss. So I woke up the next morning and resigned from my dream job.

And the sun came out again. I'm not working in the field I thought I'd be at this point, but I am sleeping and eating and feeling better. I have amazing friends in real life and on here who have been so supportive. I have an amazing new house I'm moving into in three weeks. My life is far from roses and sunflowers at this point, but I also know that I'm going to be ok. I still cry more than I laugh right now, and still have days where its harder to get out of bed than others, but I also know deep down that life goes on, and I will get through this. I will figure out the job situation, and until I do, I will be a supremely kickass bartender. I decided not to look online the next day to see if my results were posted because I realized there was no point in knowing what would or could have been. (And then when I finally did check to see if they were posted and found my name with RN listed afterward, it made the moment that much sweeter!) There will not be a day that goes by that I will not miss my marine, nor will I ever forget every single thing that he did for me and made me feel. He will always be the man who took my hand and led me out of my solid gold prison and was there when I saw the sun for the first time in so long. And when I look back to one of the darkest and most challenging times of my life, his memory will always shine on like a crazy diamond.

And I'm not angry anymore. At my previous partner, his wife, or at any of the things that I cannot control. It's not worth it. Life is far too short to be angry or hurt or resentful or to carry all those burdens around with you. I never realized how heavy they were until I let them go. And it took surviving the worst year of my life for me to realize any of this. And so I urge all of my friends who may or may not read my words to live your lives as though they can change in an instant. Because they can. I know this wasn't really a book review, but I needed to get all this out and share my story. I know I have been absent from this site for the better part of this year, and now you all know why. I appreciate every single one of you. You all are my audience when I need one and I have enjoyed your online company more than you could know. A friend of mine told me this week that sometimes he looks for purpose in places where it may not be. That sometimes humans tend to dwell and get lost in places we were only ever meant to pass through. He shared with me the story of his sleeve tattoo which is a giant forest with an arrow in the center. He said to me, "when you shoot an arrow into the forest, sometimes it doesn't land anywhere." Those words have stuck with me through my own personal battle, and I'm hoping they will impart some wisdom on each one of you as well. Thank you for being my friends and for allowing me to share my words with you.

Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun
Shine on you crazy diamond
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky
Shine on you crazy diamond
You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom
Blown on the steel breeze
Come on you target for faraway laughter
Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon
Shine on you crazy diamond
Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light
Shine on you crazy diamond
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision
Rode on the steel breeze
Come on you raver, you seer of visions
Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine

[Susan (aka Just My Op) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. Sandy, Emily's selfish, rich, and unlikeable husband, get smooshed to death early in the book, the result of a little, ugly, old dog running into the street near him. The rather cranky Old Man gives him a chance to redeem himself by coming back as a dog, Einstein, and making up for his human shortcomings. Softhearted Emily adopts Einstein, thinking he is just an injured stray who needs a home.

Sandy is a really slow learner. Even as a dog, he is selfish and manipulative, and cares for pretty much nothing but getting his human body back. Emily is sweet and too good to be true but I couldn't help but like her anyway.

This is not a girl-and-her-dog story. Other than being trapped in a dog's body, there is nothing dog-like about Sandy/Einstein. It is a story about relations, regrets, and possible redemption wrapped up in a feel-good novel. I especially enjoyed the characterizations of Emily's free-spirited and irresponsible sister, Jordan, and of her cold and calculating mother-in-law, Althea. The author doesn't make them just stereotypes but shows us why they are the way they are. This is a fun read, great for entertainment but also with something deeper to take away if you care to.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me an advance copy of this book for review.

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

On his way to meet his wife for dinner and ask for a divorce, Alexander "Sandy" Portman is killed in a car accident. As penance for his snobby, rude, malicious and disdainful personality when he was alive, a higher power places Sandy in the body of a little ugly dog name Einstein. His mission: save his widowed wife, Emily, from herself. If he succeeds, he will get what he always wanted: he will be great. If he fails, he will fade away to nothing. But this task is complicated by the sudden entrance of his unruly and irresponsible sister-in-law, his determined mother trying to evict Emily from their apartment, her job as an editor jeopardized on more than one occasion, and the realization that she is living all his dreams that he never could accomplish. Can Sandy as Einstein overcome his selfish ways and help his grieving wife? Or will his stubborn and childish attitude keep him from seeing the truth? This is a journey into the life of two very different people as they discover who they really are in the wake of a tragedy.

I read this book fairly quickly. It started off a little slow at first then picked up pace and then slowed in the middle before finally finishing strong. Some of the story line and the characters were unrealistic but the story is entertaining nonetheless. I thought that it was a reasonable punishment for Sandy to be forced to help his wife. He had begun to dislike her and it seemed fitting that the very person that he directed much of his unprovoked anger toward, he had to help. Talk about karma. I liked how Sandy's self centered,I'm-STILL-in-charge-even-though-I'm-dead attitude stayed the same at the beginning. But then he has a few epiphanies about his situation that seemed really out of character. It would have made sense if they were gradual realizations. I also liked that Sandy/Einstein was a near perfect foil for Emily's character who was extremely kind and almost had an innocence about her. She is relentless and strong where Sandy was scared and weak. While he tried to hurt her, she lived to love him. She was brave in the face of Sandy's death where he denied it and mourned his new furry face. As for the ending, it wrapped up neatly although I'm not all convinced that Sandy would have done a complete one-eighty. Then again they say tragic events can by life altering. It would have been nice to see some more of Max, that sexy and sweet ex navy SEAL. All in all the story was really cute but lacked comic relief. There wasn't any suspense or action. It was a simple, quiet, easy read.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this Book through Goodreads First Reads.

I LOVED, LOVED LOVED this book. What took so long to read it is beyond me. Once I started reading I couldn't hardly wait until the next day to read it.
Now on to the book. The book was WONDERFUL. The dog was humorous and I laughed out loud a lot. Before Sandy became a dog he had made a lot of mistakes in his marriage to Emily. That was the sad part of the story.
The book is highly recommended to those that want humor in their life.
Sandy does learn a lesson while he's a dog and realizes the mistakes he had made with Emily. He was stubborn and set in his ways, angry, and a snob, might I say.
The end of the story when he learns his lesson.
I don't want to put in any spoilers so I will leave anything else unsaid.
I will end this review with saying I really loved and appreciated this book very much. I am greatly thankful that I won this book and yes. Yes, I will review all the books I win at "Goodreads". I do hope you will choose me to win more books, because I honestly will give reviews.
Thanks Linda Francis Lee and Goodreads for allowing me to read and enjoy this book.
I give this book Five stars. ***** :-)
By the way this book was a book I won through Goodreads. Thanks so much, Teresa

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got an ARC from the publisher. This book doesn't neatly fit into one category - it's not a full on romance, despite having some romantic interludes and it's not quite tragic because the male narrator is so pompous.

Sandy, who is killed in an accident while on the way to tell his wife that he wants a divorce, is given the chance to make things right. The catch is, he is allowed to do so in the form of an ugly dog named Einstein. I liked that he was an unlikeable character - Lee didn't have him undergo a complete 180 in a matter of minutes. He's bitter, egoistic, and manipulative even as a dog.

Emily is the downfall of this book. As a character, she's too perfect. Her life may be a mess, but she consistently responds to situations in valiant, dignified ways. Jordan is also an unbelievable character, who is more hippie caricature than anything.

The plot's a little hokey and the resolution feels rushed, but I did find it genuinely humorous at times. I can see some of my library patrons liking this much more than I did, so I'll be sure to recommend it when appropriate.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

For an irl book discussion group that I'm unlikely to attend... but the book looks cute enough anyway I'll give it a shot.

Ok done. Engaging enough that I read it one night. A bit more interesting than the couple of chick lit books that I've tried to read, but barely. Jordan stole the show by being slightly less predictable than the other characters. Lots to discuss - maybe I will try to make the meeting. But still, mostly a fairy tale, with an insta-love knight and everything. Implausible that Emily would be so very competent at work as a known problem-solver when Sandy met her, and unable to even talk to Victoria four years further into her career, even taking into account her grief. And Einstein is only smart for a dog; I really hoped he'd have something in common with his namesake.

The book also needed one more pass by an editor, or at least a proofreader. Sandy didn't feel badly about having his assistant choose Emily's Christmas gift. He didn't have defective fingertips. He felt bad. Or sad, regretful, sorry, or maybe confused, bemused, frustrated, or disappointed. Otoh, that was the only glaring error I noted, so in context of pop fiction these days, that's not bad....

[Book Concierge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alexander “Sandy” Portman dies in a tragic accident. He pleads with “the old man” to not let this happen, and so he comes back … as an old dog, which his widow, Emily, adopts and names Einstein. If Sandy is to get to a better place he – as Einstein – has to find a way to help Emily move on.

Interesting premise, mediocre execution. Much of the drama was over-the-top ridiculous, including the tortured memories and soul-searching. On the plus side, it was an entertaining and quick read. I was captured by the story and enjoyed it as a kind of break from more serious reading. A little cotton candy every once in a while, never hurt anyone.

[Josefina Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Çok beğendim kendi alanında oldukça iyi yazılmış ilginç bir roman beğeniyle okudum. Günlük okunacak eserlerden heryerde okuyabilirsiniz hoş bir anlatım işlenişi güzel.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect light read; different, a little quirky and emotionally satisfying. It’s an uplifting story of love and redemption and undoing wrongs. Linda Francis Lee’s writing style is witty and engaging. She pulls you in and takes you on a journey that effortlessly moves between fantasy and reality. Fantasy because Emily’s husband, killed in an accident returns as a dog, reality because the book does deal with the ups and downs of marriage, cheating husbands, a difficult mother-in-law and putting your life back together after losing a spouse. I particularly enjoyed watching Emily’s husband, whose roots stem from privilege come to terms with being a dog. I also found his transformation from self-centered and offensive to a person who accepts responsibility touching and satisfying. It’s also inspiring to witness Emily overcome her obstacles and move on with her life- a better, more satisfied woman. In short, a great book to pop in the beach bag. This book will appeal to those who enjoy a good story with emotional undercurrents.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me just say that if I had known what this book was really about, I would never have picked it up. I’m so glad I did. By turns, this book is lovely, poignant, humorous, and a cautionary tale, all at once. It is a book about letting go, starting over, finding strength within yourself, acceptance of loss while looking forward to a new chapter, and about regrets.
I loved it.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

As it says in the front inside cover “He was a man who didn’t deserve a second chance. But he needed one …” Yes, this is a book about second chances, in this case through reincarnation as a dog. Before you decide not to go any further the book does a good job of handling the subject of being given a second chance to do the right thing while throwing in a little romance (which would be expected from the author of The Devil in the Junior League and The Ex-Debutante besides other romance novels).

While there are many characters floating in and out of the book there are really only two main characters. The first one we meet is attractive, rich, charming but also shallow Sandy Portman who works in his father’s NYC law firm. He is from the very old and wealthy Vandermeer Regal Portman family which his mother, Althea Portman, will not let anyone forget. The other main character is 32-year old Emily, the first of two daughters of Lillian Barlow who was a long-ago renowned women’s militant. Sandy and Emily met five years ago and married against his mother’s objections. They moved into the old, large, expensive Portman-owned Dakota apartment (think John Lennon, Judy Garland, Leonard Bernstein, etc.). The first two years went well but then Sandy began to get “bored” with his marriage (as he did of many things) and he had a number of affairs.

We start the story with Sandy traveling in a snow storm to the Upper West Side Animal Clinic to meet Emily (a volunteer at the Clinic), take her to dinner and tell her he wants a divorce after four years of marriage. Getting out of the car he is killed by a sliding taxi that had swerved to miss a small ugly white dog. An old man/angel appears to guide a denying Sandy who just can’t accept all that is happening. Sandy gets the old man to agree to give him a second chance– and the next moment Sandy wakes up as an old small ugly white dog at the Animal Clinic recovering from terrible injuries. And it is Emily, still trying to adjust to her husband’s death, who comes to the dog’s rescue by paying for his medical bills and in the end adopting him and calling him Einstein.

There are several storylines that are entwined throughout the book. First is Emily trying desperately to hold onto the apartment that Althea Portman wants to take back (Sandy, of course, never did what he promised which was to put Emily on the deed). Another storyline involves Emily’s job at Caldecote Press as a senior editor. A book that Emily has been shepherding and believes will be well received (Ruth’s Intention) is “stolen” by Victoria Wentworth, another senior editor at Caldecote. And Tatiana Harriman, the new President of Caldecote Press, feels Emily isn’t stepping up to her job. The third storyline involves Emily’s 23-year old sister, Jordan. A carefree and “wild” Jordan has suddenly shown up on Emily’s doorstep proposing to write a book about their mother that would be titled “My Mother’s Daughter”. Of course this news has Emily trying to understand who their mother really was and how it affected them as they grew up. The last storyline has handsome, smart Max Reager, a 27-year old ex-Navy Seal living in his family’s Dakota apartment, becoming a possible romantic interest.

The chapters alternate between Sandy/Einstein and Emily as he reluctantly tries to assist Emily in saving the apartment, controlling Jordan and keeping her job. Emily’s chapters start with a quote from My Mother’s Daughter. Is this so we get to know Emily through her mother? While many of the characters are stock (Victoria and Althea are as evil as possible, Max is as perfect as possible, Jordan is as irresponsible as possible) the character of Sandy/Einstein comes across as more memorable – swaying between his normal shallowness while blaming everyone but himself for everything that happens, to truly wanting to help Emily save herself. As for Emily there are times she comes across as a bit too idealistic or naïve.

While many of the endings of the storylines become obvious to the reader long before the endings actually happen there are some wonderful surprises, and I do have to say even one storyline ending that I began to hope would not happen …

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily and Einstein
Linda Francis Lee
St. Martin’s Press
369 pages
Emily Barlow lived in the shadow of her feminist mother and against her mother’s beliefs gave love a try. She met and fell in love with handsome Sandy Portman who came complete with wealth and pedigree, then a tragic accident makes her life spiral toward devastation and pretty soon she’s questioning the choices she’s made.
Sandy Portman had it all, a wife who adored him a posh Central Park apartment, a job with his family’s firm, a family with prestige and the prosperity that came with it. He comes to find out through divine intervention that he is not all that he thinks, and he finds himself given another chance to make things right but little does he know that this chance will come with complications, complications that he may not be able to overcome.
Linda Francis Lee has this little story to tell, she tells it with humor, with pain and with intense feelings that her readers will experience all of plus a few more as they read this incredibly touching, amazingly thought provoking tale. She tells it with a narrative that mixes whimsy and prose and her plot gives her audience a very It’s A Wonderful Lifesque feel to it complete with angels and consequences. But it’s her characters that steal the show and they run the gamut from wickedness to pure of heart. Her protagonist Emily is a woman that any female can identify with from any walk of life because we’ve all at one time or another experienced a form of her pain. Her other star is Einstein, and what a star he is, you have this complex, complicated and huge personality stuffed inside this small wiry dog. And the magic starts the very first time the author relays the dog’s thoughts and words and how she got into that perspective is just one part of the mystique of this wonderful story. Her co-stars are a booklover’s dream team and they are portrayed in such a way as to really intimate them to you as a reader. It’s a love story on so many different levels, it’s a romance, it’s a coming of age again tale, it’s about new beginnings and restitution and about moving on and leaving the past behind. But most of all it’s about faith and it’s about hope.
I have to admit that this is my first read by Ms. Lee, but let me assure you it’s far from my last. If you love to be entertained but informed at the same time, if you love novels that give life lessons, or if you simply love a story that’s filled with remarkable characters and a plot that literally sings, then sink your teeth into this one. It’s a must read for all ages the only requirement is that you “believe”.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emily and Einstein was sort of a departure from the books I've been reading lately, mainly because of the element of magical realism which you'll see in an upcoming review is not really me. But as I mentioned, the cover absolutely drew me in, and I loved the dog on the cover who sort of reminds me of my dog, Lily. And the premise sounded interesting enough, so I picked it up. (Awesome job, whoever designed the cover!)

I've found some of the plot synopses online to be lacking and deceptively vague in the main elements of this novel, so don't think I'm spoiling anything! I promise this is literally the basic premise of the novel. Emily and her husband, Sandy, live at the Dakota, a prestigious building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Emily works as an editor for a publishing house and volunteers at an animal shelter after work. Sandy is successful in his work as a businessman. Unbeknownst to Emily, though, Sandy is the ultimate jerk of a husband who happens to be on his way to meet her to ask for a divorce. (Well, demand, really... Sandy's not the nicest guy). On his way there, Sandy dies in an accident. This is where the magical realism comes in, as Sandy is given a "second chance" to make things right with Emily by re-entering life as a dog. As it happens, a cute, loveable dog (see the cover).

What Sandy, now known as Einstein, is supposed to do to compensate for who he was as a human isn't really ever specified. But Emily and Einstein of course end up together. Einstein witnesses Emily's downward spiral as she grieves her husband while also having to put up with her elitist mother-in-law taking back the family apartment, evicting Emily in the process. As time moves on, Emily also starts learning that Sandy never was this great guy he made her believe he was. As if it's not hard enough to grieve the loss of her husband, Emily now has to deal with the loss of who she thought she knew and the accompanying betrayal.

Emily and Einstein turned out to be a cute and surprisingly thoughtful book that, despite some minor gripes, I really enjoyed. Let me tell you my gripes first..

I found some of the characters either inconsistent or unrealistic. In the beginning, Emily is this smart, almost powerhouse of a woman, who puts even the haughty Alexander Sandy Regal Portman at unease with her surety. Yet, she falls for a no-good guy and never sees through him which I felt like her character should have, at least eventually. Realistically, I suppose this type of thing does happen in real life all the time, but I just felt like the way her character was portrayed in the beginning she would have known better. And I don't feel like her insight as it relates to him improved at all even by the end. Another gripe, I could not STAND Sandy. I think by the end the reader is supposed to like him a little more or at least understand him, but I didn't see any genuine change happen with him. I think whatever change there was happened too last minute for me to believe it. It was so strange that I liked the thought of Einstein the dog, but hated Sandy's character which really was Einstein. One other gripe, there is a romantic interest in the story that I thought happened real suddenly. There lacked, for me, a natural progression. It was just all of a sudden they were acting like they fell in love and it didn't make sense to me.

But I did say I enjoyed this book. Overall the story was fun. The chapters alternate in narration from Emily to Einstein/Sandy and it is separated by font changes (this visual change really did help with the switch of characters in my mind). I liked reading about Emily's job in a publishing house and I bet most readers will enjoy that aspect and seeing her going through the process of buying a book, trying to market it, etc. And while this book wasn't replete with quotable moments, I did find a few relatable ones like the one below.

I don't remember exactly when books became my refuge, but it was in the pages of a world created out of thin air that I began to find pieces I recognized as myself. In books I found characters so real that they were more my friends than the children with whom I went to school. In the stories I loved, I found adults wiser than the ones who laughed and argued in my mother's living room. (pg. 132)

One of the topics that this book brought up was how we make people out to be who we think they are rather than seeing them for who they really are. It also made the point about how we define ourselves. Do we do so by our specific accomplishments or how we treat others? How happy we are with ourselves? There was a side storyline involving Emily's sister and mother that helped contribute to this topic, as did the storyline with Sandy's mother -- I really liked the outcome of that one.

So in all, Emily and Einstein was fun and thoughtful. Some of what I felt were discrepancies in the character development took from the reading, but the storyline overall and the thinking points made this book a good read.

Taken from my blog at www.takemeawayreading.com

[Bette Crosby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming and thoroughly enjoyable.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started “Emily and Einstein” I was a little apprehensive about reading a dog story. However, after I read the first chapter, I was hooked. This is a story about a marriage more than a story about a dog. It’s the story of a very self-absorbed rich man, Sandy, and a trusting, lovely girl, Emily, who has given her heart to him. They have only been married for four years. On the way to meet Emily for dinner, Sandy is killed in an accident. I thought that this would be the basis of the story, but I was wrong. Sandy actually was meeting Emily for dinner to tell her he was going to divorce her. Sandy is reincarnated as a little dog that Emily adopts from the shelter where she volunteers. His job as a dog is to help Emily recover and go on with life. Sandy is so clueless that it takes a while before he finds out what he is to do. He thinks that he will do his “doggy” job and turn back into a live person the way he was before. This book was interesting because if flipped back and forth…one chapter would be Einstein the dog talking and the next chapter would be Emily’s. I really liked this book; it’s a keeper!

http://imhookedonbooks.wordpress.com/...

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This quirky book was my F2F book club selection for this month. It was a fun book in some ways, it you had to suspend disbelief to go along with the premise. Sandy, a wealthy playboy falls in love with Emily, but like most things he starts, he tires of her and just before he is to meet her to ask for a divorce, he is killed in an automobile accident. The accident is caused by a scruffy little dog, who is injured, but someone takes him to the animal clinic where Emily volunteers. (The accident occurs in front of the clinic.) Sandy wakes to find he is now a dog. Emily is taken with the dog, whom she calls Einstein, and takes him home. Then follows one catastrophe after another for Emily. She comes close to losing her job, finds out she must vacate the lovely apartment that is part of Sandy's family trust. Einstein is visited by an old man who tells him he must redeem himself before he fades away. It is a fun read, and we had a lovely discussion, but all decided that the author seemed to go overboard, putting too many elements into the book. It is a cute love story.

[Xinh · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book thinking it would be a quirky little read. Woman loses husband, finds dog, and her and dog are companions through life after hubby.
I would've probably been okay with the whole "hubby becomes the dog" aspect of it, if the husband wasn't such an asshole character.

[Cari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normally I avoid books with dogs on the cover because I suffer from a touch of PTSD from Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows. I love dogs so much and my heart just seriously can't handle it very well; however, when I got to work the other day and found a copy of Emily & Einstein in my mailbox (thank you Barb!), I decided to toughen up and read what I was sure would be a heartfelt story. I'm so glad that I did, and I must say that I'm pretty proud that I kept it together until the last twenty pages or so, when the floodgates finally opened at the bittersweet (but mostly sweet) conclusion.

Dogs have the most beautiful selfless souls and such a monumental capacity for love and loyalty. This made it a little hard to wrap my head around the soul of a selfish, hateful man being placed inside of a dog, but I must say that it was a clever idea for a book. It felt a little like good old-fashioned karma at first, but eventually it seemed like a gift (not just to me, but to Sandy/Einstein as well). At times the book was laugh-out-loud hilarious (the scene where Einstein turns into a bit of a monster over Lucky Charms and ransacks Emily's kitchen) and at times it made me really sad, but there was really more to it than just a cute, heartwarming story.

Although maybe it wasn't a central theme of the book, Emily & Einstein examines the dynamics of mother-daughter relationships and what aspects of those relationships we carry with us into adulthood. In the book, Emily and her wild younger sister work on writing a memoir about their strong, feminist mother. There are some really poignant excerpts from the memoir included at the beginning of each chapter. I thought this was an excellent addition to the book and looked forward to them at each chapter's end.

Despite the added storyline of Emily's relationship with her sister, reflections about her mother, and a blooming attraction to an ex-Navy SEAL living in her building, the main focus is definitely marriage. When Emily's husband Sandy is killed in an accident while walking home in the snow, he is essentially reincarnated as an old street dog, whom Emily names Einstein. Through the eyes of Einstein, Sandy is able to examine his marriage to Emily and reflect on what happened to his love for her. As Einstein, he finally learns what it means to really love someone and want what is best for them.

In conclusion, Emily & Einstein will make you think about your own relationships... It will also inspire you to love more selflessly and fearlessly...
Warning: Side effects may include an urge to take up running (I thought about it for like a minute) or possibly a strong desire to adopt a shelter dog. Read at your own risk.
☆☆☆☆

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally -- a book for any woman married to a dog of a two-timing husband who just wishes he would turn into ... uh, well ... a dog! Emily is a young widow in New York City who discovers in quick succession that a) she is about to lose her apartment in the famed Dakota building (of John Lennon fame), in part because b) her late husband was a scum-bag, a fact she unfortunately discovers too late, and c)the scruffy pet dog she adopted upon the death of her husband has, at times, surprisingly human characteristics -- often much like those of her late husband. Hmmmm . . . .

I enjoyed this story greatly. It was impossible not to cheer for Emily as she slowly but surely puts her life back together, and I couldn't help but smile at Einstein, too. Though initially a selfish mutt, he eventually earns his stripes (er, tags?) by helping Emily become the happier, more authentic person she longs to be. (Apparently, experiencing the transmigration of one's soul is a great motivator for change!) So, Goodreads friends, another 3.5 star book for me!

[Rachel Bhattacharyya · Rating 5 out of 5]

For some readers, this book might be a cute story - for me it represented so much more. First, I think the characters are so believable - yes, I know there is a huge dose of fantasy regarding a human soul within a dog who needs to redeem himself. Second, each of the characters plays an iconic role and represents the different struggles we all face in our journey to become happy and fulfilled. I thought the juxtaposition of each main character's childhood with their adulthood is done in the correct dosages. Third, I love the fact that reading is portrayed as a strong influence in who we are and who we become - what a lovely, subtle theme. Fourth, we witness - through the story's characters - the varied baggage that we all carry - no matter if we are strong, weak, assured, resentful, fearful - whatever. But, it also shows that none of us has to carry that baggage throughout our lives - even if we are reluctant to put it down. It is a story of regret, hope, honor, honesty, fear, courage, acceptance, and love.

[Tara Chevrestt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once upon a time, there was a woman named Emily. She was naive. She met Sandy and fell in love and married him and never realized.. or I should say she refused to see what was in front of her.. that Sandy was a bad husband and a horrible person.

Sandy didn't even realize this about himself... until he was dead. Upon his death, Sandy strikes a deal with the "grim reaper" of sorts. The deal is: he gets a second chance, but under the Grim Reaper's terms. The grim reaper's terms: Sandy must fix things from the body of a dog. As the Grim Reaper so bluntly states: Sandy was a dog as a man. Things are just being reversed...

To read full review, please click on the link: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2011/...

[raccoon reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, it seems I'm in the minority with this book.

Looking over the Goodreads reviews at this point is bit disturbing. So many people love this book that I'm having a hard time writing a review. But here goes.
The bad:
Emily is an unbelievable character. She is too perfect, too innocent, too naive to be believable. You want to throttle her and shake her. Her wanting to keep the Dakota apartment is ridiculously illogical to the point of annoyance. She can't afford it. Period. Her quest for proof of Sandy's promise is boring and drug out to the point of annoyance also.
Sandy is so incredibly over the top obnoxious, mean, nasty, self righteous piece of shit character that you can't believe either. While his egotistical self worship did not lead him to be to bad as a human (other than taking advantage of his wife and sleeping around) his behavior as a dog (destroying objects, trying to kill himself, sabotaging his wife at almost every turn) is mean and super nasty. He is so unlikeable that it is hard to care at all about any of the story.
Jordan is a piece of shit character too. I'm sorry, but anyone that selfish and incredibly stupid needs to be shot on sight. They don't deserve to live. And Emily's ability to just "Oh Jordan" and sigh and hug her sister was completely unebelievable. Anyone that f'ing spoiled at that age needs to be disowned by her family. Jordon takes, and uses, people and their money with no regard at all for how she hurts and ruins people. She's vicious with her words and actions to the point of making me disgusted with the audiobook and wanting to turn it off. The things she said to her sister! And the next day (or next minute) they'd be like "oh no, I'm sorry" and cry and hug. WTF? Does this author have siblings? If I had a "Jordan" in my life I'd be asking "how long are you planning to stay" too, and making "no, I can't lend you money" a permanent part of my vocabulary as well. I think her dad and stepmom are probably the most normal characters in the book. And don't get me started on Max. You'd think he'd be the one good character but come on. He just continues to wait and wait and wait on Emily who hardly gives him the time of day for apparently the better part of a year. She continually avoids him, but he keeps coming back for her without even so much of an explanation being written about it or given to poor Max. Really? People are out there like that? No, there aren't. That's why this book fails on so many levels. A writer must be more than able to spin pretty words together. They must understand the human spirit and explain well the motivations of people in ways that are not shallow. It must be ways that are true.

But, with all the people who loved this book though I can't help but wonder. How can I see this book so drastically differently than so many other people. How I can think it sucks (correction: characters suck) so much while they love it?

Lastly, the grand reveal at the end where the author tries to tie up everyones motivations, and hidden agendas (Sandy was trying to punish her while he was married? But he never really realized it while he was alive? Really? Wtf? Jesus) failed miserably in my opinion.

Now the good: There's good you say? Yes, there is. The writer is obviously incredibly talented. Despite how unbelievable the characters were the writing was fabulous. Because of this I teared up several times in the book, only to have a half a disc later moment of "Sandy is such a piece of work that I just wish he'd shut up or an editor would point out to her that the characters are badly written." But the words of what she was writing still stirred emotion. What? I don't know how this was managed. But her writing flows so nicely, the words just tumble out like desserts and I love them. I love her descriptions. I hate her characters.

Oh, and I also like the readers of the audiobook.

Now the confused: On my audiobook from the library there is a very cute teeny tiny puppy on the cover sitting by a woman (no head, shown from the waste down) on a park bench. The dog is super cute and young. But they make a HUGE HUGE Deal about how old and ugly the dog is all through the book. And the dog of course dies at the end from "old age" and that's a big deal too. But on all the covers there's a cute scruffy younger looking dog as far as I can tell. My cover version the dog is easily only 3 months old. Really? Sigh. I hate these inconsistencies. It makes me not trust the author, the publisher, the marketing team behind the decisions. Do you think we are so stupid or something that you feel you can put a picture that doesn't match the book and we won't notice? Or do you think we are more likely to buy a book with the cute puppy on it then the scruffy looking elderly dog. Either way- I don't like it.

Also, ALL through the audiobook the female reader "repeats" lines. Obviously no one cared enough about the book to listen to the audiobook before selling it as the official version or they would have caught these repeats and retakes. There were tons of them. So sad.

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

For when you just need a feel good book...

[Katie(babs) · Rating 1 out of 5]

The reason Emily and Einstein caught my eye is because I’ve enjoyed Linda Francis Lee’s books in the past and the cover has a dog on it. Also the idea of one of the characters finding redemption and being reincarnated in a dog to right the wrongs he’s done to his faithful and loving wife has great appeal. I thought this would be a tender reflection from the male protagonist with great character study and a bit of a romance. But this book fails for me because I couldn’t stand the two main characters. They have nothing to recommend for themselves. Emily and Einstein is somewhat cruel in its telling and has a major lack of heart I was hoping for.

Sandy Portman is ready to tell his wife, Emily he wants a divorce. Before he can, he’s hit by a car and dies. He wants a second chance because he feels he still has a life worth living. He’s given this second chance by his soul being placed into a stray dog. Coincidentally, his widow adopts him and names him Einstein. Sandy can’t believe he’s in this mongrel and must witness Emily’s breakdown he’s responsible for. She finds out how deceitful he was by cheating on her throughout their marriage, leaving her to be a victim to his mother who never liked her to begin with and wanting to take away the home Emily created that Sandy never put in her name in his will. Now Emily may end up homeless and lose her job. But then a hunky neighbor appears suddenly to lend support and is the total opposite of Sandy in every way. Sandy has to figure out how to help Emily find joy in her life again and forgive him before he can move on himself.

It’s such a shame Linda couldn’t have created better characters with Sandy and Emily. Sandy is horrible, plain and simple. He’s selfish, egotistical and he doesn’t change at all during the course of the story, even as Einstein the dog. (He may have, but I decided not to finish the book). Emily isn’t much better. I understand her hurt and depression because of what Sandy has done to her, but her actions have left much to be desired. I feel when someone loses their partner due to death, they should have a mourning period before they move on and date or attach themselves to the next person they want sexually. Emily ends up making out with the hunky, blue collar neighbor soon after Sandy’s death. Now I know she’s in pain from finding out what a jerk Sandy was, but climbing all over your neighbor for some sort of comfort doesn’t garner my sympathy.

And why did Linda have to make all the other characters as cold and calculating individuals? Just to make Emily suffer more for the sole purpose to find the inner strength to rise above her problems? Making caricatures of these characters, who I expected to twirl their mustaches and throw Emily under a train turned me completely off. With enough books written, you’d think this one would be a winner from Linda. It wasn’t, and Emily and Einstein was a big disappointment that left me unable to finish.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I don't remember exactly when books became my refuge, but it was in the pages of a world created out of thin air that I began to find pieces I recognized as myself."

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - He sure didn't deserve a second chance....
I'm a little scared for the rating for this book. I think sometimes people have trouble keeping certain parts and feelings about a book or its characters separate.
Sandy is a characters that's beyond easy to hate. And I mean passionately. That fact is going to color this book for a lot of people even though it maybe shouldn't.
I can hate a character and not hate a story. Actually, in some ways, in some books, it makes it better. It makes you think, it makes you feel passionately.
The amount of back and forth (I trust that readers of the book will understand what I mean) that the author put into this staggering.
I can honestly say this isn't a book I'd have picked up on my own. I can't really say why. The cover would have drawn me, I know that. The description itself is engaging. I just wouldn't have taken the chance on it. Yet another book to thank GR (FR) for.
I don't think I've ever had a book be so hard to review without leaving a spoiler. This probably isn't what you think. It was so far from what I thought that I reread the description a chapter or two in. But I can't complain - it works. It works well.
There are going to be people so uncomfortable with the thought of some of this that they'll hate the book. And that's a shame but nothing can be done about that. While I'm not exactly the type of person who does "believe" in some of these same things I can open my mind enough to enjoy it... and wonder. You never know...
If this authors other books are anything like this she has a lifelong fan in me. I think I'm going to get my hands on The Ex-Debutante next. If anyone has any suggestions for her other books I'mm very open to hearing them.
If there are any FirstReaders waiting on this - reconsider.

[Kelsie · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, thank you to Goodreads/First Reads for providing me with a copy of Emily and Einstein by Linda Francis Lee.

The story is about Sandy, a man who is killed on his way to tell his wife Emily that he wants a divorce. Sandy is an arrogant, selfish man who unsurprisingly couldn't stay faithful to his wife after he charmed her into marriage. But instead of dying away, he is turned into Einstein, a little ragged dog, that has been given the mission of helping his wife get her life back on track.

I know what you are thinking: seriously? I was expecting this book to be realistic fiction too. But after accepting this one fantasy element, know that everything else is believable. That being said though, the whole "man trapped in dog's body" is pretty silly.

The story alternates between Emily and Einstein's perspectives. Einstein rotates between trying to help his wife better herself to trying to sabotage her plans because he is jealous that he doesn't get to have human experiences anymore. During those times, I couldn't help but feel bad for Emily because her character is so endearing. Naive at times, yes, but I could also look up to her fight of discovering who she was.

One of the complaints I had with this book was Lee's style. Sometimes I felt like her sentences were choppy. I noticed this several times in the beginning sections of the book.

It was a quirky read that was just okay for me.

[Emily-Jane Orford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sandy is a self-centred, poor-little-rich boy, who can't seem to find his purpose in life. Then, a tragic accident shatters his life, ending it. Or, does it? He finds himself, sort of, in the body of the little white dog who caused the accident. This very same dog attracts the attention and the love of Sandy's wife, Emily, the very wife he had planned to divorce, the wife he claimed to love; but couldn't resist the temptation to cheat. Emily is a book editor, who is enamoured with the lives of great people. She adopts the little dog and names him Einstein. She seems to recognize his greatness, and, as the story progresses, she seems to recognize something else in this little white dog. He leads her to accepting her husband's untimely demise, to recover from the reality of his infidelity, and to recognize and appreciate herself for what she really is: someone truly great. Isn't this the reality of life, that all human beings are potentially great, they just have to believe it and pursue this greatness to achieve it. This story is told from two perspectives: Sandy's (a.k.a. Einstein) and Emily's. It is a story of starting over, trying to get things right, setting a goal and working towards it, achieving a sense of satisfaction from the effort and a feeling of greatness from its success. Well done! An excellent read! Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford, award winning author of "The Whistling Bishop".