Back in the Game

by Holly Chamberlin

Nobody said life was fair. That love was forever. Or that getting back in the game would be easy. Then again, nobody said they had to play by the rules, either...

Jess Marlowe doesn't know why she suddenly stopped loving her husband, Matt. According to her mom, it's because of Jess's inability to stick with anything, from ballet in the third grade to Bart, the "nice young man" she dated in college. Trust her mom to forget that Jess was bullied at ballet and that Bart could have earned a degree in crazy.

So now Jess's marriage is over but it feels like life is just beginning, if she can navigate this terrifying, thrilling, newly single existence that includes dates with two-timing colleagues, a divorce "support" group that offers anything but, and a whole new way of thinking about love, lust and everything in between. And the greatest surprise of all comes in discovering what she really wants from a future that's wide open-and utterly unpredictable...

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Book Club, Fiction, Contemporary, Friendship

Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

About the author

Holly Chamberlin is a native New Yorker, but she now lives in Portland, Maine - the aftermath of stumbling across Mr. Right at the one moment she wasn't watching the terrain. She's been writing and editing - poetry, children's fantasies, a romance novel or two, among many other genres and projects - her entire life. She has two cats, Betty and Cyrus, and when she's not writing her hobbies include reading, shopping, and cocktails at six.

Reviews

[Charlaralotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another find in the hotel lobby in Rome.

Deathly fluffy. No concern whatsoever for characters. Really no concern for what character happened to be narrating at the moment. Quite superficial. Whole book would have been much better if it'd focused on the one messy divorcee of the lot. Decline and fall of Laura's mental state is a good story, but gets shelved amidst the drivel of other examples of divorced women.

[Alicia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to admit that I skipped around in this book. The chapters weren't long enough to really "get" the characters so I ended up jumping around and reading the chapters of Jess and Laura, the only characters I found interesting. Still Jess wasn't really interesting and Laura was just crazy and her whole storyline was surreal and rushed. Overall, not something I would recommend. A pretty quick read.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is my second Holly Chamberlin book and will defiantely by my last. I didn't finish the first one and I am sorry that I finished this one. Her characters are horrible and the book is high on fluff and low on substance.

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was comparable to 'The Friends We Keep". I really shouldn't read her earlier books as I feel that there is something missing in them. The chapter headings detract from the story and luckily she doesn't use them in her later books.

[Cara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book because it looked like a fluffy treat/beach book. It certainly is that, but it takes it a little too far.

It's about four women living parallel lives and supporting each other as friends. I like books based on this structure. But that's about as far as it goes. The women are whiny and not very interesting, although they do improve some as the book goes on. The view of the world presented by this book is simplistic, and a lot of it is drawn in crayon. Tiresome. It kind of reminded me of the Babysitter's Club books.

The worst failing of this book is not the limp writing, though, it's the lack of personality and distinguishing voice between the four women. The narrative is passed around between them, and if you open the book at random, you really can't tell who's talking unless it's the dumb one. She's a completely pathetic caricature; the others are just meh. To me, the fun of stories with a cluster of main characters like this is to see how they interact with life and their different world views as they bump up against various situations. But these women really could have been just one character. Even the dumb one could be part of the same person--don't we all have a dumb part?

The only person who really came to life for me was Simon, the ex of one of the four main characters. He was a caricature, too, but so very familiar! I actually thought I had already read this book because I was sure he'd break into her apartment or some dumb thing later. I know I've seen him before. I wonder if I've read one of this chick's other books and she reused this character, or if he's lifted from something else. The user/bum artist ex who keeps coming back for sex and bailout money isn't that rare, I guess, but this particular one felt like deja vu.

Also, a lot of the jokes in the book come from the women's misadventures with dating in middle age. Dude, seriously?! I have so little patience for this. Be alone, heal, and get happy with yourselves, ladies. Nothing will work until you do that. Maybe try having friends besides the same three other whiners who are identical to yourself. Certainly don't desperately throw yourselves into the fray because you think you're useless without a guy. Ugh.

If popular culture is any indication, dating is the stupidest way to find someone ever invented.

...

Almost forgot this quote:

"'Just remember: Forever is relative. What one person sees as three years can feel like a lifetime to another.'
--Did I Say Forever? Reinterpreting the Marriage Vows"

lol! I guess it's not just me then!

[Wes A · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like to read chick lit from time to time especially to help jumpstart a reading kick if I'm in a lull. But this book to me was no light, enjoyable or a fast read. I have no idea why the author included the character of Laura who everyone seemed to dislike. In what world would someone you dislike continue to be invited to dinner with a close group of friends when she had nothing to offer the group? It seemed like an unnecessary character addition and frankly makes me wonder if the author was trying to model this group around the Sex and the City group of four friends. Skip this book!

[Kathleen C. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was in need of something to read on the bus ride back to Fukui from Tokyo. This book caught my eye in Kinokuniya. I got really involved in each of the character's lives but in the end I felt like there was nothing really there. Four characters just talking about their life and their friends' lives.

The whole book is about getting back into the dating scene after a divorce.

I'm not married, never been married...this book made me seriously dislike the whole idea of marriage. ;p

[Deb Cornell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chamberlin's characters won me over. I was apprehensive when I picked up this title, worried that a plot featuring four friends going through divorces would be too maudlin to enjoy. Like each relationship is unique, so too is each of the divorces. Chamberlin has crafted a story in which the divorcees do not become stereotypes, but instead allows us to sit front row watching their circumspection and evolution. Chamberlin is definitely growing as a writer.

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

I read this right after reading "The Beach Quilt" (which I loved) and I was really disappointed in this book!
It's about 4 women all going through divorce. Let's pause there. A group of 4 friends who all happen to be going through divorces at the exact same time? Seems unbelievable. Maybe if she would've had them meet because of the divorces or something, but 2 are sisters and the 4some was friends before.
Nell's husband, Richard, comes out that he's gay. Nell's little sister, Laura, left her husband because he never wanted kids. Grace's artist husband, Simon, was a user and a mooch. And finally, Jess cheated on her husband Matt.
Like Chamberlin's other books, this one is short chapters and multiple perspectives which I love. At the beginning of every "chapter" there is a quote from a book on divorce. I thought the quotes were stupid and made divorce into a joke. And then at the end she threw in scripture. What!? There's no mention of these people being religious, in fact it's superficiality and manipulation that is in the rest of the chapter beginnings.
The women's stories just go on as they go through their divorce and move on. Nell ends up finding a new man and going to Richard's wedding to his boyfriend. Laura ends up marrying Jess' ex-husband (really-- out of everyone in the world. And Jess was fine with it!) and they have twins, but one dies and their life is just hell. They married to give each other kids, not because they loved each other, and it backfired. Grace marries a studio owner and finally breaks ties with her moochy ex. Jess stays single and is happy.
This book was entertaining and I love women's fiction, but I don't think I'd necessarily recommend this book. I didn't identify with any of the characters, I thought the plot was unrealistic, and I thought divorce was somewhat trivialized.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about women who go through divorces for different reasons. They meet and talk about what is going on in their life. They are indeed embracing that they are "back in the game." So will they ever get a real chance at a second love? I tend to jump around in this book. When I wanted to know what was happening next with one character, I would find that chapter instead of going on with the next character. I had mixed emotions with it as well. For example, when I was reading about Laura I would get irritated because she took everything for granted. Whereas, when reading about Nell, I would feel sorry for her and wish that no one had to go through that alone. Overall, I had a hard time relating to this because mainly because I am only sixteen so I have no personal experience with what the characters are going through. However, this was a good book, it was entertaining, and kept me interested.

[veoneo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about four women, who are friends, and their experiences with divorce in their 40s. I liked the storylines that progressed, but one of the stories that did not stand out much was that of Nell and Richard. I found it repetitive and insipid. I would skim over the chapters where the author droned on and on about Richard being gay and the feelings that were stirred up in Nell. Let's move on from that. I get it. Her feelings were hurt and how could she be so stupid? Laura's story was a bit sad in the end, but at least everyone else got a happy ending.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this book is about four women who are all going through divorces for one reason or another. There is some funny banter throughout but I feel like it didn’t need to be as long as it was. I also really found Laura annoying after the first half of the book as she was making terrible decisions that just didn’t make any sense. The book flips through each of the main characters which I did like. Overall it’s an ok book.

[Darlene Zelmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s not in my nature, but i wanted to walk away from this book nearly from the beginning. I have read and loved other books by the author, so hung in there till the end. It never got any better. The book centers around 4 women going through life after divorce. She hit all the cliches, but I never cared about any of the characters.

[Barbara Wilde · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. I had to make a cheat sheet with the names of the ladies and their predicaments, the way the chapters are arranged. It started off kinda interesting, but deteriorated by the middle of the book. So much so, that I had to abandon it. The plots of each woman got boring, repetitive and almost predictable.

[Debbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I very rarely give up on a book before reading it completely, but 300 pages in I decided to no longer waste my time on this one. Vapid, unlikable, boring, self-centered characters are bad enough, but there was virtually no plot and nothing interesting about it at all.

[Cathie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished reading it but could have stopped at any time. Just not enough storyline to sink my teeth into.

[Martine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75/5

[Neslihan Damiani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wanted a quick summer read and it was quick since I skipped a few pages towards the end.

[Nancy Miguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not a fan of the Laura character. And her story didn’t really end...just kind of let you down. Which is kind of how I felt about the character.

[Annette VanDyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy reading for the beach!

[Dr. Aditi Kapoor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reread but loved it and couldn't stop reading. Quotes were too long though and the end could have been wrapped better, at least in the eyes of this reader.

[Marti]

Sad and not very deep. Now it's off my shelf.

[Cindy Kanode · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. 4 friends all divorcing for various reasons support each other through the divorce and future dating. Some of the characters I did not like or respect. It was an easy read.

[Natasha Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't get into it. Didn't connect with the characters

[Cecile Paddle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Painful. Just a painful story to plough through about unlikeable stupid people!

[Tammy Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

July 2013

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, light hearted read. Very pleasant and apropos for my current life events!

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

On some levels, this could double as a novel and a self-help book. It was like a long essay about putting your life back on track after divorce, but written very creatively to read like a story as well.
As I have never been divorced nor married before, those areas are really very foreign to me. Of course I witness how my parents' marriage went, as well as those of my other relatives but I really don't have a firsthand account of what happens between man and wife. Coming from a predominantly Christian country where divorce is illegal and frowned upon, I admit that the mention of it at times make me uncomfortable but not because my mind is closed to that idea, but because I think that it's a very sensitive topic to talk about. Which is not to say that marital breakups do not occur - I myself have an aunt and uncle who separated 10 years after their marriage because the husband had an affair. But I digress...

I liked the concept of this book. I thought it was supposed to be just about Jess and picking up the pieces of her life after her divorce - it turns out it's about four divorced friends: Jess and her supposed 'inability to stick with anything' according to her mother; Nell who found out her husband of 20 years had been having an affair - with a man; Laura who wanted to find a man who's willing to give her a baby; and Grace who left her artist husband after he had an affair but continued to be at his beck and call financially and emotionally. I was excited to read about the lives of these four women and how they would deal. I also felt that this would be sort of a 'pro-women' novel.

Unfortunately for me, things did not play out as I thought they would. I barely read much about Jess considering that she's the one featured on the book's blurb you'd think that she would be the main focus. Her story seemed uninspired and incomplete, as if the author suddenly ran out of ideas for executing a good plot for Jess. She did learn a lot throughout the book and was able to get past her confusion and guilt after her divorce but it would have been better if her 'inability to stick with anything' had been explored more and her relationship with her mother given a better resolution. Her mother sounded too much like a villain, too unsupportive and dismissive of her daughter's efforts to have a better perspective of her life. I cannot imagine having a mother like this but what do I know? Maybe there indeed exists a woman like that. Reading the whole book, I think the one who had it best was Grace, her story was very well-played out and hers was actually the one that had the most action, the most significant changes. Grace could have a novel of her own, come to that. Nell sounded too one-dimensional and her side of the book fell a bit too flat and unrealistic. Laura's on the other hand, sounded the most outrageous although it was all balanced in the end. I somehow doubt the authenticity of her character but who am I to say such things? Laura was very impractical, impulsive, judgmental and self-righteous to the point of forcing the reader to question how the other women could stand being her friend. Although her character seemed to be the source for comic relief and the one who says things other characters won't be caught dead saying, it just seems unrealistic. However, the treatment of her character was very effective - not just once did I find myself shaking my head in disbelief at the things she said and did. It was like Laura's character was created so that we could have a literary 'punching bag' while reading this book.

When I previously mentioned this book sounding like a long essay, I was not kidding. The book was mostly dialogue about divorce, forgiving yourself, forgiving your partner, opening up to new possibilities, etc. I sometimes wondered if this book was misplaced at the bookstore - instead of being placed at Self-Help it was mistakenly piled up at Fiction. I don't mind reading about those things this book talked about, but I think it would have been better if those lessons that the author wanted the readers to learn were not just presented through character conversations but were used to play up the story. Instead of preaching, practice; instead of speaking, storytelling.

I really wanted to like this book and I thought this was going to be one of those that I could share with my mother - we love sharing books and talking about it afterward - but I don't think this is ever going to make it to my mother's reading list.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

BACK IN THE GAME Holly Chamberlin
I enjoy reading Holly's works and this is another good one.
Starts out with alternating chapters of four women who are getting or going through a divorce.
They share their triumphs and days of misery with each other and some even find online or group sessions to help them over the problems that arise.
Also at the beginning of every chapter are tips or quotes from other publications about divorce.
One man turned gay, another had his wife cheat on him, another wants a baby and he doesn't and another has found his own true love.
Their life's go through the dating scene again and what they find and how they cope with it all.
I did find with the very short alternating chapters (some are long chapters) it was hard to follow each of them and keep them straight as to who was who.
Love the locale and descriptions of the Boston area...
References to Sex and The City are made and you can see the connection. Love how it all ends up where everything is tied together in harmony.
Excerpts of The Summer Everything Changed is included at the end of the book.
I received this book from The Kennsington Books in exchange for my honest review.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Four friends, four divorces, four interwoven stories -- I could remember two women (plumpish must-have-a-baby one and the one married to a big-baby artist). The other two (one cheated on her husband and the other's husband turned out to be gay) I could never keep straight. The only thing I really admired was that the one who was completely baby-mad was portrayed as someone whose motivations were questionable and whose ethics were shaky.

Very predictable -- at the end one was happily single, one was engaged, another was unhappily married but with a baby and the last was about to marry. I finished it just because I bought it and I started it. It had elements of a sociology text brought to life with cardboard paper characters altho there were passages and asides that amused me. Certainly it was chock full of funny/ironic/sad post-divorce bon mots.