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1st out of 10 books
—
2 voters
Calling Invisible Women
by
Jeanne Ray
A delightfully funny novel packing a clever punch, from the author of the New York Times bestselling Julie and Romeo
A mom in her early fifties, Clover knows she no longer turns heads the way she used to, and she's only really missed when dinner isn't on the table on time. Then Clover wakes up one morning to discover she's invisible--truly invisible. She panics, but when he...more
A mom in her early fifties, Clover knows she no longer turns heads the way she used to, and she's only really missed when dinner isn't on the table on time. Then Clover wakes up one morning to discover she's invisible--truly invisible. She panics, but when he...more
Hardcover, 246 pages
Published
May 22nd 2012
by Crown
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"'[Y]our wife. Let's say she's been through menopause and she's being eaten alive by hot flashes so her doctor gives her some Premacore. After that the same doctor finds that her bone density isn't quite what it should be and so he gives her some Ostafoss as well. But on top of that she's a little depressed. Can you blame her? She's just been through menopause, and you're working all the time, so he gives her some Singsall, just a touch just to brighten up the picture.'...more
[...]
'She didn't pick th
I loved so many aspects of this book. Yes, it asks us to stretch our imagination but not too far beyond what many of us older women have felt as we age. I was very pleased with the way Clover and Arthur's relationship was examined and also in the way it ultimately turned out. I am sure many women can relate to being taken for granted on a daily basis, yet still know that deep down our relationships are solid - unlike Clover's appearance.
I too remember the day I realized i was invisible. It was a...more
I too remember the day I realized i was invisible. It was a...more
First the bright red cover caught my eye while browsing new books at the Library. Then, the blurb on the book flap captured my interest. I can relate to feeling invisible at times! Here goes....hope it's fun!
Update: Yes, it was fun! Jeanne Ray challenges 'invisible' people to re-direct their energies in a positive way & discover a new passion for living through this delightfully funny and thought provoking novel.
Update: Yes, it was fun! Jeanne Ray challenges 'invisible' people to re-direct their energies in a positive way & discover a new passion for living through this delightfully funny and thought provoking novel.
The main character of this story, Clover, is a fifty-ish wife and mother and under-employed journalist. She steps out of the shower one morning to find that she has become invisible. Stranger than that, neither her husband nor her young adult children notice (her best friend does, though, right away). Stranger still, she finds that even in her smallish Ohio town, there is a whole community of invisible women.
This book does require a certain willing suspension of disbelief, but also expresses we...more
This book does require a certain willing suspension of disbelief, but also expresses we...more
i bought this book because my superhero trait would be invisible. so, there are women who become invisible because of a hormone replacement cocktail taken during menopause.
on one level this is about women who take care of the home, the kids, the husband, the thank you and,, and-but are always expected to do the clean up. so, they become invisible to their family.
another level it is how one becomes invisible to our own dreams for the sake of others. fear of trying or challenging becomes bigger...more
on one level this is about women who take care of the home, the kids, the husband, the thank you and,, and-but are always expected to do the clean up. so, they become invisible to their family.
another level it is how one becomes invisible to our own dreams for the sake of others. fear of trying or challenging becomes bigger...more
I assumed the invisibility would be theoretical and was surprised to discover that Clover Hobart, the protagonist of the novel, is actually invisible. She wakes up one morning, looks in the mirror and cannot see her image. To her chagrin, her husband and two children do not notice. For an entire month, she continues to live with them, cooking dinners, cleaning the house and attending to their needs while they ignore the obvious. No one looks too closely—not even her personal physician. When Clov...more
Several years ago I wrote an essay about getting more invisible the whiter my hair turned. In it, I proposed uniting all invisible women and kids, who are also usually invisible, so we could take over the world and make it better. It was one of those I'm-laughing-so-I-don't-scream-or-cry essays and it was included in an anthology aimed at women of, shall we say, a certain age.
A few weeks ago the editor of the anthology emailed me and told me about this book, saying I was clearly on to something....more
A few weeks ago the editor of the anthology emailed me and told me about this book, saying I was clearly on to something....more
It is always lovely to watch the progress of an author, especially a local one. Jeanne Ray wrote her first two novels at/after age sixty, about Julie and Romeo, a "mature" couple who had been enemies who find they are attracted. Her work is light and comfortable. There were two more, Eat Cake, complete with recipes, and Step-Ball Change, about dancing.
Calling Invisible Women has an interesting premise. Our heroine, Clover Hobart, and other women, have taken Premacore, Ostafoss, and Singsall, alo...more
Calling Invisible Women has an interesting premise. Our heroine, Clover Hobart, and other women, have taken Premacore, Ostafoss, and Singsall, alo...more
Fifty-four year old Clover wakes up one morning to discover that she is invisible. She still has substance. Her touch can be felt, her voice can be heard, clothes hang off her body, but she can not be seen. No one notices: not her husband who cradles her in bed or her young adult children, not the clerk who processes her dry cleaning or the women in her yoga class, not the GP who examines her or the nurse who takes her blood pressure. Only her best friend/neighbor and her mother-in-law notice he...more
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I don't know if this book will be more meaningful to "women of a certain age," but I found it to be absolutely delightful while also making several good points.
Clover Hobart is in her early fifties and is shocked to find that she can't see herself one day after showering. She reappears, but when it happens again and she doesn't reappear, she knows something is wrong...really wrong.
Neither her hard-working husband, Arthur, nor her back-at-home-due-to-unemployment son, Nick, notice anything differ...more
Clover Hobart is in her early fifties and is shocked to find that she can't see herself one day after showering. She reappears, but when it happens again and she doesn't reappear, she knows something is wrong...really wrong.
Neither her hard-working husband, Arthur, nor her back-at-home-due-to-unemployment son, Nick, notice anything differ...more
Imagine being invisible, what would you do? What would you wear? And everyone’s favorite question is it the super power you would choose. This is the intriguing premise that guides Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray.
While I was expecting along the lines of Fay Weldon’s The Life and Loves of a She Devil, I was pleased to find that Jeanne Ray’s Calling Invisible Women was more sunlit and less grim. I was also very pleased to find that this was a book which I picked up and could not put down unt...more
While I was expecting along the lines of Fay Weldon’s The Life and Loves of a She Devil, I was pleased to find that Jeanne Ray’s Calling Invisible Women was more sunlit and less grim. I was also very pleased to find that this was a book which I picked up and could not put down unt...more
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Jeanne Ray's books are quirky, fun, and clever. They feel like contemporary fiction, but often have just enough zany in them to push them towards magical realism. I like to give them to readers who tend towards literary fiction but tell me they want something light and fun for a change.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one, but I will admit to reading it quickly and not dwelling too much on it. I completely suspended any disbelief I might have and let Ms. Ray and the characters whisk me along....more
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one, but I will admit to reading it quickly and not dwelling too much on it. I completely suspended any disbelief I might have and let Ms. Ray and the characters whisk me along....more
Book Review: Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray
When I picked up this book from the library I was not sure what to expect. The short comments on the book’s jacket made it sound like a comedy. That was not my experience with this novel. I found the book left me feeling melancholy and thoughtful.
The primary character of this story is Clover. Without giving to much away, she has become invisible. What starts out as confusion and stress for her transforms into liberation and self discovery. I lik...more
When I picked up this book from the library I was not sure what to expect. The short comments on the book’s jacket made it sound like a comedy. That was not my experience with this novel. I found the book left me feeling melancholy and thoughtful.
The primary character of this story is Clover. Without giving to much away, she has become invisible. What starts out as confusion and stress for her transforms into liberation and self discovery. I lik...more
What would you do if you woke up one morning and you were invisible? Panic, this is what Clover does. Worse yet, only her best friend notices. Clover's husband is to busy with his practice, her son is worried about finding a job, and her daughter is at college.
She's reading the paper and notices an ad for a support group for invisible women. There she learns she's not alone and that Dexter-White a drug company is responsible. The women found that if they took Premacore, a hormone replacement,...more
She's reading the paper and notices an ad for a support group for invisible women. There she learns she's not alone and that Dexter-White a drug company is responsible. The women found that if they took Premacore, a hormone replacement,...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Jun 20, 2012
Donna
added it
This is the review in GoodReads. A mom in her early fifties, Clover knows she no longer turns heads the way she used to, and she's only really missed when dinner isn't on the table on time. Then Clover wakes up one morning to discover she's invisible--truly invisible. She panics, but when her husband and son sit down to dinner, nothing is amiss. Even though she's been with her husband, Arthur, since college, her condition goes unnoticed. Her friend Gilda immediately observes that Clover is invis...more
I received this book as an ARC from Read-It-Forward. I had read the author's first book, Julie and Romeo, about 10 years ago on the recommendation of my mother-in-law and while it wasn't my usual choice, being very much a woman's book, it was light and enjoyable enough.
Calling Invisible Women was an absolute delight! It is the story of 50-something Clover Hobart who has a busy physician husband and two grown children (one in college and one unemployed two years post college and living at home)....more
Calling Invisible Women was an absolute delight! It is the story of 50-something Clover Hobart who has a busy physician husband and two grown children (one in college and one unemployed two years post college and living at home)....more
I was a First Reads winner and got Calling Invisible Women free. Nice! Besides the thrill of having it delivered to my door (ok, a mile down the road at the mailbox) it was a fun, quick read: a clever twist on chick lit/women's fiction.
Clover Hobart is a middle-aged woman with one daughter in college and a son, a college graduate, unemployed and living at home. Her husband is an overworked pediatrician but Clover's own journalism career has fizzled. One morning she wakes to find herself invisib...more
Clover Hobart is a middle-aged woman with one daughter in college and a son, a college graduate, unemployed and living at home. Her husband is an overworked pediatrician but Clover's own journalism career has fizzled. One morning she wakes to find herself invisib...more
Jeanne Ray's latest contemporary women's fiction novel has something to say about how we allow products to heal ourselves whether they are expensive drugs prescribed by our doctor or over-the-counter products made to enhance us as they lift money from our wallet.
Clover Hobart wakes up one day and discovers she cannot find herself in the mirror after her morning shower. Her first disappearance lasts only a short time but she's concerned because her son still sees her. Clover wonders if she's sta...more
Clover Hobart wakes up one day and discovers she cannot find herself in the mirror after her morning shower. Her first disappearance lasts only a short time but she's concerned because her son still sees her. Clover wonders if she's sta...more
Clover, a mom in her 50's, one day wakes up and is invisible.
Her husband is to busy with his medical practice, her son is worried about finding a job, and her daughter is at college...and none of them notice that she is invisible!
After reading the paper, Clover noticed an ad for a support group for invisible women.
She starts attending meetings and learns that she is not alone. At the meeting, Clover learns that all of the invisible women took Premacore, a hormone replacement, Ostafoss, a calci...more
Her husband is to busy with his medical practice, her son is worried about finding a job, and her daughter is at college...and none of them notice that she is invisible!
After reading the paper, Clover noticed an ad for a support group for invisible women.
She starts attending meetings and learns that she is not alone. At the meeting, Clover learns that all of the invisible women took Premacore, a hormone replacement, Ostafoss, a calci...more
Although this book got a good review, I wasn’t sure the premise — that a middle-aged woman goes invisible — wouldn’t try my patience. When I’m required to suspend my disbelief, I often prefer to do it whole-heartedly, as is required when reading paranormal romances, for instance, or science fiction. This book is more realistic fiction, except it’s not, because certain women disappear from view. On the other hand . . . it’s true to life. Is it not the case that, once we reach our fifties, people...more
I'm pretty sure there are days we've all felt invisible. Days where people drive right in front of us - seemingly oblivious to the fact they almost hit us in the process. Days where we wait patiently to have our name called, only to find they 'forgot' to check our name on the list.
What would happen if, in the course of that day, you truly became invisible? To the point where people could see through you and you no longer have any substance? What would do? Who would you tell?
Calling Invisible Wo...more
What would happen if, in the course of that day, you truly became invisible? To the point where people could see through you and you no longer have any substance? What would do? Who would you tell?
Calling Invisible Wo...more
Somewhere along her journey from star reporter to stay-at-home doctor's wife, Clover Hobart slowly disappeared. Giving her life to her two children and her husband, she lost herself in the process. Only when she physically disappears, however, does Clover realize how little the people around her even notice. Thankfully, a twist of fate brings Clover into contact with a small group of other women who have suffered the same fate. Ranging from previous television personalities to high school teache...more
I really liked this book until about 75% of the way through it. It's very unrealistic....but, it's fiction. It starts out about a woman who feels that she is invisible to her family, then she REALLY does become invisible. Her family doesn't notice (of course) and she feels very confused until she happens upon a group for invisible women. She struggles with trying to find the right time to tell her family that she became invisible. Up until then it's a silly, quirky sort of story that really had...more
I adored this book! If you're a woman, regardless of age, haven't you ever felt overlooked and unheard, taken for granted? This book hits on that nerve with a profound style and narrative that makes it a fantastic read.
Clover looks in the mirror one day and can't see her reflection. Yep, she's turned invisible, and to make matters worse, her family and husband don't notice. <---that's when I said, "The jerks!" Not only is she invisible, but she's not the only woman to go unnoticed. It turns o...more
Clover looks in the mirror one day and can't see her reflection. Yep, she's turned invisible, and to make matters worse, her family and husband don't notice. <---that's when I said, "The jerks!" Not only is she invisible, but she's not the only woman to go unnoticed. It turns o...more
I really liked this book. Like other reviewers, I found it melancholy at first. I think Clover's situation is relatable to many people - feeling like those around you, those who love you, don't really see you and take you for granted. I can understand Clover's depression. However, when she meets the other invisible women and starts to push herself to do new things, the whole tone of the book changes. It becomes hopeful and even exhilarating when she begins to see how to use her invisibility to h...more
What a novel! It brought forward so many points to ponder in such an open way. It was such a quick easy read that I finished it in one day! I will be thinking about it for many more.
You must go into this novel being able to give a little suspension of disbelief. Some things, no matter how you look at them just don't fit, are hard to picture. However, for me, this took nothing major away from the rest of the story. What is the definition of invisible? Is it not being seen, not being able to be se...more
You must go into this novel being able to give a little suspension of disbelief. Some things, no matter how you look at them just don't fit, are hard to picture. However, for me, this took nothing major away from the rest of the story. What is the definition of invisible? Is it not being seen, not being able to be se...more
This is so not the book that I was expecting. When I read the description, I was preparing myself for a storyline around the feeling that women get when they become invisible to the world. We are no longer young, but at the same time, we are not old. That in between time where we do not seem to fit in. When our families take us for granted and like Clover Hobart, our spouses sense our essence but no longer "see" us. Where we are no longer suitable in our old careers and must somehow make a new d...more
In this humorous and light-hearted read, Clover, a middle aged woman living in Ohio, wakes up one day and discovers she is newly invisible. Her invisibility is missed by her husband and children, but her best friend and mother-in-law notice right away. Clover joins a support group after seeing a newspaper advertisement “Calling Invisible Women.” With the help of her support group and friends, she plots to take back her visibility! An optimistic tone makes Calling Invisible Women a fast-paced and...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bound Together: Calling Invisible Women Discussion | 71 | 118 | Jan 19, 2013 08:12am | |
| Read It Forward: * CALLING INVISIBLE WOMEN by Jeanne Ray | 1 | 28 | Jun 27, 2012 07:41am |
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“I first noticed I was missing on a Thursday.”
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“You're just going to bear witness to his life. I think sometimes that's the greatest gift we can give one another.”
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