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Searching for Paradise in Parker, PA
by
Kris Radish (Goodreads Author)
From the bestselling author of The Sunday List of Dreams and Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral comes a poignant, funny, and uplifting novel of a woman at midlife whose search for happiness within her marriage—and within herself—turns a whole town upside down.
After twenty-eight years of marriage to her husband Lucky, Addy Lipton feels anything but happily married....more
After twenty-eight years of marriage to her husband Lucky, Addy Lipton feels anything but happily married....more
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
April 1st 2008
by Bantam
(first published January 1st 2008)
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This book should have been titled "Much Ado About Nothing," but Shakespeare already used that title. I'm not particularly a fan of Kris Radish's writing, but I thought this book looked good. I didn't especially like her traveling funeral book or Dancing Naked on the Edge of Dawn. I'm not going to buy another one by her.
The main characters are Addy and Lucky Lipton. They have been married 28 years and are unhappy, but neither one of them is doing anything about it. Addy is a grade-school teacher...more
The main characters are Addy and Lucky Lipton. They have been married 28 years and are unhappy, but neither one of them is doing anything about it. Addy is a grade-school teacher...more
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I listened to this book on CD, which helped me get through (read: fast forward over) the preachy sections, which I'm afraid were several. The book chronicles the marital trevails of Addy & Lucky Lipton, who don't fight but seemed to have stopped talking to one another about ten years earlier. Addy is a school teacher and Lucky is a car parts salesman. They have developed separate interests, Lucky especially, whose bowling ball and junk collections have slowly taken over the garage. Apparentl...more
One star? Two stars? One means "didn't like it" and that best describes my experience. This was in the group of books that I was waiting to just get done, already. Almost decided to bag it but hung in there until the end hoping for improvement. Didn't happen.
The thing is, women really don't spend so much time even talking about men let alone complaining and bashing them as the characters in the book do. (At _least_ twice weekly group sessions putting men down after their exercise class.) Ugh. No...more
The thing is, women really don't spend so much time even talking about men let alone complaining and bashing them as the characters in the book do. (At _least_ twice weekly group sessions putting men down after their exercise class.) Ugh. No...more
The author apparently thought she was being funny and pc and the whole thing was such boring "krap" as she would say that I quit after the main character became so insufferably self absorbed and overwrought with her fancied mistreatment at the hands of her long suffering husband that I couldn't stand hanging around for the inevitable success story that was bound to follow. I can't stand women who believe they've spent their lives serving others and been taken advantage of by the men who have sup...more
After twenty-eight years of marriage to her husband Lucky, Addy Lipton feels anything but happily married. Just thinking of their garage crammed with Lucky's useless junk collection drives Addy dangerously close to plowing her car through it. But when Lucky wins a trip to Costa Rica Addy has a faint hope they may turn things around. This book was a disappointment to me. I felt as though the author was merely following an outline that had served her well in the past and was simply "going through...more
This novel is a woman's mid-life crisis after 28 years of marriage and parenting. It was humorous, yet it also gave some interesting insight into relationships. It makes me wonder how Addy and Lucky got to that point in the relationship. I think I may choose this for my Book Club.
Married some almost 30 years, Addy Lipton is re-examining her marriage to Lucky. The same Lucky that has their garage full to the rafters with bowling balls and broken appliances, (Addy calls the Kingdom of Crap) while Addy’s car sits outside. Lucky doesn’t know that Addy dreams of running her Toyota Corolla right through the garage door and out the other side. When a much anticipated vacation doesn’t pan out and Lucky severely injures his back, Addy is thinking of calling it quits. When her wil...more
This is an enjoyable read and quite thought provoking! I feel like I am related to, am friends with, or just may possibly BE one of the characters in this book!
I'd like to give this book 3 1/2 stars, but I can't quite go all the way to 4. I love Kris Radish - she's one of my favorite authors - but this was my least favorite of her books. I can't even say what it was about the book that kept it lower than the others - and I can still say that I know just who I want to pass it on to (wish I could get my hubby to read it!) - but it fell just a bit short for me.
My first Radish book was "Annie Freeman" so it holds a special place in my favorite book list (e...more
My first Radish book was "Annie Freeman" so it holds a special place in my favorite book list (e...more
This is our second book club book. Wow! If you want to compare authors.
This was definitely different. One of my book club members couldn't finish the book.
Addy, the main character is overwhelming and dramatic. I can definitely relate to a
28 year marriage, but give the guy a break. Every once in a while, you think that
Addy has taken a deep breath, and will give life a chance. Oh no! Addy is back to her
own self again. I can't say that I would recommend this book, but I really did
want to finish it...more
This was definitely different. One of my book club members couldn't finish the book.
Addy, the main character is overwhelming and dramatic. I can definitely relate to a
28 year marriage, but give the guy a break. Every once in a while, you think that
Addy has taken a deep breath, and will give life a chance. Oh no! Addy is back to her
own self again. I can't say that I would recommend this book, but I really did
want to finish it...more
Mar 30, 2010
Gloria
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Middle-aged women who like humor
Shelves:
chick-lit
While this story definitely incorporates wry and even cynical humor, it contains a serious story line I didn't exactly expect. It provides a sympathetic ear and a wake-up call to women who are not satisfied at mid-life with a so-so marriage. There's a bit of a belligerant tone that practically commands women to stand up for themselves and take care of themselves, all done with humor. There's clearly a positive message in all this, for both men and women. This story, however, has one too many dig...more
This was my first Kris Radish book and, I'm pretty sure, probably not the best one to start with, judging by the mediocre reviews. That being said, I REALLY liked this book. I liked the characters and cared about what happened to them. Sure, about 90% of the time I wanted to grab Addie and shake her for being such a bitch to Lucky all the time and blaming him for everything, but otherwise, I *really* liked it. And I'm going to make a point of reading some of the author's other books because if t...more
I liked this story, but I had a few issues with it. First and foremost, I've actually been to Parker, PA, and it has nothing in common with the Parker, PA that Radish depicted in the story! Her Parker was much more sophisticated, larger, and closer to Pittsburgh than the actual Parker is.
As for the story and characters itself, it was a nice story line, I liked how she created a semi-realistic event that caused them to look closely at their life and what their expectations were, and how they had...more
As for the story and characters itself, it was a nice story line, I liked how she created a semi-realistic event that caused them to look closely at their life and what their expectations were, and how they had...more
My Review of SEARCHING FOR PARADISE IN PARKER, PA by Kris Radish
Kris Radish returns with another of what some say is “Chick-lit for the more mature woman” with her new book SEARCHING FOR PARADISE IN PARKER, PA. Radish tells the story of Addy and Lucky Lipton with a clever format in which Addy’s story is told in third person narrative while Lucky’s somewhat shorter alternating chapters are told in first person. This is an interesting way to let the reader see how Lucky feels while one might not g...more
Kris Radish returns with another of what some say is “Chick-lit for the more mature woman” with her new book SEARCHING FOR PARADISE IN PARKER, PA. Radish tells the story of Addy and Lucky Lipton with a clever format in which Addy’s story is told in third person narrative while Lucky’s somewhat shorter alternating chapters are told in first person. This is an interesting way to let the reader see how Lucky feels while one might not g...more
When I was a kid they had a saying, "Gag me with a spoon!"
Let's see, a man is seriously injured requiring surgery and recovery. His self centered wife instead of using this time to reconnect, dumps him becuase he doesn't pay enough attention to her. Followed by page after page of "men ae the weaker sex" and "men have to be reshaped to meet the needs of women" direct quotes preaching. One phrase I picked up from this book is "Kingdom of Crap", but I doubt the author meant it to apply to her own c...more
Let's see, a man is seriously injured requiring surgery and recovery. His self centered wife instead of using this time to reconnect, dumps him becuase he doesn't pay enough attention to her. Followed by page after page of "men ae the weaker sex" and "men have to be reshaped to meet the needs of women" direct quotes preaching. One phrase I picked up from this book is "Kingdom of Crap", but I doubt the author meant it to apply to her own c...more
This is by the author of The Elegant Gathering of White Snows, a book which reminded me of the value of good friends. I swear this lady is pulling thoughts directly from my brain. This book reminds us to remember romance and love, to live and not let life wear us out, make us lazy in our relationships and take each other for granted. An easy, enjoyable, fun read with a great reminder to keep having fun, feeling passion and living the life you want to live. Loved it.
Our library has limited books on c.d. and I haven't lept to the new technology so . . . I listened to this book and once I got started I had to hear how it came out. It waded through a lot of marital issues that were kind of depressing, but in the end I did feel more appreciation for my husband and a reminder that marriage is a 2-way streak and takes some effort. Doesn't sound profound, but had some value.
This was a fun, irreverant book. A him and her battle breaks out in the small town on Parker, PA. As, Addie a 50 year old woman tries to make sense of her life and her stale marriage with the help of her dear friends and wild sister. I loved that this book had a happy ending. (There is some conversational swearing in the book, the characters drink and smoke LOTS, and a few mentions of sex)
I wanted a light summer read, but couldn't deal with another young, shallow, clueless Chick Lit heroine. Middle aged woman, more mature and experienced... I would be less likely to want to throttle her. And I was right. This still wasn't the stellar read I had hoped for, and I still occasionally wanted to whack someone and ask "What are you thinking?!?", but it wasn't bad.
It was ok for the first half - a wife of 20-something years is questioning her marriage, it seemed honest. But then it just went haywire and turned into the author's daydream or something. A whole neighborhood of men getting together to cry and figure out how to revamp their relationships and throw a romantic street party for their women, and it's such an event they end up on Oprah? PUH-LEASE!
Enjoyed this book a lot. Raises interesting questions about marriage and relationships. Slow in some places, but overall, a very light, enjoyable read (or listen on tape). Also appreciated the relationship between the main character and her sister, and in general bonds of friendship.
Appropriate retirement gift from my cousin, since she lived near Parker, Pa and I also do. It brought back memories of the fun we had on the farm, even though it is fictional. Some scenarios could be fairly accurate, and the cluttered garage-well, just ask my daughter about that!!!
Jul 07, 2012
Laurie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Kris Radish fans
Recommended to Laurie by:
christiansenlaura64@yahoo.com
4th Summer Reading book 3.5 *
This book was predictable but enjoyable along the way. Funny and all sorts of emotions especially the last 100 pages.
As always, female relationships are an important part of the story. Not so much female/female which I enjoyed as a reprieve from Radish's story-line.
This book was predictable but enjoyable along the way. Funny and all sorts of emotions especially the last 100 pages.
As always, female relationships are an important part of the story. Not so much female/female which I enjoyed as a reprieve from Radish's story-line.
The concept and characters were good. The ending was a little wishy, washy and a tad disappointing, felt like a quick ending was more important than a well developed ending. Some parts are very humorous and you can get drawn into the friend group.
A humorous exploration of middle-aged marriage. A couple and a community have fallen out of love. It gave me a chance to reflect on my own relationship. The extremes of the story added humor and allowed self analysis without self incrimination.
I read it to page 19, from the Fiction Book Club. Don't like the character. Don't like that it's yet another story of an unhappy wife who's looking for... something... *sigh*
Sep 23, 2011
Ratforce
added it
If you prefer your humor with a hefty dose of heartwarming and inspiring storyline, Kris Radish may be the author for you. She has both quirky, funny characters and uplifting stories of love and friendship.
I read all of Kris Radish and feel like each book has some insight to offer. Divorce is the main topic in this book and though I am happily married, I still feel like it spoke to me about relationships.
This is a great book - Kris Radish is definitely in touch with women and this particular book speaks more to women in my age group. Her other books have also been enjoyed very much by friends of mine.
Perhaps, in fairness, I should not have read this book immediately following one by Virginia Woolf. However, the juxtaposition is what occurred and this book really did not have a fighting chance.
It was more competently written and edited than a Dan Brown novel and although not a mystery at all, more mysterious than a Dan Brown novel. Spelling was good. Presentation was orderly.
It was more competently written and edited than a Dan Brown novel and although not a mystery at all, more mysterious than a Dan Brown novel. Spelling was good. Presentation was orderly.
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Kris started writing the moment she could hold a pencil. She grew up in Wisconsin, graduted from the University of Wisconsin with a journalism degree and hit the ground running. Her father calls her "the tornado". She worked as a newspaper reporter, bureau chief, nationally syndicated columnist, magazine writer, university lecturer, bartender, waitress, worm harvester, window washer....to name a f...more
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