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Dec 17, 2009

Jenna rated it:

It's my fault, really. I put this book on my "to read" list a very, very long time ago, well before I was pregnant. When I saw it in the library, I picked it up without reading the jacket, instead remembering that I had once placed it on my list and therefore it must be something that I can read at any time. Wrong.

Pregnant mothers, especially those who have experienced a previous loss, should not read this while pregnant (or immediately after baby's arrival... not that you More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Mar 27, 2009

treehugger rated it:

This book took me WAY by surprise. It sounded great on the cover, bought it on a whim on the bargain bookshelf, and picked it up on a day when I couldn't stomach even one more minute of pharmacy talk.

The beginning was slow, and I didn't even think I was going to get to the middle - as much as I loathe doing it, I thought it was going to have to be one of those books I just don't ever finish. And then...something happened. Nothing concrete. No huge plot twists or dramas. But I connec More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it

A few critics drew parallels between Emilia's life and the author's own; after all, Waldman achieved some sort of fame last year after she publicly announced that she loved her husband, novelist Michael Chabon, more than her four children. Alter-ego or not, Emilia and her evolving relationship with William take center stage here. But while some critics saw Emilia as narcissistic and wallowing in self-pity, others viewed her as a witty, resilient woman honest with her foibles. Critics similarly s

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0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2009

Ellen rated it:

I picked this up because my book club is reading it, but I was thoroughly unmotivated to finish it. After reading the first two chapters I read the last chapter and felt no need to read anything in between.
This book reminded me of The Nanny Diary and the Bridget Jones books in as much as it asked me to feel sympathetic towards a narrator I had no reason to feel sympathy for. The narrator came across as shallow, self-pitying and no one I would care to have a conversation with, let alone f More...

6 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 01, 2012

Liz rated it:

As long as she’s married to Jack Woolf, Emilia’s life will be hell. Having broken up her husband’s first marriage, Emilia now has to contend with the unpleasant stigma of being seen, not as “Jack Woolf’s wife,” but as “the other woman.” Add to this the fact that Emilia’s newborn daughter died only days after she was born, and you have one miserable woman. Love and Other Impossible Pursuits traces Emilia’s efforts to deal with her grief and her annoying stepson, William, all while trying to keep More...

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Jul 26, 2009

Jill rated it:

The writing here is unusually strong. I didn't expect to like the story as much as I did. The characterization is outstanding, and when the narrative voice really fits, ring true. Because of point of view, the secondary characters work unusually well. As the reader, you're right with the main character's epiphanies about the others, which worked for me. Even though I haven't been to Central Park, as a metaphor for relationships, whoa.

This would be an interesting book to do for bo More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

May 26, 2009

Shelah rated it:

I got this book at the library on Friday morning, and by Friday at dinnertime, I was done reading it (it's more than 300 pages). Usually, I reserve that kind of uninterrupted reading for things like Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series or the Harry Potter books; books, in other words, where action takes precedence over style and character development.

I still can't figure out of Love and Other Impossible Pursuits is chick-lit or not. On the one hand, it's sort of a chick-lit subject: a More...

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Aug 26, 2010

marg rated it:

I go back and forth a lot with this one. Waldman does something very interesting in this book and I;m still not sure how I feel about it, and for that I give her a bonus star for what was otherwise a pretty badly written story.
LAOIP is about a lawyer named Emilia who falls madly, desperately in love with Jack, a nice Jewish lawyer who -whoops - happens to be married. Jack resists until he can't anymore and they end up together. Cliche.
Interesting, not cliche aspects that I appreciate More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 26, 2011

Maura rated it:

Welllllll...

The character isn't terribly likable, but that isn't fair as she just lost her daughter. A two day old child. Grief is a powerful, life changing thing.

I couldn't put the book down, reading it in two days. I had to know what happened next, would her marriage survive, would she have another kid, could Carolyn be anymore of a bitch? But, I didn't love it. It wraps up too neatly, too cute for me.

Halfway through reading this, I thought i should read m More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 19, 2010

Karen rated it:

Following through on my self-imposed promise to read another Waldman book after finding fault with "Bad Mother." I enjoyed this one much more. It follows the same general theme - the expectations women put on themselves and others - and has the token cliquey moms sitting in judgment outside the 92nd Street Y. However, Waldman's themes resonated with me much more coupled with fictional characters rather than herself, and her characters, while not particularly likable, didn't have the More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 30, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

I have been on a nice long stretch of really good books lately, this one included, and I hope it continues. As I started reading this book, I looked over some of the reviews here and one that stuck with me is that it was slow in the beginning. I really despise when books are slow in the beginning as I get very bored and can easily put the book down and stop reading it. I do agree that this book was slow, but it was the very very beginning, and before I knew it I was 100 pages in. I liked Ms. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 31, 2011

Shannan rated it:

I picked up this book because it is going to be a movie soon with Natalie Portman so I figured it was worth a go.*post-edit: I just found out the movie is called 'The Other Woman' and it was released in 2009, missed that one!* I really like the author. I like her style, her prose, her frank discussion of many things. What can get annoying about her writing? Rambling sentences - they can go on and on and on and full of periphal details. And of course the subject matter can weigh on your heart - More...

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Jun 08, 2010

Darci rated it:

This book... so hard to put down... so well written... until the last 50 pages. But to start at the beginning... this novel is the story of so many things. It's the story of a woman who had an affair and a child and a marriage with a married man. Its the story of a woman dealing with the SIDS death of her daughter. It's the story of what happens when we think life can be perfect and it turns out not to be. This novel is the story of so many things, all of them complicated. But the best part is, More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Ruth rated it:

This is a very funny, poignant and moving book about the loss of a baby and the developing relationship with a step-child. Sad and compellingly funny, a good sense of the narrator; twist of Freudian psychology seems a bit forced, but otherwise this is a modern NYC based book which is a lovesong to Central Park. The city itself plays a clear role as a character in the story.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 18, 2011

Snotchocheez rated it:

Another semi-random library choice, "Love and Other Impossible Pursuits" by Ayelet Waldman served in part as an exercise in voyeurism: I just wanted to see if Michael Chabon's wife was as gifted a writer as he. The answer to that is a resounding NO, but she's not exactly talentless, either. Despite an endorsement from Sherman Alexie on the jacket blurb, this book falls squarely in the realm of "chick lit", or, more precisely, "depressing snooty-chick lit replete with More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 22, 2010

Corey rated it:

I actually regret reading this book. It's not often that an author allows themselves to dwell on an incredibly depressing topic for such a large portion of a book. I couldn't believe my eyes when I got to page 98 only to read a detailed account of the baby's death. I mean, I got it in the first chapter when the stepmom couldn't stand to see strollers! No need to beat me over the head with it. And what up with the detailed adulterous sex and breast-feeding scenes... come on! And since when a More...

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Jun 09, 2009

Katya rated it:

Despite the many, many problems I had with this book, I ultimately enjoyed it. A lot of people have written the main character, Emilia, as whiny and self-pitying - and she is, and she admits it. But I don't think it's too far off considering she'd lost a child and blames herself heavily for the loss. I did enjoy watching her warm up to William, her stepson, and I really liked the tours of Central Park that Waldman took us on. I did not like that the ex-wife and the father were rather two-dimensi More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 18, 2008

Ivy rated it:

This book (by Ayelet Waldman, wife of Michael Chabon who wrote Kavalier & Klay) was a page turner, however, I cant remember despising a main character so much in a long time. What a selfish woman! I did enjoy the new york-centric storytelling, esp. about intricacies of Central Park. I just disliked the character so much it ruined it for me in the end.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 07, 2011

Karen rated it:

I decided to read this book because I heard the author interviewed a few times and also read her non-fiction work of essays called "Bad Mother".
I had hoped that a work of fiction might make me like this author a little more than I did after reading her non-fiction. I don't.
"Love and Other Impossible Pursuits" was delightful for me because I am a new yorker living in the rural west and I enjoy hearing about my home. If you love Central Park and New York City, the More...

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Jul 16, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

I recently won a Goodreads first-read contest of Waldman's new book, so I wanted to read something older to get a feel for her writing. There is one major uncomfortable subject that this book revolves around, which is DEAD BABIES.

So, knowing that, the book is pretty grim and sad. Emilia Greenleaf Woolf is a Jewish lawyer who is married to Jack, a prominent NYC attorney. Emilia is 10 years younger, and she usurps Jack's perfect marriage + child and marries into a family. The book More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 13, 2009

Annie rated it:

I thought this book was ok. It is worth a read if you are a step-mother or have lost a child or suffered from miscarriages or infertility. It is set in NYC and has interesting historical tidbits about the park. But overall I was somewhat disappointed in this book.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 28, 2011

Audrey added it

This is an interesting look at being a StepMom. Emilia Greenleaf suffering the loss of her first child has to take care of her husband's son- 5 year old William. Every Wed afternoon and many weekends this very bright,horribly spoiled boy raised by an often hysterical mother challenges her.He wonders about her deceased daughter,he insists that all the special treatment ideas dictated by his mother be followed to the letter.He's so serious,watchful,critical,difficult but obviously unhappy.
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Aug 08, 2010

Kim rated it:

I loved this book, couldn't put it down - read it in one day flat. I haven't read anything quite like it in a very long time. It's one of those that you get really frustrated and annoyed with the main character, but at the same time totally understand and sympathize with why she does what she does. However, the sole reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because of the author's pretentious overuse of "big"/obscure words. I consider myself well-educated, and well-read with a firm gra More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 27, 2009

Yaffa Shira rated it:

I really liked the book, and liked it even more as I got close to the end. No unrealistic happy endings, and make-ups. I also thought the title was so apt only after I finished the book. Not that it wasn't that obvious throughout, I just didn't give it much thought until the end. I think Waldman is a good writer. So much of the book takes place in Central Park, and Waldman describes the park itself and the people who frequent it, that it made me so sad that I didn't even take advantage of t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 24, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

Wow- Fantastic book. Emilia is selfish, guilty & mourning the death of her 1 day old daughter, Isabel. She makes lots of painful mistakes, hurting the ones who love her the most, her mother, husband, and stepson but she is human and tries to be honest. When confronted by the truth of her actions, she owns up to it and is willing to learn the truth about herself. Emilia, while not likeable, is loveable with all her flaws. This is Ms. Walden's best piece of fiction yet, although I can't wait to More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 27, 2009

Renee rated it:

I've read a lot about this author since I stumbled on her blog. Waldman has been the center of some controversy due to her "Bad Mommy" blog, a place where she actually writes openly about her suicidal impulses, abortions and other subjects which set some parents on edge, to the point of hatred. This is my first Waldman book and I have another on order. Based in NYC, the main character is a woman who deeply struggles with being a step mother (this was the hardest part of the book for me More...

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Mar 31, 2009

Coco rated it:

I haven't read any of Waldman's MommyTrack series so this author was new to me. I was impressed. As Emelia suffers through the devastating loss of her child, Walman had me right there with her. She avoids playgrounds and can barely stand to be around her step-son, William. Normally, I don't like books about affairs and am on the side of the ex-wife, but, despite Emilia's flaws, I wanted to read about her. Reading about Central Park and about the way her relationship with William developed wa More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 10, 2010

Wendy rated it:

I ended up reading this because my local library has a Valentine themed display of wrapped books called Blind Date with a Book. You took out a book without knowing what it was until you got home and unwrapped it. Had I not got it that way I don't think this book would have made it onto my radar and that would have been sad. This was a book filled with emotion and love but hidden under the main character, Em's, pain. The story is told by her in first person. You can feel her desire to heal and be More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 05, 2010

Mukovhe rated it:

Its a very interesting book to read if you like love stories. it's a relaxed book to read and it keeps you wanting to know what this woman will do next. the language is straight forward and complex, you have to know English quite well to really understand the sarcasm and lies. the author did not put emotions or details in the dialogs, it's sort of up to you to figure out how they said it. when i read the book i only realized this at the end and i realized that the way i read it was in an annoyed More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 10, 2011

Jami rated it:

I enjoyed this book as a heartfelt depiction of what grief might feel like as a younger mother. I felt like Amelia's grief experience was easy to relate to, even though I've been fortunate enough to never experience the deep grief she did. Going months without cooking a single meal, always ordering in food, breaking down at the sight of other children- it all seemed believably real. Well written. Totally dysfunctional family, which made it all that more interesting to read. Not a Hollywood More...

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