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The Night of the Weeping Women
In “one of the most endearing books about family life ever penned” (Washington Post Book World), Lawrence Naumoff writes with “effortless-looking brilliance” (Reynolds Price) about a couple careering toward a holiday meltdown after thirty years of married madness.
239 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 25, 2012
Here's the first line from the book:
Humming a song on a Saturday morning was not the kind of aggressive act that could easily be explained in a court of law as an understandable reason for murder, but it struck Ervin Neal that he might finally have to kill his wife, or get rid of her in some way.
Oh, yeah.
Been there, done that.
I recently celebrated - well, observed is more like it - my 21st wedding anniversary. Don't let anybody kid you. Marriage is work. Hard work. Living for so long with another person can suck the life right out of you. I fully admit, there are times I want to slap the nose right off my husband's face just for the irritating way he breathes. And I'm sure he occasionally feels the same about me, though I can't imagine why. After all, he's the one with the annoying habits. All I have are endearing quirks.
Ervin and Margaret have been married for over 30 years, and they are driving one another nuts. Margaret is truly aggravating. A nagging harpy radiating false cheer; I couldn't stand to be married to her for five minutes. She will simply NOT budge in her quest to turn Ervin back into the man she married so long ago. Ervin, quite understandably, yearns to break free of Margaret's clutches. But, he retaliates by playing mean spirited tricks on his wife and verbally abusing her. What a bastard!
Caught in the middle of this long-running sparring match is their happily married daughter Sally and her husband Robert. They are constantly having to referee the latest bout without having their own marriage damaged by flying debris.
It's hard to decide who to root for in this quartet. Each of the characters does at least one fairly reprehensible thing during the course of the novel. Perhaps we should just say they all deserve one another and leave it at that.
In the end, there are lessons learned by all. Life goes on as usual for some, and for others, things will never be the same again.
Sally manages to sum it up pretty well:
"You see, you get married. Later, you wonder why you did it. It's hard to figure out. It's hard to remember the way it felt, the way you both were back then. You start one way, at one place, and end up another way, in another place. So much changes. I guess you have to let it happen. I guess you have to go on."
Oh, yeah.
Been there, done that.
Humming a song on a Saturday morning was not the kind of aggressive act that could easily be explained in a court of law as an understandable reason for murder, but it struck Ervin Neal that he might finally have to kill his wife, or get rid of her in some way.
Oh, yeah.
Been there, done that.
I recently celebrated - well, observed is more like it - my 21st wedding anniversary. Don't let anybody kid you. Marriage is work. Hard work. Living for so long with another person can suck the life right out of you. I fully admit, there are times I want to slap the nose right off my husband's face just for the irritating way he breathes. And I'm sure he occasionally feels the same about me, though I can't imagine why. After all, he's the one with the annoying habits. All I have are endearing quirks.
Ervin and Margaret have been married for over 30 years, and they are driving one another nuts. Margaret is truly aggravating. A nagging harpy radiating false cheer; I couldn't stand to be married to her for five minutes. She will simply NOT budge in her quest to turn Ervin back into the man she married so long ago. Ervin, quite understandably, yearns to break free of Margaret's clutches. But, he retaliates by playing mean spirited tricks on his wife and verbally abusing her. What a bastard!
Caught in the middle of this long-running sparring match is their happily married daughter Sally and her husband Robert. They are constantly having to referee the latest bout without having their own marriage damaged by flying debris.
It's hard to decide who to root for in this quartet. Each of the characters does at least one fairly reprehensible thing during the course of the novel. Perhaps we should just say they all deserve one another and leave it at that.
In the end, there are lessons learned by all. Life goes on as usual for some, and for others, things will never be the same again.
Sally manages to sum it up pretty well:
"You see, you get married. Later, you wonder why you did it. It's hard to figure out. It's hard to remember the way it felt, the way you both were back then. You start one way, at one place, and end up another way, in another place. So much changes. I guess you have to let it happen. I guess you have to go on."
Oh, yeah.
Been there, done that.
September 10, 2014
this book started off promising and all the way to about halfway through I enjoyed it. Part 2 was a disaster where it seems like the author just didn't know what to do with his plot. Everything ended up in a big mess and it seems like a lazy lazy ending. I am disappointed with this book but I did read it all the way through because it was a simple
September 8, 2025
Decent book. Faces the cold and hard truth that marriage can become stale. Unfortunately highlighted pretty toxic man who treated his family poorly and did not have to live with consequences. A patriarchal world displayed.
December 1, 2020
De nacht van de huilende vrouwen
July 3, 2007
Funny, odd, touching--I like everything about this book. He also wrote Rootie Kazootie, which is equally strong, and some other books that I don't like quite as much as these two.
He's hugely underrated, and probably nice to stray cats.
He's hugely underrated, and probably nice to stray cats.
December 21, 2009
another book mentioned in my 1994 notebook: I say - vicious, a mite contrived and some dialogue wrong but it has great moments and power in its bite and drive.
December 21, 2009
another book mentioned in my 1994 notebook: I say - vicious, a mite contrived and some dialogue wrong but it has great moments and power in its bite and drive.
December 21, 2009
another book mentioned in my 1994 notebook: I say - vicious, a mite contrived and some dialogue wrong but it has great moments and power in its bite and drive.
August 28, 2013
It was good until it turned into a totally male hypocritical story.
July 27, 2014
It was a good and quick summer read which was so realistically written, I felt like i just watched a disturbing film about the shit that comes along with marriage.
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July 24, 2017someone oughta tap this author on the shoulder and whisper, 'hey man, you know false cynicism does not make you seem wise, just like a jerk-ass'
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews