Saturday, November 10, 2012

Angry Housewives Eating BonBons: A Review

She didn't realize how tense she usually held her body until it was relaxed, and the sensation always surprised her; she felt like a prison guard who had successfully completed her watch and, at least for the time being, no convict had escaped.
~ Lorna Landvik, Angry Housewives Eating BonBons


I never get rid of books.  I know many people who will only read a book once, and have no desire to maintain precious shelf space with a book never to be opened again.  I am not so discriminating.  I have read many books multiple times.  I have shelves crammed with books I've read and hated, books I've read so many times I have portions memorized, books I haven't gotten to yet. 

One of my guilty pleasures is perusing the book sections at thrift stores.  There is something that appeals to me about looking at all the books that people have decided to donate, to purge from their own shelves and remove from their homes.  I pile them up in my arms and cradle them, prepared to give them a permanent home.  Sometimes they are misses, and they go back to the shelf as a reminder that you can't win 'em all.  And sometimes, just sometimes, they are gems that draw me in and find favor in my heart.

This book.  This book, without a doubt, falls in the latter of those two categories.  It made me laugh and cry, made me experience twinges of fear, sadness, fury, hope, and the utmost joy.  I could associate so closely with the characters and with the story, a story that had elements I've never experienced, but truly and deeply felt like I have due to the way they were portrayed...a story so compelling that I want to force it upon everyone I know.

The most basic tenets of friendship, parenting, marriage, and the ties that bind us together in those relationships were brought forth so simply and yet so meaningfully in their delivery.  There is something so admirable in brilliant character composition that makes you feel like these are people you want to know, would be lucky to know, even as you may not agree with them or, more telling, always like them. 

This book will maintain space in the stack that I will reach for again and again...at least, once it returns from being passed around to everyone I know.

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