Comments for The Three Weissmanns of Westport

The Three Weissmanns of Westport: 01/01/13

The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine was inspired by Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. Familiarity with the original seems to be a good predictor of how well liked (or not) this retelling will be.

Betty Weissmann, Joseph's second wife of 48 years, is handed divorce papers. Joseph has fallen for a much younger woman at work. Betty, deciding to play the widow instead of the divorcee, leaves her Manhattan home for Westport, Connecticut. Shortly there after for reasons explained at length, she is joined by her adult daughters, Miranda and Annie.

Much of the remainder of the book is focused on Miranda, a once successful literary agent, specializing in memoirs, finding herself and finding romance. Her romantic life is the largest divergence from Austen's version.

But for me, the problems weren't with the points of departure, but with the places where the Weissmanns' misadventures are forced into a narrative construct that only makes sense with younger characters living in a different time and place. For instance, the Weissmanns' are invited to Palm Springs for the winter but it doesn't ring true as a substitute for families going to London for "the Season."

Three stars

Recent posts

Month in review

Reviews
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
A Bit Lost (Little Owl Lost) by Chris Haughton
Black Juice by Margo Lanagan
Bride of the Rat God by Barbara Hambly
Cat Tale by Michael Hall
Crow Boy by Taro Yashima
Flu by Wayne Simmons
Freddy Goes to Florida by Walter R. Brooks
Fullmetal Alchemist 20 by Hiromu Arakawa
Getting Rid of Matthew by Jane Fallon
Go, Dog. Go! by P. D. Eastman
Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
Hot Rod Hamster! by Cynthia Lord
The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson
Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent by Lauren Child
I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are You Going to Sleep? by Bill Martin Jr.
The Last Train by Gordon M. Titcomb
Little Owl's Night by Divya Srinivasan
The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
The Maze of Bones (audio) by Rick Riordan
Mostly Monsterly by Tammi Sauer
Pirate vs. Pirate by Mary Quattlebaum
Sacré Bleu by Christopher Moore
Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit by Il Sung Na
The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan
Teeth, Tails & Tentacles by Christopher Wormell
The Three Weissmanns of Westport (audio) by Cathleen Schine
Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
Vanished by Sheela Chari

Challenges
Century of Reading
Reading Presently
Mount TBR 2013
Reading Presently

Previous month

Comments for The Three Weissmanns of Westport

The Three Weissmanns of Westport: 01/01/13

Other posts and reviews:

Recent posts