The Family Man by Elinor Lipman
The Family Man by Elinor Lipman
hardcover 305 pages
published by Houghton Mifflin in 2008
ISBN-13: 9780618644667
Type: {Weekend Read: a book to curl up on the couch with}
Rating: {I’m Lovin’ It: Very entertaining!}
Why You’re Reading It:
- You are a fan of Elinor Lipman
- You want a good introduction to mainstream GLBT literature
- Quirky family stories are enjoyable for you
- You like anything with New York as a setting (and somewhat of a character)
What I Thought:
The Family Man by Elinor Lipman is about Henry Archer, a distinguished gentleman who lives in New York, is a lawyer, and is lonely. Henry is gay, but was once married to Denise and was step-father to Denise’s daughter Thalia. Thalia was ripped from Henry’s life when he and Denise got divorced and was raised as the daughter of her new step-father. When this latest step-father dies Thalia, now an adult, seeks Henry out. She wants a place to stay and she wants to be away from her dramatic mother. Henry allows her to move into bottom floor of his Upper West Side townhouse. The relationship that forms between them is a touching one. Thalia, an actress, is not as stable as Henry and benefits from having a smart, loving influence in her life. Henry, alone and incredibly proper, benefits from having someone love him and help him feel comfortable breaking out of his normal routine. What follows is love in various forms, forgiveness, and humor. Henry is a lovable character and the audience can be pleased to see his life taking on a new spin as an eccentric family is created around him.
(I apologize for the short review. I realized, after writing the review of my most recent Elinor Lipman read, that I had never reviewed The Family Man, my introduction to Lipman, but it is not fresh in my memory as I finished it half a year ago. I listened to The Family Man on audio – the readers were great and suited the book nicely. I recommend this as an audiobook to those of you who listen to them.)
Wallace, this one sounds great! I’ll definitely be adding this one to my TBR list. I love the idea of characters so opposite in disposition that they clash/influence each other, etc. I’m definitely looking forward to reading this one – sounds like my cup of tea! Cheers!
Lipman is great with fleshing out characters. You can totally see them while you are reading (or in my case listening, I always seem to listen to her books). This one is read by a man, who does a wonderful job.
I think I should add this to my audiobook listens so I love Lipman!
It’s a good one!
I enjoyed The Inn at Lake Devine quite a bit and someone else recommended this one to me as well.
I loved this book. So cozy!
I really enjoyed this book, it’s the only Lipman I’ve read but I hear such good things. The Inn at Lake Devine seems to have a lot of buzz.
I really like the premise of this book. On a less smart note, I also like the name Thalia, so that’s two points in its favor.