Ruth Harris (2)Reseñas

When I started reading this book, I had no idea that it had originally been written in 1989. My only wish (because I did love it and read it every second that I could) was that I'd discovered it back in its publication year. My 1989 self would have loved it even more. Kudos, Ruth Harris.

Sweet indulgences. I use to read this type of book, mass produced paperbacks, quite a lot. What bittersweet memories it's resurrecting. While in Houston there was a second handbook shop that carried all paperbacks for 1/2 off the cover price. I would devour these books, Sophie's Choice, all Judith Krantz I could find, Rich man Poor man. I guess school made reading an easy book , nontaxing ,the only kind of novel I could enjoy. Considering the dry trade magazine's, calculus, economicsmaterial I was forced to read,
Pulp fiction was my escape, my respite.

Books like this.

I became a snob as I found more intellectual challenging stories and non fiction. But man, these books are great.

To go from H is for Hawk, which was full of thought provoking ideas, to this tome, which was a mindless romp to the beginning of feminism, was fun.

I read it quickly because I didn't gave to think or become overwhelmed with insights...ha! Just a good frolicking read.½

Very good read

This book is about three women who grow up in the 40s, 50s and 60s. It is readable and full of history but the characters never quite come alive.

THE CHANEL CAPER: Chick Lit For Chicks Who Weren’t Born Yesterday is a wonderful story. It’s light and funny with an edge of danger. Blake and Ralph had some problems early on in their marriage now that they’re “poised between hip and a hip replacement” (page 12, love that line!). They’re looking for that little extra spice. Blake is looking for it in knock-off bags, while Ralph is maybe looking for spice outside of the marriage. Harris gives us quotable quotes one after another making this reader laugh out loud over and over again. One that I loved and may use over and over again is “Men…They think admitting any kind of vulnerability will make their dick fall off.” (Page 143).

Blake is a great character. She’s a not so young, never say die, quick wit that runs her life thinking on her feet. She was a fashion editor, so has the knowledge, but is confident enough to do her own thing. When she goes looking for her knock-off bag to spice up her day she and I bond because that’s what I would do. When she thought the Gucci perfume smelled like Lemon Pledge that was exactly my thought on smelling that perfume as well. She is a woman of the city without pretense and I love her. When Ralph refers to her as “Miss Marple” nothing could be more apt because even if Ralph didn’t need her help in solving the murder, she would not have been able to hold herself back from finding out as much as she could to bring the baddie to justice.

THE CHANEL CAPER: Chick Lit For Chicks Who Weren’t Born Yesterday would have been hard pressed to take place anywhere but New York City. The action-packed, fast-paced run to the end fits with familiar image of The Big Apple. The ending was deliciously done like a scene out of the best rom-coms. The players may surprise the reader, but the promise of more is irresistible to this reader.

Does it sound odd to call a murder mystery light and delightful? Harris gets the job done in THE CHANEL CAPER: Chick Lit For Chicks Who Weren’t Born Yesterday. I truly have nothing negative to say about this novel. Reading this novel was an exercise in self-indulgence best done with your favorite glass of something rare or much loved snack infrequently eaten (I did both). If you like light and funny cozy mysteries with wonderful heart, pick this one up today.

"Narcissists & the Women Who Love & Suffer Them" would also be a good title for Husbands & Lovers.

When a book begins with a main character toting a gun & on a collision course with a spouse & their lover & their lover's lover, all one can do is find out how all this came to be. This was a fast paced & sometimes fun, sometimes infuriating read. Ruth Harris writes characters that feel so true you can't help but go along on their emotional rollercoaster ride lives. Carlys, Kirk, Jade & George are a palette of greys, with none being wholly a hero or villain. I enjoyed that because it made them believable & also went a long way making the story flow well to a satisfying conclusion. The men were just as infuriating as the women & for anything the women endured (Winn & Barry, I'm looking @ you!), I couldn't help yelling "Make better choices! You don't have to take that!" As a woman who didn't experience this period in history (the 70s & early 80s), I find it's fascinating to read & take in all the points of view the characters are caught up in shaded by the times & trying to figure out the next step. They seem to be running away from things just as much as they're running toward other things. I think I can see why my mother had all the authors books on her bookshelf. They're quite engaging. Like watching Mad Men set a bit later. The rules were technically different but people were still people & don't just change attitudes or the way they were brought up, overnight. I'd recommend this if you're looking for something to read over a weekend. It's soapy & still gives you moments to ponder.

Vintage soapy fabulosity! This is one of those books that I remember my mother having on her bookshelf when I was a child. There were lots of period references (published in 1974 & the story spans the 40s through the early 70s) that I didn't get (like names of popular shops, things that were on television & accidents or cases that took place at the time) but that didn't keep me from thoroughly enjoying this. It was very easy to connect to the characters & just fall into the flow of the story. I believed every character & the tragic nature of the lives they led. I plan on reading the rest in this series.

Modern Women tells the story of 3 women, starting from the time they were children (but moreover from the time they were young adults). While this book is not a regular genre for me, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Born in the 1970s, I didn’t get to witness some of America’s history just prior, and the stories of Jane, Elly, and Lincky gave me a perspective that history books in school just didn’t provide - the woman’s point of view. It was very interesting to see these women go through the civil rights movement, JFK’s assassination, and just being women in a time when women were undervalued compared to men.

In this book it was a few chapters for one character, and then it would move on to another. Just as I was getting comfortable with one character, it would switch. However, this wasn’t annoying or unsettling. It kept the story fresh. Yet not so much time would pass in between chapters that you were able to forget about a previous character and her story. In the beginning there were bits of crossover, but by the end it was a merge of the characters and I totally enjoyed that.

This story opens with the assassination of JFK, where each of the women were and what they were doing. Much in the way we all remember where we were during 9-11. We get to peek in on what they were doing, what they were thinking, and how they and the world around them reacted when it happened. Then the story jumps backwards to give us some history and leads us up to that point and beyond.

At 38% I declared to myself that Lincky is/was my favorite character. I’m really hoping for a different outcome than what I am expecting of her. There is a scene with her and her boss, Hank Greene, where he is pounding on the door that is just full of so much emotion between the two…Affair or not, you can’t deny the passion they have for each other. I could have read a whole book just about these two. I’m crossing my fingers that their story will take the turn I am hoping for, but time will tell…

I really loved how these women were all so different, raised different, felt different, looked and acted different. But they are similar. They wanted to live differently, see differently, and be seen differently. And that is a major struggle that I feel any woman can relate to.

This is a book I really don’t want to give any spoilers away because if you look at how Lincky’s life turns out, you find out about Jane’s. And if you look at Jane’s, you know about Elly’s. You also learn about all the men that come and go in their lives, in whichever capacity they are. But the characters are very rich and full of life. You really get the feeling that you get to know them.

This story is an honest look at life. I found myself getting mad, and rejoicing, worrying that this situation or that wouldn’t work out. After it was finished, my favorite character remains Lincky. But even Lincky had faults, every character in this book did. Some of them were gigantic huge faults. But you keep living. You make the best of what you got, you get over it and you move on. Sometimes a gamble will work, sometimes it won’t. This book isn’t one success for the characters after another. They make mistakes. Some they learn from, some they don’t.

I would definitely recommend this book to my friends. Especially love those who are interested in midcentury history, women and their stories, and just life in general.

What I liked the best of this book was the honesty in the writing. The steady-eyed, sometimes stark look at male-female relationships that still make the world turn.
The setting is fabulous all on its own. Incorporating the raging atmosphere of the 60s and 70s, the decades take on a role of their own, sometimes becoming as important to the characters’ lives as the plot. The feminist movements, the changes in attitude that the reader sees towards women as the story progresses is astounding, and for me, who did not live through those years, a revelation.
I’m in love with the characters that fill this book. I finished reading it earlier this afternoon, and their voices are still roaming around my head. They are so vibrant and complex, so different one from the other, that there’s no way to forget any of them, or to hate any of them. They are all written with acute sensitivity, creating balanced and believable characters.
This is truly a book about women striving to find themselves and happiness, be it within the boundaries that society laid on them or outside of them. It is a story full of love and hate, of revenge and betrayal, but it is mainly about the lives of these women and the men who touched their lives. It was a joy to follow them through their lives.
I can easily recommend this book to women and men alike.

i have not yet read this book.