This One Is Mine

I knew that Where'd You Go, Bernadette would be a tough book to follow. It was the kind of nearly perfect book that makes even good books seem dry in comparison. When I was lamenting about my conundrum of what to read, Alan asked if Maria Semple had any other books out. I knew she had written only one other (her first novel) so I found that and dived in.

This One is Mine looks at the lives of two women, Violet, a rich married women who has an affair, and Sally, her neurotic sister-in-law whose mission is to snag a man. The novel is readable, but falls flat. I considered putting the book down several times as it's quite flawed. And yet, it was somewhat entertaining enough to continue so I did. I finished, but definitely can't recommend it. And yet I'm glad Semple wrote it as I feel sometimes it takes writing a delightfully flawed novel to teach one the art of fiction. She sure nailed it the second time around...