The family man (original 2009; edition 2009)

Read on Kindle -- purchased at a sale. This was OK. Competently written. Nice story. Spoilers are here. Nice story about a guy who married a woman with a little girl & bonded with the little girl but then lost her through the divorce. Now it is enough years later than the little girl is a young woman. The ex-wife becomes widowed & our hero extends condolences & finds himself caught up in a nutty friendship with her. And he and the young woman find each other & build a father-daughter relationship. Meanwhile the ex-wife finds him a new boyfriend who is very sweet. Sort of a sweet NYC slice-of-life book.

Very fun read! Light, quick and easy. ( )

An all-around pleasant, warm-hearted family drama/comedy. A fun and quick read. ( )

The family man of the title is Henry Archer, an aging, cultured gay man who finds his life upended with the sudden reappearance of his dotty ex-wife and his actress-wannabee stepdaughter, who lands a bizarre gig as a faux girlfriend for a socially awkward movie star.

Lipman is a shrewd observer of family dynamics and social mores; her work is witty and I would almost say light, although certainly not frivolous or frothy. I started out not liking this one as much as I have other Lipman books, because I'm not particularly interested in the rich Manhattanite characters that are being portrayed here. However, I warmed to Henry - it's impossible not to - and I warmed to the story as it went along. The book teaches us that there are many different ways to be a family, and that all families are a little nutty. No great revelation, right, but a pleasant read. ( )

Elinor Lipman starts with a pretty unbelievable situation--gay ex-husband reconnects with his stepdaughter whom he hasn't seen in 24 years--and creates an entertaining story. The writing is very good, the characters are mostly lovable, and the ending, while wildly improbable, is just what we're hoping will happen. Many laugh-out-loud moments. ( )