Rebecca Miller (1) (1962–)

I hadn't heard of Rebecca Miller. Bogged down in all the pessicitudes of life (yeah, new word I just coined now in utter pessimism), I had stopped reading books. Not completely but well, it seemed no book captured my attention long enough and intensely enough. I wouldn't still say that the Private Lives of Pippa Lee by Rebecca Miller captivated me. But it did one good thing - it made me read the book straight in two days, and I didn't find my mind wandering around in 4000 different corners show more of the earth while I was doing so.

Surprise, after I finished, I found that Private Lives has been turned into a movie. I am not sure I would be seeing the movie, but Private Lives interested me simply because Pippa was such a believable character. She seemed to resonate my own mind, and her journey from being a drug-infused rebel in her youth to compliant housewife for Herb Lee, mega publisher, and socializer, and then her slow unraveling of herself was fascinating. The novel moves through two parts - Pippa's youth told in the first person, and then Pippa at 50 - locked in a marriage to a person 30 years her senior, two kids, Ben, who seems too perfect to be true, and Grace, in who Pippa sees most of herself - a photographer on assignment in Afganistan. There was a small section of the book that explored Grace's character - her struggles with Pippa, and her consultations with a psychotherapist but it was too short, too brief, and almost as if the writer forgot she had to develop Grace more.

Private Lives is no classic but it is a light read, enjoyable, and for those who can identify with Pippa, it offers a little more insight.

My favorite quote from Private Lives : "Marriage is an act of will" says Pippa while talking to her best friend. I later found that it is just an echo of Pope John Paul II's own quote. show less

I adored this creative, page-turning and moving story of a dead French Jewish peddler come back to life as a fly in modern day Long Island and the influence he has on inveterate goody-two-shoes Les and struggling Orthodox Jew Masha. This book deserves to be a big hit with lots of readers.
http://www.bostonbibliophile.com/2013/02/review-jacobs-folly-by-rebecca-miller.h...

My first comment upon finishing this one is I find the choice of title a bit…. Odd. If by “private lives” the author means the growing inner turmoil Pippa experiences, then I still struggle with the “private lives” bit. Maybe it is in reference to the fact that Pippa’s life with Herb, her husband, is a polished veneer and very different from her intense and psychologically damaging childhood years where her Dexedrine-addicted mother’s manic behaviour is a catalyst for Pippa’s show more own wild and unhinged youth. Either way, the title is a strange one, but maybe fitting for what is a rather odd story. The story dissects Pippa’s life into sections in a manner that one reviewer refers to as being “like opening a series of Russian Dolls, each intricately wrought, self-contained and self-revealing”. Sadly, I have to agree with the reviewer when they go on to say that each section is just as empty as the last. There is a lot of show, but not a whole lot of substance in this one. The supporting characters seem to come across as slightly exaggerated personalities but even then, there is still an overall flatness of tone to the story. Miller may have done this on purpose to enhance the rather dreamy, sedate aspect of Pippa’s personality (making me think of a Stepford Wife on suppressants), and if so, I am not sure that it works in the way Miller intended. Even when there are what are probably supposed to be shocking scenes - thinking of when the younger Pippa is a participant in an amateur S&M movie - the whole reading experience is a bit surreal.

Overall, a different kind of story of self-examination and discovery but one that didn’t really work for me. Maybe it works better as a movie... I don't know. The fact that it was immediately made into a movie shortly after being published tells me that someone somewhere thought it had potential. show less

There is no earthly reason why this novel works as well as it does, except for the fact that Rebecca Miller is a great writer and really knows how to tell a tale. A Jewish peddler in 18th Paris who, under unusual circumstances, comes to 21st century New York and encounters a volunteer fireman and an ultra-Orthodox wouman with dreams of becoming an actress, thinking he can determine their fate. Marvelous book.

If I could, I would give it another half star.