The Dearly Departed

Lipman's books look as if they must be 'guilty pleasure' books, but I swear they're good--Lipman has a singular voice and dry sense of humor. They're in a class of books that is hard to come by--maybe not 'literary fiction' but fun: well-written keen studies of people. Though I and others might argue that they are 'literary fiction'! If only the covers didn't scream 'chick lit'...

Read during Spring 2004

Elinor Lipman seems to have an uncanny ability to create completely annoying and shallow characters that you just love to hate. The best part in this one is that they fall for each other off stage and leave the main part to two characters I really liked. One of her best ones, right up there with The Way Men Act and The Inn at Lake Devine.

Great, dryly funny and very moreish. It's in the genre of the death of a parent causing someone to go back to the small town where they grew up. There's unresolved high school baggage and realising that they didn't know their parent as well as they thought. Very good, though.

Sunny's mother and Fletcher's father die in a carbon monoxide accident. They meet for the first time at graveside where it becomes evident to the whole town they are siblings. Sunny makes peace with her childhood and decides to stay. She gets to know Fletcher and admits they are related.

When Fletcher began making brotherly overtures, I took them to be insinsere, more for his own enjoyment. Up until that point he had been portrayed as totally ego-centric. I liked what his character became. Kind of the wild-eyed little brother pestering his sister, wantint to know everything. Sunny's reconciliation with Randy wasn't real. he obviously wasn't sincere and still thought his high school pranks had been funny, and it had all been her fault. show more Maybe a truce for the sake of her friendship with Regina, but no a sincere apology. Overall, the characters were interesting and the situation that put them all together was good. show less

A fun little romp that begins with two funerals and ends with two romances.

The accidental death of a woman and her lover brings her daughter and his son together fot the funeral. As the story unfolds, we find out they are step siblings. Set in a small, rural american town, the story has a certain charm and keeps the reader's interest to the end.