Monday, January 16, 2017

*Review* Lift and Separate by Marilyn Simon Rothstein


Genre: Chick-Lit
Published: December 1, 2016
Pages: 296

Synopsis

Marcy Hammer’s life has been turned upside down. Her husband, the head of a global brassiere empire, didn’t think twice about leaving her after thirty-three years of marriage for a 32DD lingerie model. Now Harvey the Home-Wrecker is missing in action, but Marcy’s through thinking about what a cliché he is. What she needs now is a party-size bag of potato chips, a good support system, and a new dress.

Striking out on her own is difficult at first, but Marcy manages to find traces of humor in her heartbreak. Even while devastated by Harvey’s departure, she still has her indomitable spirit and her self-respect. She has no intention of falling apart, either, even when her adult children drop a few bombshells of their own and she discovers a secret about her new, once-in-a-lifetime friend. Life may be full of setbacks, but by lifting herself up by her own lacy straps, Marcy just may be able to handle them all.

Review

I won a copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program in the hopes that I would leave an honest review. 

This book was a fairly quick read for me, and I pretty much couldn't put it down because it was like watching a train wreck. Basically it appealed to my baser, reality tv loving instincts. I really related to Marcy as a stay at home mom whose life has been determined by my husband's career, very much like hers. I'm honestly okay with that, for the most part, and so is she, but that made it really easy for me to slide into her size 8 Jimmy Choo's. This also meant that I spent the entirety of the story rooting for her and preparing to egg her husband's car if needed, because it became personal to me. 

There were several times where I didn't agree with the choices that Marcy was making, but I also can't honestly say that I would have actually made different choices myself. It has to be hard to decide to just throw away three decades of wedded bliss because of one affair, especially when your whole existence has pretty much revolved around your husband and his career. The unknown can be scary and I would probably want to cling to what I knew too. So ultimately I can understand why Marcy made the choices that she did, even though I think they were stupid (and I wanted her to be a strong, independent woman immediately.)

I was also really bothered by Harvey's obsession with women's bra sizes. It was a detail that absolutely makes sense in terms of the story and his profession, but it seems a bit creepy to me. Although that did make it easier for me to tell Marcy she should dump him like yesterday's garbage. 

4 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

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About the Author

For more than twenty-five years, Marilyn Simon Rothstein owned an advertising agency in Connecticut. She grew up in New York City, earned a degree in journalism from New York University, began her writing career at Seventeen magazine, and married a man she met in an elevator. 

Marilyn received a master of arts in liberal studies from Wesleyan University and a master of arts in Judaic studies from the University of Connecticut.

2 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. It was pretty interesting, and I flew through it (and I haven't felt like I was flying through a book in a while.) - Katie

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