Confessions of a Bigamist : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Delicious
Review: A refreshing and very entertaining look at a male-dominated subject written in Lehrer's typically graceful and incisive style... She should gain many new fans with this book. It's wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: Delicious
Review: A refreshing and very entertaining look at a male-dominated subject written in Lehrer's typically graceful and incisive style... She should gain many new fans with this book. It's wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: Author's Indecision Taints Interesting Ideas
Review: I was very intrigued by the possibilities inherent in Confessions of a Bigamist. Specifically, I was interested in the idea of a woman being the party practicing bigamy; something that has traditionally been a male practice in those cultures that condone it. Lehrer spiced up these possibilities by posing interesting questions throughout the book, like "Is over-dedication to work a form of bigamy?" and "Is it possible to be equally in love with two different people because each appeals to one's different sides."

Regrettably, Confessions of a Bigamist never reaches its potential because Lehrer doesn't seem to know whether she wants to write a social commentary or a romantic fantasy. This condition is best seen in her treatment of the protagonist's bigamy. Michelle Banyon does not deliberately choose a life of bigamy; she takes it on because she is afraid to lose her lover. Since her choice is out of panic, Michelle comes across as one who can't make up her mind about what she wants in her life. Consequently, it's hard for the reader to empathize with a main character who is simply out of control. Lehrer compounds her main character's flaws by never fully exploring themes that she introduces. Time after time, she poses a question or hints at an opinion, but never answers the query or expressly states a view. When she does get close to expressing an opinion, as is the case with her ideas on the compartmentalization of personal and professional lives, Lehrer backs away from the topic and returns to the "safer" forum of romantic fantasy. As a result, I was left wondering if Lehrer doesn't feel strongly about the issues she raises.

Confessions of a Bigamist is rife with possibilities. Lehrer does a good job laying out those possibilities by portraying the situations and ironies that permeate her protagonist's life (especially ironic was the fact that an efficiency expert could have such a complicated life). But, because Lehrer doesn't seem to be able to resolve any of these possibilities, she ends up falling back on the old cliche: "You can have it all!" Ultimately though, Lehrer's attempt to "have it all" in her own writing falls flat because there is no resolution.

Rating:
Summary: Devoid of Subtilty
Review: I'm surprised that such a shallow, heavy-handed book was considered publishable. From the start, the book pounds the reader with the main character's "double life" without a trace of grace or subtilty. It reads like "young adult" fiction, except that it doesn't have any likable characters. The one interesting result of reading this book is to see how such a potentially interesting topic like bigamy can be so boring when addressed by an incompetent writer.

Rating:
Summary: Female version of "I led three lives..."
Review: Michelle Banyon literally knocks over handsome Wilson Collins as she drives away from a Texas speaking engagement. She's built an organizing empire under the name Daisy Strait and has kept her own identity -- married to Steve Banyon, an international lawyer who travels a lot -- hidden from her adoring public.

With her husband out of the country more than he's in, Michelle begins spending time with Wilson, finally agreeing to a quickie wedding. She loves both her husband and Wilson. They both love her. So why not?

Confessions of a Bigamist is plausible. Whether it's realistic depends on your beliefs about the human psyche. As an experienced businesswoman, Michelle would have realized the legal implications of a marriage. He could have claims on her wealth and she could be burdened with his debt. And I'm not a lawyer but she may have committed crimes: bigamy, fraud...

However, I didn't get hung up on realism. I would read this novel as playing out an interesting "what if" scenario, not as a literary character study that teaches us deeper lessons about life. It's entertaining and it raises some questions. That's enough for a novel that's probably categorized as chick lit, perfect for summer reading.

To make Michelle more human, we see her rebuilding ties to her estranged sister and grown-up niece, Dottie, a dancer who finds the New York competition overwhelming. We only see Dottie in some degree of angst so those scenes don't add much. Estranged siblings -- one domestic, one involved in business -- are pretty common in real life and fiction.

I kept turning the pages, expecting the author to take us right to the edge of a crisis. When a publisher makes a big offer on a book, and when she's featured on a tabloid cover, there's a big risk of exposure. Yet the author pulls back and the heroine never actually faces a confrontation.

As a result, we don't have a lot of suspense. For some reason, the Texas people don't come to New York. I would expect Wilson to show up in Daisy Strait's office, all western and out of place. Or one of Michelle's new Texas friends could run into her shopping at Saks or eating dinner with her lawyer-husband.

Actually, this low-key story makes for less suspense but more realism. I suspect lots of people have long-term affairs and it wouldn't me the first time a second family was discovered when one spouse dies or has a crisis. Usually the male is the bigamist and Lehrer spares our sensibilities by setting up childless marriages.

Some readers say the heroine wants to have it all. Maybe...but I see this book more as a questioning of the traditional institutions, specifically marriage. When a husband travels extensively, the traditional wife stayed home, socialized with her women friends and waited. However, today's wife brings a social and business background to the marriage. And fidelity should be up to the partners in the relationship.

At one point, heroine Michelle points out that her husband, Steve, has more loyalty to his career than to their marriage. Who's the real bigamist? she asks. And maybe that's the real question for readers who want to discuss this book.

Rating:
Summary: The Three Faces of Michelle
Review: Michelle can't figure out what type of person she is, and she's running away from her past and everything Indiana represents. When she goes back to confront her Indiana sister, Andrea, she notes how beat up Andrea looks and how no woman in New York would look as old as Andrea, even if they are actually the same age. In this way Kate Lehrer manages to alienate a whole slew of Indiana readers. I don't think it's true and I've seen plenty of New York women who look like hags. Check it out next time you go to New York! Anyhow she has one husband Steve, who's not above a little shady business practice, he is a wealthy lawyer whose Christmas bonus is almost half a million dollars. And still Michelle's not satisfied. She has her own business advising women to de-clutter their lives, get rid of old magazines, boyfriends, you know, "he's just not that into you." When she runs over Wilson Collins, I took it that someone must have advised Kate Lehrer to make sure her hero and heroine "meet cute." Taking care of Wilson, she falls in love and decides to depart with him on a romantic vacation in the rain forest, where the two get closer and closer.

I like all the parts where Michelle (who calls herself "Mickey" after Wilson tells her she seems like a "Mickey" rather than a Michelle) feels like she's falling apart. From childhood she has been afraid of snakes and tangly things of all kinds, they embody chaos for her and make her feel as though she were about to die. At age 47 she has an amazing breakthrough, I'm not giving away any spoilers that aren't in the title of the book when I say that she takes the career advice of the novelist Anais Nin, who also had two husbands, and managed to have a successful career on top of that. Kate Lehrer may not like Indiana women, but she likes individuality, good posture, and happiness for all concerned. When Michelle begins to internalize her many selves, and has a bit of a health scare, you'll feel for her in every sick moment.

Rating:
Summary: A DISAPPOINTMENT
Review: This book sounded intriguing. How could one woman manage to have two husbands? The plot was very shallow, the story unbelieveable. This should have been a paperback that you buy when you can find nothing else to read. This was the first book I have read by this author and it will be the last.