I just finished another book to review for Random House (US), this time for a book from first-time novelist Julie Buxbaum. This is another one to add to your summer reading list. I wouldn’t recommend it for your reading group unless said group is comprised of women under the age of 35 and comprised of members who find it important to identify with characters. I say this not because I think the book is a “fluff” book–it’s not nor do I think young reading groups read fluff books–but because the characters in this book are strong and demand some analysis that comes best from people who are in the very prime of their careers and love lives. That, I think, is always done best over a glass or two of wine amongst good women reading friends.
You’ll fall in love with Emily, the main character in Opposite, and Ruth, her mentor. Both women work/ed in law. Emily is just beginning her career and learning that sometimes values get in the way of making money if you let them. Ruth, a retired judge, not only is a mean poker player, but she shows Emily that love and work are best approached by paying attention to both your head and your heart.
I felt as if I was in NYC while reading this book. Buxbaum paints the scenes vividly, which will come in handy for the screen writer who will (or has?) been commissioned to carry the book from print to screen. (I see that Twentith Century Fox has bought the movie rights.) The characters are well developed, from Grandpa Jack to the prodigal father, and extending to the shrink who dresses in wanna-be yoga guru chic. Edited well, the story flows nicely taking the reader from a few planned pages before bedtime to the middle of the night’s “damn, I’ve got to get up in a few hours!”
DeNel Rehberg Sedo 