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The Family Manby Elinor Lipman |
Arlene Almas: This is the extremely
delightful tale of Henry, his ex-wife Denise, his former stepdaughter
Thalia, who he adopted when he married Denise, and various other characters,
mostly hilarious, who populate the story. Henry is a retired attorney who
happens to be gay, and he has not had contact with Thalia for about twenty
years. His marriage to Denise was very short-lived and she remarried
very quickly afterward; her new (third) husband adopted Thalia, which
Henry did not contest for reasons you will encounter in the book.
He still misses her and thinks about her often. Since this is a novel,
after all, Henry and Thalia "meet cute" and go on to establish a
wonderful father-daughter relationship; meanwhile, Thalia's dream
of becoming an actress takes an unusual turn, and Henry, with help,
develops a social life. "The Family Man" is a story with a big,
warm heart, and I'm sure it will warm yours.
Rating: *****
