I wanted to read ‘I’m Glad About You’ because of its author, Theresa Rebeck, a known playwright, and is also the creator of one of my favorite show from a few years back, SMASH. I was expecting a book that was very New York – of urban people and how they connect. The book isn’t exactly what I thought it would be. This is a story of two people who meet in Ohio when they are teenagers. He is a Catholic and doesn’t believe in premarital sex. She is an actress and moves to New York to pursue his craft. I get that idea that sometimes you have to ask the universe why you still keep on running into the “one” even as your lives takes different turns, but the characters here are just so unlikable that I cannot root for either one, much less their getting together. The plot takes twists and turns that are interesting, but sometimes they don’t make sense at all. We have a villain that comes in and out of these people’s lives, but we don’t exactly know what his motivations are. The whole book seems overlong, yet the ending seems abrupt. I have a lot of problems with the book but strangely found it compelling. Rebeck has a fine ear for dialogue – the narrative feels like a screenplay, even a theater piece. The title of the book comes from the Navajo way of saying ‘I Love You,’ and I feel the same way about the book. It infuriated me, it baffled me, but I am glad it exists.

Fin Dolan is at a crossroad in his life. He has been working in advertising, and his biggest account is a diaper brand. He gets a chance to do a Superbowl commercial for them, and this could put him in the big leagues. But, he is given a short time to do this. Meanwhile, he gets a call from his older brother, telling him that their father – who has been absent for most of their lives – is dying in a hospital in Cape Cod. And he has to realize that he is desperately falling in love with Phoebe, who also works at his office. All these stories are seamlessly told in John Kenney’s novel, which is a great exercise in reflection. I spent most of my weekend devouring all three hundred and twenty pages (or the Kindle equivalent) of this book. It shows how at some point in our lives we question what we do, what we value in our lives, and what we do to pursue our happiness. It also shows how death in family can change us, and make us ask questions we were too scared to ask before. I found myself identifying with Fin, even though he is the farthest thing from who I am. I found myself missing my old city, my old life, my old everyday. And in this book, I found a little corner of myself.

I am getting out of my reading rut. Tracy McMillan’s ‘Multiple Listings’ helped a lot. This was a page-turner for me, as I finished it in a little more than a day. Daylight Savings Time also helped because the other night I couldn’t sleep and I just tore through this. McMillan gives us a father and daughter story, told in alternating point of view chapters between Nikki, a successful real estate appraisalist and Ronnie, her father who has just been released from prison and shows uop unexpectedly at her door. She doesn’t want him there. and he has nowhere else to go. I can’t exactly pin-point why, but at first I didn’t like the Nikki character, but I warmed up to her. The father, Ronnie, is a hoot – someone with worldly wisdom and isn’t afraid to impart it. I got engrossed in the story, and since McMillan is a television writer, the set up seems to be sitcom or hour-long dramedy ready. But these are three-dimensional characters, and by the end of the book I was sad to see them go.

‘Opening Belle’ by Maureen Sherry has been optioned by Reese Witherspoon, and knowing this factoid, I automatically just imagined Reese as Isabelle, the main character in this book. Isabelle is a humorless bore, and I hope Reese infuses her charm to make the character come alive in the film. As a book, ‘Opening Belle’ is confused: it is part working woman tale, part Wall Street morality tale, and even a little bit Norma Rae-ish woman’s equality tome. It’s all so boring. Halfway through the book, when Isabelle starts talking about bonds and sub prime mortgage, I knew exactly where the book was headed (so no surprises there)  I cannot believe how unsympathetic Isabelle is: a lot of times I found myself taking the side of whoever is making her life miserable. I used to work with women like this main character: and they are all insufferable. This book is just as bad.

If you want a more entertaining Woman On Wall Street book, go for Erin Duffy’s Bond Girl.