Chick lit for the over 50s. It was OK, funny in some parts, a bit silly in other parts. I didn't really felt drawn to any of the women although I didn't mind Lucy. Joanna was far to high flying for my taste and Rebecca was a stereotype for women who don't want to grow up.None of these single women gave me the idea they were independent. They all still seemed to need the company of men around them, especially Rebecca who sees men as a meal ticket. But it was a light read and as such quite enjoyable. Don't take it seriously though............ The book is entitled "Choral Society". This book is formulaic. Three women meet in a choral group. At the beginning of the book each woman has a short-coming. By the end of the book they have resolved their problems in one way or another. As a musician who has conducted several choirs in my career I thought this book would be of interest to me. Admittedly the three main characters meet because they join a choral group, but the book deals with their separate lives and we hardly hear much about the choral society at all, except that the scratch group starts off singing Gospel songs and later is rehearsing for a performance of "Messiah". I have the impression that the three women are extensions of Prue Leith herself. One is a food-writer and, as in previous novels, there is far too much about cooking methods and ingredients, and descriptions of the meals the various characters eat. There are also too many details about the clothes they wear and the names of contemporary dress designers. There is even a very detailed description about a medical procedure to remove excess fluid from one of the character's knees! Prue Leith might have had a different editor for this book than for her earlier novels. How could the editor have overlooked so much slang, clichés, and a whopper about "the laird in the manse" which upset my Scottish sensibilities. Doesn't everybody know that a minister inhabits a manse? What was a laird doing there?Admittedly there was a performance of "Messiah" towards the end of the book, but it appeared to be done by chorus only without any mention of soloists. Her nebulous description of this performance reminded me of a description of a performance by a string quartet in one of Mary Wesley's books. When she mentioned a conductor of the said quartet, I refused to go on reading it.After the disappointment of this book I doubt whether I'll be buying any more of Prue Leith fiction, although my cooking might benefit from reading one of her cookery books!
What do You think about Choral Society (2009)?
i really enjoyed this book - from the characters to the well-described locations. and the food! yum!
—vlpik
I thought this book was ok, not outstanding but ok.
—slutgarden
