I’m a fan of Jennifer Crusie. I’ve already read everything written by her, so this charming little novel, one of the author’s earlier books, is a re-read. I picked it off my shelf after I read MrsJ’s review. Thanks, MrsJ.Like many Crusie’s novels, this story is a romance, but it doesn’t conform to all the romance tropes. Most bookstores shelve Crusie with regular fiction, and I know why. The protagonist Kate wants to get married. She is tied of being alone. As a very successful and rich businesswoman, she decides to go after her goal with a business plan: to find a tall, successful, distinguished and rich businessman who would love her. To bring her plan to life, she takes a vacation and drives to a top-notch golf resort.The resort teems with tall, successful, distinguished and rich businessmen, but none of them engages her heart, until Jake shows up: a tall, unkempt, disreputable groundkeeper, lazy but restful. As the two of them fish on a lake every morning in companionable silence, with their fishing hooks cut off the lines, so the fish would have no incentive to get suicidal, Kate starts to revise her business plan, and the man of her dreams begins resembling Jake, although she knows he is all wrong for her. He is not successful, not distinguished, not rich, and not a businessman. Or is he? The book was by turns side-splitting funny and insightful, populated by vivid characters and studded with witty dialog, bright descriptions, and absurd situations. It felt as if the author enjoyed writing it as much as I enjoyed reading it. It felt as if we laughed together. My one objection: it was too short. I wanted to prolong the pleasure. The other Crusie’s books beckon.Here are a couple of my favorite quotes.Before Jake met Kate, his brother berates him for his laziness: “…get your life moving before you turn into a potted plant and the help starts watering you.”After a few days of her association with Jake, Kate revises her plan: Maybe she should focus her plan better. What she wanted was somebody distinguished and successful who was also caring and honest. Sort of a cross between her father and Jake. She tried to imagine what that cross would look like and couldn’t. It was like trying to cross a shark with a teddy bear.An enchanting book.
Why would you say ‘yes’ to three men you couldn’t bring yourself to marry? - JessieIf I have everything I want, why am I still running so hard?- KateAll you have to do is choose to be happy.- KateI like my life. Stay out of it. - JakeThe thing about women, is that they got liberated too fast. They never learned to be straightforward about life because they had to sneak around for about a thousand years tricking men into doing things they wanted. So they manipulate you instead of telling you what they want, so you never know where the hell you are. And then they get mad at you and bitch. - JakeWhy is security always boring? - PennyBecause if it were exciting, it wouldn’t be safe.- KateYou have to admire a man who doesn't quit. - NancyIn the long run, I'm in terrible trouble. In the short run, I'll be okay as soon as that man puts his hands on me again.- KateHasn't it once occured to you in this past week that this was going to end?- KateWomen are no good at math.- JakeI'm going to remember you forever like this. You're burned in my brain.- JakeYou know, all that drive about you wanting the simple life out here, that’s garbage. You don’t want the simple life, because you don’t want anything. You don’t want anything because you’re afraid to want anything. All you know is the safe stuff, the stuff you don’t want.- KateSix weeks, and he hasn’t even called once. I’ve given up checking my machine. I buried it under my dry cleaning because every time I go home there’s either no blinking light or, worse, there is one and it’s somebody trying to sell me something.- KateI hate this. I hate this, I hate this, I hate this.- KateSilence does not necessarily indicate a lack of interest. He could just be as big a chicken about this as you are.- PennyIf you want something in life, you have to go after it.- PennyI'm never going to be over you. It's a curse in life.- KateThe important thing for me is that whatever problem we have, we can solve, because nothing will ever be as bad for me as being away with you. Nothing.- Jake
What do You think about Manhunting (2007)?
This was so much fun!!! I can't believe this was written in 1993 because it holds up SO WELL, also in terms of how women are treated and how the romance is written and everything. Minus the 'answering machines', this could be set today and I wouldn't bat an eyelid. But yeah, I really enjoyed this book. I laughed out loud a lot. Kate was an excellent heroine and I loved her and Jake SO MUCH. I fear that Bet Me will always be my favorite Crusie and no other book of hers will live up to that, but this was pretty damn good anyway.
—Sonja
On the shorter side, but very cute and sweet. I liked both characters, and especially the inner conflicts they faced. Normally I prefer romances that play over a longer period, but I think Crusie made up for the fact that falling in love in a week is not staying in love forever, by letting the characters aknowledge that and worry about it.Kate's encounters with potential partners were quite funny, though the last one seemed a bit contrived to me. I loved her early encounters with Jake though, and could have spent plenty of pages more with the both of them on the lake.I did feel that Kate went through bigger inner growth than Jake, and especially after his dicklike behavior in the last conflict, I wished for him to make a bigger turn around at the end.I liked all side-characters, but was slightly surprised how HUGE a dick Will turned out to be. Was pleasantly surprised when Kate and co. called him out on it, because Valerie wasn't liked. So yeah, I liked the characters, their personal problems/situation, and their relationship, but I wished for a bit more length and a bit more depth. Still very much a Crusie fan though.
—Jan
This book was a total hoot because it had two characters who practiced self-delusion perfectly, the heroine with her corporate life and three engagements she broke off, who wanted to have a companion, someone smart and successful and definitely not like the hero Jake who does nothing, ever since he quit his job as a tax attorney in the city and invested all his money in the resort run by his brother and that is where these two meet.The hero doesn't want to do anything or so he tells himself as he pretends to fish and manages the outside of the resort, he is totally not looking for someone like Kate instead he doesn't want anybody after all his marriage was a disaster with a wife who tried to make him more ambitious.Seeing Kate's date was so hilarious, all of them ended up injured in some way, then there was the young engaged Penny. I loved seeing Kate come on to her own and felt like laughing so badly when these two on their boat ride tried to tell themselves they felt brotherly towards each other and finally when Kate is working at the bar enjoying feeling sexy, they are hit over their head with their attraction.And that boat drowning/sex scene was hilarious as hell. I also liked the end quite a bit, these two were totally awesome and the book hilarious.
—Saly
