Absolutely among the top ten favorite books I've ever read. I was absolutely devastated when Olivia Goldsmith died. Her books are wonderful. This one however, is a hoot. I laughed so many times as I read this book. It was hysterical and Ms. Goldsmith had the ability to create dialogue that was so perfect that you not only could envision the character and his or her personality within a few words, but you could actually hear their accents and dialects as if you were in the room with them. Marrying mom is a tremendous jaunt that takes a little old lady and her best friend on a journey into the crazy lives of her three adult children who all want no parts of their mother or her interference in their already screwed up lives. What ensues is one of the most amusing stories I've ever had the pleasure of reading. You will laugh out loud and cheer as this dysfunctional family discovers hidden secrets, each other and love conquers all.
This tickled my sense of humor. I laughed out loud, which startled my dogs! Three dysfunctional children try desperately to marry off their mother, who doesn't want / need it. But her view of New York is far outdated, so she'll go along with "Operation Geezer Quest" for the time being. Sigourney (Susan) is a stockbroker, living beyond her means. Sharon is a neurotic, overweight housewife, living with a perpetually unemployed husband. And Bruce is a gay guy with a great sense of style, who has a greeting card company about to go bankrupt. All stereotypes from the 70s.But the plot moves along, somehow, and all's well that ends [very] well.I'll have to look & see what movie Sherry Lansing created from this -- it might be good!
What do You think about Marrying Mom (1999)?
Plot: Marry off your elderly but spirited mother, and quick! Also, it would help solve your financial problems. It'll turn out great. Really! Review: The book was a quick, fun, shallow read with lots of quips if you can get past the problematic parts. There's some fat-shaming (Olivia Goldsmith, a size 16 is not that fat!), some stereotypical gay characters, and the incredibly materialistic message. (The book was written in the 90's and it shows.) I didn't really like any of the kids and ultimately wanted the mom to run away from them as quickly as possible. Still, I wanted to get to the end and see if my predictions for the characters turned out correctly. The fact there were any surprises was the actual surprise.
—M
