The House by Danielle Steel
I have been promoting chick lit to the girls at school all week, so when the school holidays began and I was selecting my first book to read, I just had to read some chick lit for myself. This Danielle Steel title had been sitting on my bookshelf for months, so it was time to read it and get rid of it.
And I got exactly what I expected. A formula romance novel that can be churned out by the dozens. Girl is nearing middle age, biological clock is running out. She works a 50 hour week and has little time for anything but the weekend companion that has been around for 4 years. Then the girl meets an older man, a father figure, who gives her wise advice. In spite of herself she takes the advice and ends up falling in love, having a child and married (in that order).
And this book has weddings galore. In the single year that passes between the covers, three generations of the family meet Mr Right and say I Do. The grand house referred to in the title ends up as the location for all three weddings.
About three quarters of the way through the book as the first wedding passed, I started looking for the typical twist to the emotions. Was Mr Right going to get cold feet? Perhaps the Ex would return and she would be torn between her two true loves. But no, everything stayed sweet and predictable right to the end.
It is unusual today for a book to remain warm, life affirming and positive from cover to cover. The reader is never challenged to think in this book. But sometimes everyone needs to read some brain mush. And this is definitely a book for the beach.
