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Title: Love and Other Impossible Pursuits

Author: Ayelet Waldman

Narrator: Susan Denaker

Format: Abridged

Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-20-06

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

For Emilia Greenleaf, life is by turns a comedy of errors and an emotional minefield. Yes, she's a Harvard Law grad who married her soulmate. Yes, they live in elegant comfort on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. But with her one-and-only, Jack, came a stepson, a know-it-all preschooler named William who has become her number one responsibility every Wednesday afternoon. With William, Emilia encounters a number of impossible pursuits, such as the pursuit of cab drivers who speed away when they see William's industrial-strength car seat and the pursuit of lactose-free, strawberry-flavored, patisserie-quality cupcakes, despite the fact that William's allergy is a figment of his over-protective mother's imagination.

As much as Emilia wants to find common ground with William, she becomes completely preoccupied when she loses her newborn daughter. After this, the sight of any child brings her to tears, and Wednesdays with William are almost impossible. When his unceasing questions turn to the baby's death, Emilia is at a total loss. Doesn't anyone understand that self-pity is a full-time job? Ironically, it is only through her blundering attempts to bond with William that she finally heals herself and learns what family really means.

Critic Reviews:

"[An] honest, brutal, bitterly funny slice of life." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Beautiful

This book was the most beautifully honest book I have ever read dealing with love and lost. I would recommend this book to anyone

a fun, quick read

Really enjoyed this book because I am a step mom who has struggled with her stepson, trying to find a balance between being too much Mommy and not enough distance. It's a really hard tightrope to walk. This book gave me some insight, and solace. Nice to know I'm not the only one to have walked this line before. Found her humorous, and very honest. A quick and helpful read.

Very talented writer, a great read ---especially for Upper West Siders

Waldman is super in touch with Manhattanite moms, nannies, therapists and very precocious NYC kids. Perfect mix of humor, frustration, sadness and painful awareness

so very good

I am now and will remain a complete fan of Ayelet Waldman. This is the third of her books if have read in ten days, and they are marvelous! Why didn't I find her earlier?

but I really enjoyed the characters and the plot

The story held my interest. It isn't a masterpiece, but I really enjoyed the characters and the plot.