Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Book Review: "Ms. Demeanor" by Elinor Lipman

Elinor Lipman's new book is an absolutely charming story about a woman’s efforts to repair her life after it falls apart.

Jane is a hardworking lawyer, highly respected in her firm. One night, running into a younger colleague leads to a night of drinking, flirting, and late-night sex on the rooftop deck of her NYC apartment building. Of course, it just so happens that a neighbor from the building across the street is looking at the roof with her binoculars—and she calls the police.

While she and her colleague get arrested, Jane is made an example of, and is sentenced to six months of house arrest, gets fired from her job, and has her law license suspended. What should she do now? Her twin sister tries to come up with ideas to keep Jane busy and keep from being bitter.

When the doorman of her building lets slip that there’s another tenant on house arrest, Jane strikes up a friendship with Perry, a white-collar criminal and former art handler. The two of them commiserate over their punishment and the way so many in their lives have abandoned them.

And then the police come knocking on Jane’s door again. Before she knows it she’s entangled in the lives of minor Polish royalty and another one of her neighbors…and is there a chance at romance?

I really loved this. It was funny, thought-provoking, emotional, and romantic. A real surprise just how much I loved the banter, the family dysfunction, all of it.

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