A couple of years ago, I had the priviledge of meeting Lorna Landvik, a local authoress.  Her daughter was at school with mine and she gave a talk on something or other, I forget the circumstances and I can't imagine why I was there, as I have taken to ignoring virtually all school everts, but anyway, I was there, she spoke and she was funny and smart.

So, I went out and bought her book, Patty Jane's House of Curl.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  She has written several others, all with very entertaining titles, and I've meant for years to acquire a few more. 

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons was such a disappointment that ten minutes ago, I gave up after about six chapters.

I don't have time for tiresome, irritating tales full of stock characters who might be interesting if they rose even to the level of cliches or stereotypes.

This story of a book club features such scintillating women as the Southern Bell; the bastard daughter of the town tramp who grew up not so much on the wrong side of the tracks as all over them with everybody.  Her Southern Bell Mother in Law is naturally an insensitive racist.

Then there's the Gorgeous Blonde who's dumber than grass.  Her equally Gorgeous Husband is an abusive creep and naturally, a Republican.

There's the Brave Older Woman, a Stalwart of the DFL (Minnesota's Democrat Party) who adopts and raises a mixed race baby. 

There's the Voluptous Rich Girl Sex Addict.  God, am I sick of her.

Worst of all is the Self Righteous, Sanctimonious Political Protester, who's personal philosophy goes no deeper than "War is not the Answer."*  Except in this book, she's portrayed as the Brave, Pure of Heart, Iconoclast who Puts Herself On the Line.  Please, wake me up before you go go.

Aside from the abusive husband, the only other character in the book refered to as "Republican" is the neighborhood tight ass who wouldn't know how to have fun if Fun hit her in the face with a pie.

This book was written by a Mpls girl and is set in Mpls and what bothers me most about it is that Ms. Landvik probably doesn't even know any Republicans. That's very possible here.  So she vilifies half the country based on the scurrilous slander of thier political opposites. 

I find this sort of story telling as tedious as stories of Brave African Americans who never encountered a white person who wasn't a racist redneck ass.   But while African Americans have, historically been picked on by whites,  I'm pretty sure there was never a time here in the Land of Skyblue Water when hordes of Republicans chased down Democrats with pitchforks.  If there was, I can only say "Ah... the good old days!"

I finally had enough when one character, the Brave Older Woman, thought of herself not as the 'hostess' of the book club, but the 'host'.  Give me a bleepin break.  Life is way too short for this nonsense.

It's too bad, too, because I thought Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons was a terrific title for a book.

* If the question is "What's two plus four", then granted, war is not the answer.  If, on the other hand, the Question is "How did we gain independence from England, How did we free the slaves or How did we defeat Hitler" the answer is, well...war.  War is never the only answer.  But sometimes it's the only answer that will get you the results you want.

 

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