Starting from Square Two (Red Dress Ink) - Softcover

Lissner, Caren

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0373250525 ISBN 13: 9780373250523

Publisher: Red Dress Ink, 2004

Synopsis

Starting from Square Two by Caren Lissner released on Feb 23, 2004 is available now for purchase.

About this title

About the Author

Caren Lissner describes herself as a “chronic creative writer” who is constantly thinking of story ideas. A University of Pennsylvania graduate with a B.A. in English, she published both serious and humorous pieces in the New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, McSweeney’s, and Weatherwise Magazine. The joys and frustrations of single nerd-dom in the big city drove her to write the novel Carrie Pilby. You can visit her online at carenlissner.com.

Reviews

Everything comes easily to Gert Healy: dating, love, marriage. But when her husband, Marc, dies in a car accident, 29-year-old Gert must search for happily ever after—again. A morbid take on romantic comedy, to be sure, but in Lissner's hands, Gert's story is poignant, sweet and smart. Gert re-enters the dating world with the help of her college roommate, Hallie, and Hallie's high school friend Erika. Erika and Hallie moan about the difficulties of dating, but Gert finds a wonderful man on her first foray into New York City's notorious singles scene. Todd, a sensitive young train conductor, differs from the sharp-edged Marc, and Gert finds herself falling into a different kind of love with him. She hashes out her inevitable feelings of guilt with the members of her young widows support group. Marc died only a few days before September 11, a plot device Lissner does not exploit, but uses sensitively to broaden the scope of the book. Hallie and Erika grapple more shrilly with their unbearable singlehood—especially Erika, who broke up with her college sweetheart and now faces the agony of hearing about his charmed life on his wife's Web log. Though Lissner's supporting characters aren't as nuanced as the appealing Gert, even Hallie and Erika gain depth as the novel builds to a thoughtful conclusion. Lissner's sturdy prose and sympathetic, detailed evocation of young widowhood makes this a solid entry in the genre.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lissner's second novel is quite a departure from her first, the charming Carrie Pilby [BKL Je 1 & 15 03]. The heroine of this novel, Gert Healy, is a fairly well-adjusted young woman, but she's still grappling with the loss of her husband. It's been a year and a half since his death, and Gert's two perpetually single friends, Hallie and Erika, are urging her to get back into the dating game. Reluctantly, Gert accompanies them on a wild night out on the town and meets Tom, a train conductor and a sweet guy. She and Tom hit it off right away, but her friends think it's impossible that Gert could fall for the first person she meets. From Gert's perspective, Hallie and Erika are going about dating all wrong, alternating between being too picky and too desperate. Though it lacks the unique voice Carrie Pilby possessed, Lissner's second effort is an entertaining look at dating from multiple perspectives. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Red Dress Ink
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0373250525
• ISBN 13: 9780373250523
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 296