Time Off from Good Behavior - Hardcover

Susan Sussman

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0671685163 ISBN 13: 9780671685164

Publisher: Atria, 1991

Synopsis

A warm funny and touching story of married Baby Boomers hitting mid-life full speed. After working since he was young, Asher has just sold his business for twenty million dollars and wants to take off and travel, enjoy life. His wife, Sarah, after putting off a career while she stayed home to raise her family and care for her aging mother, is finally able to pursue her career as a costumer full-time - and has just landed a job assisting a famous costume designer on a new movie.

About this title

About the Author

Susan Sussman is the author of twenty books, fiction and non-fiction, for adults and children. She won an EMMY for her screenplay of her classic children's book THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A CHANUKAH BUSH, SANDY GOLDSTEIN (now available on DVD) and she also writes articles, musicals and plays.

Reviews

You want to like this second novel by Sussman ( The Dieter ). The characters and dialogue are feisty, whiny and funny--not unlike the kinds of folk whose conversation is usually mimicked in a Jackie Mason monologue. The protagonists--Sarah and Asher--still find each other sexually exciting after 25 years of marriage. Problems emerge, however, after Asher sells his business for $20 million, and wants to travel and begin to enjoy life. But erstwhile devoted wife and mother Sarah has finally made it big in a career as a costume designer for an upbudget TV movie. Also, Sarah's self-absorbed and ailing mother suddenly can't seem to do without Sarah's attention. (Mom gets some of the best lines; in response to the fatal heart attack of her son-in-law's closest friend: "Such a young man. Well, at least he wasn't sick.") Though Asher becomes petulant and develops agoraphobia, Sarah finally convinces him to take off without her and indulge himself--which he finds is not an easy task. Sarah ably handles her job, her mother, Asher's obnoxious and mostly worthless relatives and even the amorous advances of a handsome colleague. So what's not to like? The book is too pat, more like a slow, obvious and inane sitcom with some good comedy routines; amusing filler does not a novel make.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Midlife crises strike two marriage partners simultaneously, resulting in a more-amusing-than-average romantic comedy by the author of The Dieter (1988). Asher Rose's kids are grown and off on their own; his Chicago- based soup business has been sold for $20 million; and now, after 40 years of supporting a family by selling soup, the long-awaited leisure life can begin--except that wife Sarah has just thrown herself into her first full-time career, designing costumes for movies, and refuses to quit. While Asher chafes at the bit, longing to spend his fortune by visiting all the exotic locales he's dreamed of, Sarah works 18-hour days to clothe gaggles of self- obsessed movie actors, care for her flamboyant but ailing mother, and worry about Asher, whose workaholic character begins to crumble when he finds himself at home with nothing to do. To get Asher away from daytime TV and out of her hair, Sarah, who did her own traveling after high school, insists Asher go off to see the world on his own. Promising to catch up with him as soon as her work permits, she bravely urges Asher to sow his wild oats in the meantime--this will be a separate vacation with no marital strings attached. Dazed but fascinated, Asher obeys, taking his first faltering steps into the jet-set life while Sarah braves midnight shoots, emergency fittings, and the unexpected allure of a younger man. Soon enough, both partners find that their fantasy lives are sorely lacking without each other's company--and, to the delight of all those who have mooched off the Roses for decades past, forget about their long-cherished dreams in their rush to be together again. Generous, madcap--and heartwarming. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

It should have been a happy day for Sarah Rose. After years of raising children and making costumes for commercials and amateur plays, she is hired as assistant to an illustrious designer to work on a new film. Asher, her husband, should have been happy, too, for he has become an overnight multimillionaire by selling his famous soup company. But while Sarah is at last professionally fulfilled, Asher is at a loss. His old company doesn't want him or his lazy relatives around--nor does Sarah, who is happy in her work while trying to fend off her ailing mother's demands. When his best friend dies trying to cheer him up, Asher retreats into lonely despair. To save what had been a loving union, Sarah talks him into traveling, living, even loving it up until she is free to join him. Despite a contrived happy ending, Sussman has meaningful things to say about retirement and marriage in a breezy, easy manner. Recommended.
- Marion Hanscom, SUNY-Binghamton Lib.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Atria
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0671685163
• ISBN 13: 9780671685164
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Jeffrey Adams
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 274
• Editor: Jane Chelius