-
Access Our
Best Book Club
Books of 2025!
Summary | Excerpt | Reading Guide | Reviews | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
Full of humor, clever insight, and a whimsical sense of the absurd - an irresistible and finely written fantasy for anyone who ever wondered what a certain age would look like from beyond the looking-glass.
For twenty-five years, Rose Lloyd has juggled marriage, motherhood, and career with remarkable success. It has been a life of family picnics, books and wine, a cherished house, and her own exquisitely designed garden—sunny and comfortable. But then the carefully managed life to which Rose has become accustomed comes crashing down around her when—over the course of a few days—her marriage and her career both fall apart.
Can Rose, whose anguish is barely softened by the ministrations of friends and grown children with their own problems, ever start over? Not easily. But it's amazing what prolonged reflection, the slimming effect of a lost appetite, a new slant on independence (and a little Parisian lingerie) will do. Especially when an old flame suddenly reappears.
Full of humor, clever insight, and a whimsical sense of the absurd, Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman is an irresistible and finely written fantasy for anyone who ever wondered what a certain age would look like from beyond the looking-glass - and who will find it ripe with promise that the best days are yet to come.
Revenge of The Middle-Aged Woman turned out to be far better than I expected it to be based on the jacket blurb and title, which led me to believe that this would be another tired story of mid-life crisis and extra-marital affairs culminating in a vindictive revenge in which the husband gets humiliated and everything ends happily ever after.
On the contrary, Buchan's book is literary proof that it is possible to take a tired old storyline and create a charming, poignant, believable tale replete with life's wisdom, and happily bereft of cliches or cute and tidy endings.
Recommended reading for the majority of women (and if they could be persuaded to read it, it would probably hit a nerve with many a middle-aged man), especially those who enjoy writers such as Elizabeth Berg and Christina Schwarz.
If you liked Revenge Of The Middle-Aged Woman, try these:
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake
by Anna Quindlen
Published 2013
In this irresistible memoir, the #1 New York Times bestselling author writes about her life and the lives of women today, looking back and ahead - and celebrating it all - as she considers marriage, girlfriends, our mothers, faith, loss, all that stuff in our closets, and more.
by Carrie Kabak
Published 2006
Buoyant and deeply moving, Cover the Butter proves that starting over has nothing to do with age and everything to do with spirit.
Joanna Trollope
An excellent story…strong, imaginative power…wonderful atmosphere
.gif)