Katarina Mazetti
Chick Lit
Penguin Group / July 2009
Quality Paperback / 224 pages
Two middle-aged misfits and a love that should not be as complicated as it seems
It started in a cemetery, where they begrudgingly share a bench. "Shrimp," the childless young widow and librarian with a sharp intellect and a home so tidy that her jam jars are in alphabetical order, meets Benny, the gentle, overworked milk farmer who fears becoming the village's Old Bachelor. Both driven by an enormous longing and loudly ticking biological clocks, they can't escape the powerful attraction between them.
But how will she learn to accept that he falls asleep at the opera and has a house full of his mother's cross-stitch? And how could he ever feel at home in her minimalist apartment, bare as a dentist's waiting room?
What I liked the Most? The story flipping from one to the other. Plus I love how they found love in the cemetery.
What I liked the Least? Kinda odd, but the story flipping from one to the other.
It is what both made this book & made this book harder to read.
Review: Benny - recently orphaned 30 something (Swedish) country boy with out a clue living on the family farm with cows & sheep.
Shrimp - recently widowed 30 something beige mouse of a librarian living in a sterile environment & eating bland food.
Forced to share private moments on a bench in the cemetery where they are each visiting their respective loved ones, neither truly understanding just how lonely they are, until they share an unexpected smile and everything changes. Shy, but immensely attracted to each other, they soon find out that certain needs can be fulfilled with each other. The sexual euphoria quickly wears off and Benny realizes he would prefer "a farmer's wife" to go along with his simpler life, while Shrimp (modern day woman) loathes his dilapidated farm and all the references to the past.
Yet they choose to stay together, fearing the return of the loneliness and rationalizing that the sex is great; but is it enough? Their lifestyles are so different, but they are both intelligent & caring people. Can Benny learn to love city life? Can Shrimp learn to love the farm? What is it that makes two people fall in love? In essences this book is all about how even two people who are absolutely crazy about each other can have a hard time putting it all together and make it work. This book will touch your heart.
Katarina Mazetti has created an honest, down-to-earth look at love, full of humor & sadness.
Recommended to: ANYONE. This was a really good book.
Best Quote: "It's never a problem for you to do a bit of overtime" - they said.
Challenges: 100+
This looks a nice quick read. I usually like when the books switch perspectives from character to character, Jodi Picoult does this all the time and it takes some getting used to be it really leads to great character developement. Also you will probably laugh at my but I have never heard of Bento's before. I love them, they are super cute. I may need to start searching for them (although being that I live in rural New England, that might not happen)
ReplyDeleteIt was a very quick read - either that or it was much slower at work than I thought. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI've read veiw point swaps before Mercedes Lackey does it with her books sometimes, and it is always a case of that's what I loved/hated about the book. I get so into the one character or the other that I find it annoying to read the other perspective. Just my kookie personality quirk.
As for Bento - less than a year ago, I had no clue about them. Started by going to a local resturant & when you ask for a to go meal the chef tells you to enjoy your bento. I looked it up online and the definition is "BentÅ is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables as a side dish. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware." then I found sites like Miss Pikko, Just Bento, Latin Confusion (diet bentos) and ton of others. Bento was orginally what Japense Moms made for their kids & husbands to take to work. I love it because it is portion controlled & I can make it as cute as I want. Basically it is a box lunch, but with a much cuter name. If I can do it, anyone can. LOL. Enjoy!