Puss Reboots: Blog: October 2007: My Summer with George

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Against the Current by Robert Silverberg
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Motherhood, the Second Oldest Profession by Erma Bombeck
Mousekin's Family by Edna Miller
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgins
Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein
My Summer with George by Marilyn French
Sail Away by Donald Crews
Sailaway Home by Bruce Degen
The Secret River by Kate Grenville
Shooting Polaris by John Hales
Small Pig by Arnold Lobel
The Storm by Sarah Zimmerman
Strange Mr. Satie by M. T. Anderson and Petra Mathers
Turtle's Flying Lesson by Diane Redfield Massie
The Unfinished Revolution by Michael Dertouzos
The Velvet Rage by Alan Downs
Who Goes There? by Dorothy P. Lathrop

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My Summer with George: 10/03/07

My Summer with George should have been an enjoyable read. Marilyn French writes well, creates interesting characters and believable situations. Her insights into the process of writing were fascinating. Unfortunately the character giving the advice was otherwise so selfish and insecure that I couldn't care for her.

Hermione, the romance writer protagonist, has made a good life for herself. One summer she meets up with a nice man about her age named George. He's thinking of moving to New York to follow a job offer. Unfortunately Hermione doesn't know how to compromise or how to trust. She spends the entire book clinging on to George, waiting for every word, being horribly disappointed if he can't make an appointment, and so forth.

As Hermione pines over her newest love she reveals secrets of past marriages and affairs. These flashbacks undermine Hermione's credibility as a sympathetic protagonist. She comes off instead as immature and silly. So when things ultimately don't work out for Hermione, I could only side with George.