Review #3: Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik

So it was more than flash. You never know what to expect with a child.

So Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons was exactly what a i thought it would be. Funny, simple, sentimental women's fiction.

Spanning three decades, this book is about the lives of five women who live on the same street, Freesia Court, in Minneapolis. Starting in the sixties, the gals get an idea to start a book club. After several years being known as the boring Freesia Court Book Club and after years of ups and downs in their lives, they change their name to the appropriate Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons or AHEB. Each chapter of the book is told from a different perspective and names the time period and the book in which they are reading. Not only do you get to discover new books that they are reading, you also go along for the ride of their lives.

Sometimes I like a good ol' women's fiction book because they seem to have a little of everything and generally if it's written well, manageable amounts of all of the below.

Romance, Drama, Travel, Humor, History, Friendship and Stereotypical Characters.

I know what you think. Stereotypical characters? What? That sounds bad.

Not really. They are what makes it all safe for us to read, in their neat little boxes. We can be all of the characters and experience what they are experiencing without the drama or judgement.

For example, this book has the Innocent, the Sexual Drama Queen, the Activist, the Nurturer, and the One with the Past. Even if you might see yourself as one, you get to experience what it is like to be the others.

Safe, fun, simple fiction.

Lorna has a sense of humor which probably comes from her being a stand up comedian when she is not writing books and she also writes quite honestly about women's friendships and how they change throughout your life (if you are lucky to hang on to those friendships for over 30 years).

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick read for a trip, on the beach, sitting in the backyard, or in the bubble bath.

Other authors that are similar but, in my opinion, have a bit more depth to them would be Penny Vincenzi and Anita Shreve.

Happy Reading.

*red headed book child