Jane Green The Other Woman

The Other Woman

Jane Green

Plume, Jun 2006, $14.00

ISBN: 0452287146

Ellie knows she has found the right man for her as she falls in love with kindhearted Dan Cooper and he reciprocates. She welcomes the warmth extended by his family welcoming her as one of them with hugs and kisses having missed that since her mother passed away when she was thirteen. However, Ellie is unprepared for how far Dan's mother Linda is willing to go to get her way though she rationalizes that she does things out of love for her son.

Engaged, her future mother-in-law telephones her three times a day at her job where personal calls are unacceptable. Linda takes charge of the wedding ignoring Ellie's desires; her fianc 's dad Michael is indifferent while Dan tells his fianc to go along to get along. After their marriage, the woman continues to meddle trying to get her son and daughter in law into fights though she claims it is for their good. When Ellie gives birth to a son Tom, grandmother no longer has need for her as she now has two generations of "gorgeous boys" to nurture while slowly extracting the woman who should be the center not on the peripheral of their lives.

This is an interesting look at a newcomer joining a family (through marriage) that initially reminded this reviewer of While You Were Sleeping. However readers will lose empathy towards Ellie who makes little effort to adapt to her new milieu, dislike meddlesome Linda, and disrespect Dan and Michael. Still this is a strong family drama that showcases group dynamics and interrelationships as few novels do when change occurs in this case the outsider joining the close knit team.

Harriet Klausner