Sunday, April 13, 2008

Town House -- Review during Sunday Salon


Title: Town House
Author: Tish Cohen
Pages: 274
Yearly Count: 15
Date completed: 11th, April, 2008
Rated: 4/5 snaps

Town House by Tish Cohen is a light, funny, interesting novel about how our man, Jack Madigan, a famous rockstar's only son, deals with hurt and painful memories he can't leave, can't escape and seems to not want to. He is locked into the town house with them, and this he does completely willingly, except for his problem, he is an agoraphobic (no that does not mean a fear of spiders). He is completely unable to go outside without taking a heavy medication, which lately isn't even doing the trick. Jack's time in the town house is father left him is coming to an end, he needs to sell the house since he is not keeping up with the payments. Will he be able to leave the house and find a job? Will he be able to keep his house?

Two women in his life push and shove him to break through his fears( his naive Realtor, and his precocious neglected 8-year-old next door neighbor girl), but he constantly lets them down. He can't help them if they are standing outside his house, and how can a friendship stand strong when it seems so one-sided at times?His son Harlan, an amazing kid with a true loving heart, is slowly loosing hope for his father. He is a teen, a teen should not be seen with a father who cannot leave the house except to get dizzy, create a scene and embarrass his son (or so Harlan thinks!!!)

Well, read it!! Town House is a perfect book that is not as silly as chick lit, and has much more substance...but it also is very funny. Jack the main character is full of sarcasim, and he will draw you right in, and you will love him, at least I do. So, if you are looking for a book in between reading Tolstoy and Henry James, this is it. The quality is there, the lightness and humor are there as well, and yet it is completely quirky and real. Dive in!

Quotes from the book:

" No, the rood of your problem lies in your lack of a stable childhood home. Lack of parenting. Lack of a solid family life. Your father was and obsessive -compulsive with olfactory issues who left you to sleep in a Coca-Cola crate" (p. 21).

" Harlan would be much better off with his mother, Jack thought. Hell, he'd be better off with this Yale guy, who takes all the vitamins. Only the most selfish of fathers wouldn't see this" (p. 62).

"This house has turned you into a prisoner. It being sold is, like the best thing that could ever happen to you. And me! Let's get the hell out of it!" (p. 81).

"It was all so delicate, so temporary, this thing called life. One minute this was your world; the next minute it was gone" (p. 249).




6 comments:

raych said...

I'd read this. Great review.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad I'm not the only one that finds chick-lit a bit silly... ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi Bethany! I saw that you stopped by my blog and read my review of The Zookeeper's Wife. I feel like I did a terrible job reviewing and really don't have the energy to re-do it. But, I found a PERFECT review in which the writer said exactly what I meant to say. (Don't you love when that happens?!) Here is the url for it if you're interested: http://scarletsletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/sunday-salon-april-13th.html
It it really much more thorough and understandable.
I'm curious to know what you think if you read it as well. :)
Mere Christianity is the first of CSL's non-fiction that I've read. But I plan on reading all of them. I'm really enjoying it.

Iliana said...

Ah, this sound like a good, fun book. I'll have to add it to my long wish list :)

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

I love sarcasm. :) Wait...I wasn't trying to be sarcastic. Um, I am really cheesy, though. Ugh, I don't even want to hear about Tolstoy and James--I feel like I've been such a lazy reader so far this year by not touching any of the classics on my shelf. Sounds like a fun read, though.

bethany (dreadlock girl) said...

*raych- Thanks a TON!! That is very nice...I am an amateur trying to learn the ropes in the professional review land!! Thanks for the encouragement!!

*mrs. b- well, yes I do think that it is silly...but I still like to read it sometimes!! Do you??
OH, don't worry about your review...and yes I will check out the other review, and I will tell you for sure if I read it, and how I feel about it. Thanks a ton for the link!!!

*iliana- I know, my wish list is incredible too...way too long, and it never gets any shorter...just longer.

*trish- oh, I would just leave them there!! On the shelf is where those books belong!!! hahaah...well, at least for me, that is not a joke. Yes, this is a fun one...I really liked it.