EeeJay

I honestly believe this will be a good book nomination for a book-club read. The subject matter is quite trivial and hundreds of books are written on the same theme but the biggest draw this book has for me is its ability to make me think about various issues.Issue No. 1: ARE WOMEN REALLY EMOTIONAL THINKERS (As argued by Dee and Kate)?I actually liked the reasoning both Dee and Kate gave each other in the interview. Granted, they represent just one person's view but the argument was logical. I do believe women tend to never let arguments go and mostly think emotionally (even though they supposedly 'forgive and forget' the other person at the time - hey I'm a woman and I do the same so don't look at me like that!) - but at the same time, I also sympathize with Kate's analysis of the men's club in almost all organizations where women find their entry restricted no matter how hard they work or try. The fact that women can bear children will always play against them when people are hiring (anti-discriminatory laws or not) Issue No. 2: TRUST IN MARRIAGE:The whole side story about Dee and Judy (although quite lengthy and messy and involved) makes you think about how the older women get the more they start doubting themselves in the face of twenty-something, perky lil girls as they get older (Carrie Bradshaw has dealt with this phenomenon quite well, if I remember correctly). Add to the fact that you're already insecure about your looks and that's a recipe for disaster. The emphasis on communication to remove doubt counted as good advise to me.Issue No.3: ABUSIVE HUSBANDS:I honestly think that the H could have handled the h much better especially after getting to know why she was behaving the way she was. He didn't. But I can still sort of understand what he did since the way it's written, it seems almost human. The only exception was on (page 134) when he deliberately forced her, quite against her will, to submit to him. I also (almost) admire the h for sticking to her guns and standing up to the hero, again and again, and say 'NO'. In fact, she goes as far so as to say: 'I always get the chance to say no and you HAVE to listen to ME when I say it, not your body...'Issue No. 4: HOW WE PRETEND THINGS ARE HUNKY DORY TO SAVE FACE:The h mentions that she thought her dad would have protected her from the husband in the abusive marriage but in fact he didn't and she's hated him for it. In fact, when she comes home after having been beaten for the 1st time, he says stuff like, 'Well married people have arguments - grow up and deal with it'. That's cuz she never told him what she was going through. That whole scene really was thought-provoking cuz I think we believe our parents to always be in control and as we grow older we realize they're just human. Also, no one can guess what you're going through if you're gonna pretend everything's okay. People aren't psychic (well most of them aren't).Anyway, love it or hate - I think you won't be impartial to it and if someone like me, who doesn't like angsty-dramas could enjoy it, I bet most of you will.