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Baby Proof
Books: CookBooks: Good Food: Item 3
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Baby Proofby Emily Giffin
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42 of 48 people found the following review helpful: Surprisingly thoughtful, intelligent fun., June 13, 2006 Reviewer:Riley McCarthy (Atlanta, GA USA) - Throughout her life, Claudia Parr, the heroine of Emily Giffin's excellent new novel, has sworn up and down to potential boyfriends, inquiring friends, concerned family and anyone else that she absolutely DOES NOT want children EVER. She doesn't have a maternal instinct that she's aware of, and she's perfectly content not to find it. Claudia was never interested in playing house as a girl, and, now that she's in her 30s, she's determined not to concern herself solely with the secondhand on her biological clock. She enjoys her job, her Manhattan life and her freedom. And Ben, her husband and soulmate, is more than happy to remain childless alongside her, their lives not governed by school plays, soccer games, SUVs and Happy Meals. But when Claudia and Ben's closest friends announce that they're expecting, Ben starts to wonder if maybe a baby wouldn't be that bad, maybe a baby will bring more meaning to their lives. Claudia, though, doesn't have a change-of-heart. She emphatically refuses to even consider a rugrat. So, even though they had a pre-nuptial "deal" to remain childless, Ben and Claudia are suddenly at an impasse in their marriage with a problem that's not at all easy to resolve. With SOMETHING BORROWED and SOMETHING BLUE, Giffin addressed the complicated nature of female friendships, while also providing fun characters, outlandish situations, hot guys, cocktails, Jimmy Choos and a good story. With BABY PROOF, Giffin brings all the fun but addresses an even more difficult topic. Through Claudia's predicament, Giffin dares to ask tough questions, like "Is a marriage enriched - or is life necessarily more meaningful - if you have kids?" or "Is it OK to not want kids?" I love Claudia in this book. Giffin writes her as tough, stubborn, intelligent, flawed, funny, sexy, opinionated and interesting. And, because she refuses to let Claudia fold or become a simple convert to "mommyhood," Giffin proves herself, once again, to be a brave, uncompromising writer who manages, at the same time, to keep things light and fun. She gives voice to strong female characters whom you can still cheer on, even when you disagree with their stances, choices and actions. It's a difficult thing to do, and Giffin pulls it off in spades. If you loved SOMETHING BORROWED and SOMETHING BLUE, take heart. Giffin's new book is just as strong. Claudia stumbles down many of the same paths that the previous books' heroines did. Claudia's friends are just as beautiful and fabulous. Her family is just as complicated. And her problems are just as touching. If this is the first Giffin novel you've read, BABY PROOF will make you a fan.
From Publishers Weekly
The bestselling author of Something Borrowed and Something Blue now tells the story of what happens after the "I do"s. As a successful editor at a Manhattan publishing house, Claudia Parr counts herself fortunate to meet and marry Ben, a man who claims to be a nonbreeding career-firster like she is. The couple's early married years go smoothly, but then Ben's biological clock starts to tick. A baby's a deal breaker for Claudia, so she moves out and bunks with her college roommate Jess (a 35-year-old blonde goddess stuck in a series of dead-end relationships) while the wheels of divorce crank into action. Even after the divorce is finalized and Claudia embarks on a steamy love affair with her colleague Richard, she begins to doubt her decision when she suspects Ben has found a smart, young and beautiful woman willing to bear his children. Standard fare as far as chick lit goes, but there are strong subplots involving Claudia's sisters (one is coping with infertility, the other with a cheating spouse) and the childless-by-choice plot line produces above-average tension. 300,000 announced first printing. (June 13)
Copyright © Reed business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Giffin has made a name for herself with unconventional, extremely popular chick-lit novels that place her heroines in difficult situations; both Something Borrowed (2004) and Something Blue (2005) were surprising and defied the norm. Her third offering places 35-year-old Claudia in an untenable position. When Claudia married Ben, both agreed that they didn't want children. Suddenly, Ben has changed his mind, and he starts pressuring Claudia to reconsider as well. Claudia is resolute--she has never wanted children and is certain she never will. When both she and Ben stick to their guns, it drives a wedge into their relationship, until a big argument over the issue drives Claudia from their apartment. Suddenly, it seems their marriage is over, and Claudia sorrowfully consents to a divorce even though she still loves Ben. Months later, Claudia is still having regrets, and even when she starts dating a handsome, slick publicist, she can't forget Ben. She begins to reevaluate what is most important to her. By avoiding easy answers, Giffin once again proves she's one of the best chick-lit writers in this thoughtful, layered, and wholly original story of a woman facing a major choice in her life. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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