Sundays
at Tiffany's ,
by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet (Read by Ellen
Archer)
Imaginary friends are quite common among
eight-year-olds, but the same can't be said for adults.
Jane had the perfect imaginary friend, Michael, until
her ninth birthday, but then Michael told her that he
had to go away forever. He was funny, he was handsome,
he made Jane feel loved and accepted. As the chubby,
clumsy child of the beautiful, successful dragon-lady
Broadway producer, Vivian Margaux, Jane felt neither
loved nor accepted by her mother. Fast forward 23 years
to Michael running down a New York City street to get
to a hospital where he's sure Jane is dying. Although
she's produced a Tony-winning play and is practically
engaged to the gorgeous leading man, Jane is miserably
unhappy. At her lowest moment, Michael reappears, but
is he there to help her find happiness or to help her
die?
Patterson and Charbonnet's charming story
can be enjoyed on several levels. The unexpected conclusion
will assure Patterson's mystery fans that he hasn't
given up the genre for romance, but listeners may be
surprised at how tender and sensitive a love story he
can also write. Even the most loving mother-daughter
relationship has rocky moments, but the one between
Vivian and Jane is so contentious that the story takes
on fairytale-like characteristics, complete with the
innocent maiden and the wicked witch. For good measure,
Patterson also throws in Prince Charming and the big,
bad wolf. Set in the glamorous world of designer dresses,
Broadway glitz, fashionable restaurants, Sundays at
Tiffany's and vacations on Martha's Vineyard, this audio
book is a travelogue of privileged pleasures.
The narrator, Ellen Archer, conjures up
both the vulnerability of Jane and the imperiousness
of Vivian in her reading of the chief female roles.
She is also able to vilify and deify the appropriate
males respectively. Sundays at Tiffany's is a
delightful departure from the grim realism of thriller,
suspense and mystery fiction. It asks the listener to
suspend belief enough to accept Michael as an imaginary,
but real friend, and it's entirely possible that in
those moments of suspended belief, current concerns
magically, if temporarily, recede. Without being hokey,
this unique story celebrates the power of love and is
recommended to anyone who isn't afraid to feel it.
Ruth
Mormon
6/6/08
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