Professors' Wives' Club by Joanne Rendell

Weak First Novelby AVIDRDRJ

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February 19, 2009: This book reminds me of what a book would be like if I tried to write one: sophomoric. The concept was certainly intriguing, and that's why I picked it up. But after the first few pages, I knew it was not one to savor. Although I usually read the more challenging books that book clubs tend to choose, I've also read my share of chick lit, some of which has been surprisingly good. This was not one of them. I realize this is a debut novel, but there are some things Ms. Rendell may want to work on. First and foremost, learn to create characters of more depth and subtley. All, and I do mean every one, of her characters were complete stereotypes. No surprises, no challenge to decipher them. Another was overuse of certain words and phrases or using certain verbs in an effort, probably, to be colorful. After the fiftieth time a character "barked out" an admonition or "huffed" in protest, enough! I found myself skipping ahead just to find out if I was right in predicting what would happen to each person. The only review I agreed with that has so far been posted was Publisher's Weekly.

Amazing debut novel that makes me a fan of Joanne Rendell!by Phoebe_Jordan

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February 02, 2009: I knew a bit of what to expect when I finally got my copy of Joanne Rendell's novel The Professors' Wives' Club but that changed when I started reading the novel. Each chapter of the novel is read through the prospective of one of the professors' wives' such as Mary, Sofia, Ashleigh, and Hannah. This is very different from the other novels I've read but I actually liked it and wasn't at all disappointed or put off by this way of writing a novel. Nestled among Manhattan U?s faculty housing, there is a garden where four women will meet?each with a scandalous secret that could upset their lives, destroy their families, and rock the prestigious university to its very core. In the interview podcast I listen to Joanne Rendell say that she is married to a professor who works at NYU and she lives at their faculty resident with her family. So Manhattan U is just a bit based on NYU but not completely because she said she didn't want to get her husband fired. I've never been to any of the NYU campus in Manhattan before so this was a new scene setting for me even though I've lived in NYC all my life. With its shady maple trees, elegant iron gate, and high fence laced with honeysuckle, Manhattan U's garden offers faculty wives Mary, Sofia, Ashleigh, and Hannah a much-needed refuge. For Mary, the garden is an escape from abuse from her husband who has changed so much in the five years since his own abusive father died. I think Mary is such a complex and amazing character in this novel and even thought I've never dealt with abusive people I could identify a bit with her fears and emotional feelings. For Sofia, it offers solace as she considers trading in her diaper bag for a briefcase because before she met her wonderful husband she use to be a movie agent to big stars including her husband's own brother. I like Sofia and she is the charater that I most identify with because she is a strong independent woman who puts her family first and who has a very fast temper that could really do damage. Then there?s Ashleigh, who wonders if she should tell her conservative father something that might well give him another heart attack. Ashleigh is a lesbian who is living with her girlfriend Sam who is an African American professor at Manhattan U. She hasn't told her family about Sam because her father is a D.C. senator with a lot of power and a temper that she doesn't want to deal with. And last is Hannah, who rues jeopardizing her lukewarm marriage for one passionate night with her sexy art theory professor Patrick. Now Hannah use to be a supermodel before she married her husband computer nerd and professor at Manhattan U named Michael. After she married Michael she took advantage that her husband could pull some strings and get her a scholarship for the MFA program so she can work at her Masters of Fine Arts. She is an artist at heart but her husband can only think of her as a supermodel and doesn't want to face facts that that is not a part of her life anymore. As Mary?s husband, the power-hungry dean of Manhattan U, makes plans to demolish this beloved garden that these four women have come to love so much. But these four women will discover a surprising secret about a lost Edgar Allan Poe manuscript?and realize they must find the courage to stand up for their passions, dreams, and desires. This is one book that I could not put down for long because of the lives of these women were truly fascinating. I look forward to all future books by Joanne Rendell.

I Also Recommend: Zombie Queen of Newbury High, You Had Me at Halo, The Jane Austen Book Club.