Arm Candy

by Jill Kargman

Book Overview

"Queen of the beach read" ( Washington Post Express ) Jill Kargman, returns with an uproarious tale about searching for love and starts anew on the cusp of forty. For two decades, thirty-nine-year-old Eden Clyde has been enjoying wealth and glamour as the muse and lover of Otto Clyde, the ultrafamous and much older king of the art world. Genetically, she hit the lottery, but Eden is unlucky in love: eighteen years ago she put aside her dream of true...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525951598
• ISBN13: 9780525951599
• Release Date: May 2010
• Publisher: Dutton Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Fun, poignant and accurate!

Having read all of Jill Kargman's previous books, I couldn't wait to dig in and read Arm Candy. I chose to hold onto it to take on a recent trip to Italy, and boy was I happy that I did. Arm Candy is the perfect vacation book - fun story, extremely witty and yet poignant in all the right places. I found myself laughing out loud by the pool, and kept turning the pages before going to sleep even though I kept saying, "Only a few more pages..." I love the quotes at the start of each chapter. While I personally live on "the wrong side of the tracks" (east of Park) on the UES of Manhattan, I do dine and shop in the areas throughout this book, and can so easily put faces on all of the characters. What I love about Kargman's writing is that she so accurately captures the essence of the people she writes about. Unless you live on the UES or watch "Gossip Girl" you may think the characters are stereotypes - but those stereotypes become what they are because they are based on truth. No one describes UES society better than Kargman. I didn't know how old the author was until I looked in the front of the book (36), but having passed 40 myself (!!) I was especially impressed with how Kargman could write so accurately about the feelings one has as they approach their 40th birthday. Arm Candy is a real fun read. And while it's a book that makes you reflect on the aging process, it also makes you feel pretty good about getting older. I can't wait for Kargman's next book!

Enjoyed every page of this !

A fun, well written, easy and enjoyable read. I love Kargman's style and eye for detail. This is a fun read by a clearly intelligent author. Loved the quotes at the start of each chapter. If you're on the fence, read it! You'll be glad you did.

FABULOUS!

Once again, Jill Kargman has created a story that you just don't want to put down! I found myself feeling like I was in New York living this wild ride. Jill keeps you captivated and wanting to read more. My only regret is that I could not put it down and then it was over ~ longing for more until her next book. Thanks agian Jill for a great story!

Enjoyable confection

This was a fun story about a 39-year-old model, Eden, who is coming to grips with turning 40, and changes in her life - her long-time boyfriend and baby daddy, Otto, has turned to younger women. I really enjoyed this very New York story, charged with Kargman's trademark gossipy dialogue and insider's eye.

AN ENJOYABLE TREAT SPUN WITH WIT AND IMAGINATION

There are some voice performers whose name on a cover attracts just as the names of authors do. For this listener multiple award winning narrator Joyce Bean is one of those. Just as Will Rogers never met a man he didn't like I've never heard a Joyce Bean reading that I didn't like. She's an Audie Award winner, brought home several Earphone Awards and a Listen Up Award from Publisher's Weekly. She's tops again with ARM CANDY. Who says romance can't be fun? Certainly not Kill Kargman who injects healthy doses of her trademark humor in this story of 39-year-old Eden Clyde who thought at one time that she'd made the best bargain possible, but did she? Blessed with stop traffic good looks Eden had once been a model trying to make her way in a tough business. When Otto Clyde, a wealthy abstract painter, offered security and every creature comfort she made her choice - although he was much older at the time it really wasn't any contest - she chose Otto rather than her steadfast boyfriend. Almost 20 years have passed. Eden and Otto have a son; she has the life she thought she wanted, and chooses to overlook Otto's other women. But, it seems enough is too much - she leaves Otto and begins a new life cheered on by some of the most fun-loving, appealing girlfriends to be found. She meets and begins a love affair with man-about-town Chase Lydon who is a decade her junior. Then, as fate and the author would have it, Eden's former love resurfaces. Once again, she must make a choice. ARM CANDY is aptly named - an enjoyable treat sugar coated with wit and spun with imagination. - Gail Cooke