Every Woman for Herself

by Trisha Ashley

Book Overview

Charlotte--Charlie--Rhymer's husband wants a divorce. Charlie isn't sure what she wants, but after the incident with the frying pan, even she has to concede that their differences may be irreconcilable after all. Returning home to her native Yorkshire and the bosom of her family seemed like a good idea at the time. Even if Charlie's father has never quite forgiven Charlie or her siblings (Anne, Emily and Branwell) for failing to live up to their more...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312313721
• ISBN13: 9780312313722
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Giddy, goofy, delightful -- who cares that the nutritional content is zero?!

Charlie Rhymer realizes she isn't passionately in love with her husband. Home on leave from his teaching job in Saudi Arabia, he kicks the spaniel; she goes and uses his toothbrush and powdered floor cleaner to scour her silver rings. ("The rings came up a treat, and I expect his teeth did, too.") On the morning of his departure, as she sits staring at him across the table, Charlie realizes that "aliens had stolen my husband during the night and substituted something incomprehensibly vile in his place." Happily for Charlie and the reader, Matthew has just asked for a divorce. After a rather unfortunate incident involving a heavy cast-iron frying pan and the skull of her neighbor's lecherous husband (the death is ruled accidental), Charlie heads home to the old Yorkshire parsonage where she and her siblings, Emily, Anne and Branwell (yup, you guessed it...) were raised. More misadventures and shenanigans follow, as the 40-something Charlie re-invents her life. This involves returning to her painting (she specializes in jungle-like foliage, drawn from life), creating a quirky magazine called "Skint Old Northern Woman" (fashion tip: if going out for the evening, if you are wearing a bra you do not need a handbag.) and meeting a hunky man (who sends her coconut and banana trees to add to her conservatory). The end result may be predictably chick lit - happily ever after for all concerned - but Ashley's characters are anything but. Nor, naturally, is the path taken to reach that desirable state of affairs. For instance, Em, the Wiccan sister prone to visions, decides that virginity is no longer enhancing her spirituality and hooks up with... No, on second thoughts, that's too much of a spoiler. This is the literary equivalent of cotton candy; it has no nutritional content whatsoever and a steady diet of it is guaranteed to rot your teeth. That said, the plot and characters never pall and it's fun to re-read and laugh out loud at characters who, in contrast to most chick lit, never seem to take themselves too seriously. Highly recommended as a way to pass those depressingly long and grey winter hours, especially for readers who are tired of the endless parade of 20-something or angst-ridden 30-something heroines in most chick lit. Ashley's heroines are delightfully self-aware and confident - and still end up meeting men of their dreams.

Wonderful Fun

Ashley uses language beautifully. Her characters are fun and enrich the reader's life just for the brief visit of reading about them. This is very much a win/win book and wonderful fun to read.

absolutely wonderful

This is the kind of book that makes you want to faithfully read everything else an author will ever write. While the ending was perhaps a bit pat and cheerful compared to the rest of the book, Ashley is worth the read just for the colorful characters and the articles the women create. Just beautiful.

Entertaining, enjoyable

Charlie Rhymer is the atypical hero of this fun and compact novel. Childless, divorced, and in poor financial condition, Charlie is forced to move back to her childhood home. Returning home is all, and more, than Charlie expected. Her father's latest mistress is sleeping in Charlie's old room. Charlie's sister Em is considering focusing on her black magic talents, and losing her virginity to help her do so. Charlie's other sister, Anne, is living at home while recovering from breast cancer treatment, and her brother Bran has been sent home from his university position to finish his book. Shortly before Charlie moves home, she accidentally kills her ex-husband's best friend Greg with a heavy frying pan. Greg's widow, Angie, livid at the accidental death verdict, decides to stalk Charlie and try to ruin Charlie's reputation, following Charlie to the family home in Upvale. Add into this mix the two daughters of the father's mistress, a handsome famous actor and his daughter, a parson infatuated with Em, and some witchcraft and you end up with a delightful story. "Every Woman for Herself" is warm and entertaining. Charlie is a delightful character, and her budding romance with the famous actor is both funny and touching. Although some of the situations are a far-fetched, they fit so well with the overall madcap storyline the reader will not mind a bit. Definitely recommended for anyone that enjoys a romantic story or is looking to read something cheering!