Something Unpredictable

by Barbara Chepaitis

Book Overview

How do we become the people we dream -- and dare -- to be?
Delilah is thirty-one years old and needs a plan. Still living with her parents in Key West with no career to speak of, and in a dull relationship with a self-involved artist, Delilah fears that the good life is passing her by. Her sister lives behind a perfect picket fence, her father makes mountains of money off the market, and her mother spends it on the latest social cause...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743437535
• ISBN13: 9780743437530
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Something Unpredictable

During my freshman year at SUNY Albany, I had Barbara Chepaitis as a professor for a creative writing class. I decided to read her novel Something Unpredictable and was pleasantly surprised. Chepaitis' sophisticated, witty, and spiritual personality shines throughout this remarkable story. Delilah is a thirty one year old underachieving waitress with a bachelor's degree. She lives in Key West with her parents in a household far from predictable. At the age of ten she loses her twin brother, her mother constantly has guests over helping with social activist campaigns, and the man she is so-called seeing, Thomas, has her participate in his odd art projects, such as sitting nude in a tub filled with blue Jello. When Delilah's mother unexpectedly finds her very own birth mother, Delilah is the one forced to go visit her grandmother. Carla, a retired old woman who formerly tamed tigers in the circus, lives on a large piece of land in upstate New York. Her house is falling apart and just like Delilah's home, Carla's constantly has people coming in and out, such as a dwarf named Kootch. Delilah remains upstate longer than expected despite her and her grandmother's constant butting of heads. During her stay she encounters some very interesting situations. She becomes friends with an eye patch wearing man named Jack Brown, she attempts to reignite a flame with her cheating ex-fiancé, Michael, and she forms a relationship truly touching with Carla. Oddly enough, it isn't until tragedy strikes close to Delilah that she actually becomes passionate again for the first time in a long time. Something Unpredictable is a story full of happiness and hope, proving that true love can be found not only when, but also where you least expect it. I am thrilled that I read the novel and had the pleasure of being in one of Chepaitis' classes. I highly recommend this novel for those wanting to read about a woman's unpredictable journey through life.

poignant family drama

Thirty-one years old Delilah still lives with her parents in their mini-mansion in Key West and works as a waitress even though she has a bachelor's degree. She sees the man living in her parents' guesthouse but she knows they have no commitment to one another. When her mother locates her biological mother, she is afraid to meet her so she sends Delilah to Brentville, New York to see what Carla is like.Delilah's first impression of her grandmother is that of a crusty, independent woman while octogenarian Carla thinks her granddaughter wastes her potential and sets out to do something about it. Delilah meets Jack Brown who fixes things on her grandmother's property. She realizes that he is a deep soul who won't be content with a minor fling. While caring for her grandmother, Delilah starts sleeping with her ex-fiancé, who lives in the area, but they can't recapture what they once had. When a tragedy occurs, Delilah finally opens her heart that has been closed since her twin brother died over two decades ago.SOMETHING UNPREDICTABLE is a moving relationship drama starring a protagonist afraid to commit to a relationship. Her visit to her grandmother makes her take stock of what she is not doing with her life. Carla sees herself in her granddaughter, which is why she feels compelled to meddle and despite herself, Delilah comes to see that her grandmother is right. Though some unnecessary coincidence enables additional insight, Barbara Chepaitis has written a poignant family drama.Harriet Klausner