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A darkly comic novel about divorce follows a woman's psychic unravelling in the face of her impending break-up, which is matched by the shattering of her own personality into a cacophony of contending inner voices. Reprint. K. NYT. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Like Bridget Jones' Diary? Similar feel here!
This is one of those delicious little paperbacks that makes you laugh aloud with its acidic absurdity. Weldon assumes an almost "once upon a time" tone to tell a fairy tale gone bad, what happens when the once-rich-but-titleless lady and the once-poor-and-titled man split up. Splitting refers not only to the various couplings of Edwin and Angelica's little clique and their inevitable upsets, but also what happens to poor Angelica's mind as it attempts to remedy the situation. You cannot help but root for Angelica and to feel like and dislike for her various personalities, and even the ones you dislike will amuse you. Not a serious read, but definitely fun to curl up with on a rainy day. (Beware trying it as a "read to sleep book" - it's humour is too sharp for that; I stayed up much later than I should have for lack of reader self-control.)

one of the latest books by Weldon deserves 4 stars IMHO
For those who follow the books by Fay Weldon as they come out... i wouldn't call it her best but it is up there, with the very enjoyable ones, i liked it just a bit less than 'Worst Fears' which is an amazingly wellwritten book with the sharpest observations and the typical dark, wittyhumor so characteristic of Fay Weldon ... Read more

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Bernard Bellamy has done a deal. He has sold out to the devil, in all of its forms. In return, he is promised that all his wishes will be granted, all his desires fulfilled. One of them, young Carmen Wedmore, is proving to be quite a challenge. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An insightful, intelligent and rewarding review of Weldon.
If you have any interest in Wewldon, then Ms Faulks' book is a must for your collection. This is a stirring, delightful review of Weldon. Faulksclearly loves her subject matter and her writing shows a real sensitivityto the nuances--and pleasures--of Weldon's prose.I personally have littletime for literary criticism and was surprised at how much I enjoyed thiswhen it was given to me for my birthday. ... Read more

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Ten high achieving ladies are gathered together in the week between Christmas and the New Year, at the expensive Castle Spa, seeking, through Botox, aromatherapy and general all round pampering, a new beginning to their lives. The Ladies lounge around in the Jacuzzi, drinking champagne and eating chocolate telling each other the stories of their lives. Starting with the Trophy wife's tale: her spell in a Greek prison has left her in serious need of a makeover; the Brain Surgeon's tale: of twins and mistaken identity; the Judge's tale: of the sex change which allowed him to judge the pleasures of the bedchamber from both male and female perspectives. The manicurist, the public speaker, the journalist, the company director, the ex vicar's wife, the screenwriter, all share their stories, ending with the stepmother's tale, a reversal of Cinderella's fate, with the stepmother as victim Sparkling, witty, always compassionate and occasionally libidinous, Fay Weldon's new novel recalls Boccaccio's late medieval masterwork, The Decameron.Boccaccio dedicated his book to the ladies of his time, who were forced to hide their amorous passions under a veil of discretion, while men were free to indulge theirs. ... Read more

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'I read my daughter's diaries the other day. Let me share with you. You may think you know pretty much what's going on in your own family. Believe me, you do not'. Sappho was so happy when she married Gavin. She was in love and it seemed that at last everything was falling into place. But she hadn't considered his daughter, Isobel. She is a delightful, charming girl who spends her school holidays caring for the elderly and is the apple of Gavin's eye.Now cast in the role of Wicked Stepmother, Sappho tries all she can to befriend Isobel and find her place in the new family. It's not easy, but no one had promised it would be. Sappho perseveres. But she has a history, and the history works against her. When it becomes clear that, contrary to popular belief, it is Isobel who steals Gavin's love and attention, and Sappho who must fight for his affection, Sappho is at a loss. How can she win her husband back? With warmth, wit and her unique insights into the workings of the female mind, Fay Weldon has written a brilliant, unsettling new novel about family life today. ... Read more

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A chilling tale that interweaves the post-Watergate world of American politics and the way in which our past indiscretions inevitably catch up with us.Isabel Acre's journey through life has taken her from the Australian outback via the beds and alleys of Fleet Street and the seamier side of Washington high life to a comfortable home in London, a reputation as a serious journalist, and a husband in the new chore-sharing, child-rearing mould. Suddenly, however, the past which Isabel had thought safely behind her becomes the source of actual physical danger. With frightening ease, the worlds of political intrigue and murderous conspiracy intrude into the cosiness of her domestic life. Whom can she trust? Man? When she reveals to her husband that she long ago had an affair with a young American senator, a man who is now challenging for the Presidential nomination itself, and that her son is the love-child of that affair, even she cannot foresee the consequences. Love got her into the predicament in which she finds herself; but can love now get her out of it? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A sizzler
This is perhaps ms. Weldon's most straightforward novel. The thrilling - and chilling - plot will have you on the edge of the seat as you feverihsly turn the pages to get to the end of the story. Do try to get a copy of thisbook. The plot? Well its about a woman who has an out-of-wedlock child withan american politician.All is well until he suddenly is in a position tobecome the next president of The United States. From then on the woman andher child is in deep trouble. ... Read more

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Weldon's latest novel is about the glorious pleasure of sexuality and the havoc it can wreak when we succumb to it. It's a story about marriage and infidelity, and the fact that one occasionally requires the other for survival. When Mr. Leslie Beck reappears in the lives of four friends--three of them married, and all past paramours of Beck's--he revives the secrets and passions of the past. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Read it immediately!
In present day London a middle aged woman looks back at the time when she, and a group of her female friends, were all unfaithful to their husbands, and all with the same man.The story which she tells is a master piece of black humour, and reveals much about friendship, infidelity, and how the past will always catch up with you.The language is dazzling - sharp, inventive, concise and witty.The humour is black and the cast of characters bizarre, fascinating and entirely convincing.The way that different voices and different timescales are used is original and works brilliantly.Very few books manage to be both frivilous and profound - but this one does. Women will find this book talks honestly about why women are unfaithful.Men may find it a worrying read! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Ireally liked this book very much!!
In my opinion Affliction is a very good book. While reading Affliction I really started to think about our society and the influation of horoscopes, pschologists and so on. Can a pschologist really be a danger for yourmarriage? What are the values that count nowadays??? I think it is reallyworth reading this book.

GREAT READING
THIS IS THE BEST NOVEL I'VE READ FOR AGES. WRITTEN IN DIALOGUE FORM, IT ISLIVELY AND GRIPPING FROM THE FIRST PAGE TO THE LAST. AND - AS UNLIKELY THEPLOT MAY BE, IT ALWAYS REMAINS PLAUSIBLE THANKS TO WELDON'S GREATPSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROTAGONISTS. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Power relationships
In former ages the law of superior strength was the law of life.Spartan women were more free to act than others and were trained in physical exercise.Women, like royalty,are born to the status.Male human beings are not under legal ban.The social subordination of women is a relic of old thought.

What is called the nature of women is an artificial thing.Literary women are becoming more free-spoken.Women resemble sailors in a press gang.A wife acts for the children through delegation of the husband.Husband and wife are one, and the husband is the one.Actual treatment may be better than the legal position indicates.A wife has means of retaliation at her disposal for mistreatment.Inequality does not depend upon the law of marriage but rather the general society.

Mill argues for the fitness of women to vote and to participate in theprofessions.Women's relative lack of intellectual and artistic achievement is explicable in terms of deficiencies in education and opportunity.Women are frequently held to be advantaged morally.Mill recognizes that personal independence is an element of happiness.

This remains a compelling work detailing regrettable recent history and the reasons a change in the status of women was inevitable.The reasoning is forceful, clear and balanced.Mill achieves a sort of perfection in this small book. ... Read more

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It is a masterpiece of religious allegory transformed into intense drama, its style unsurpassed, its characters superbly individualized, indelibly alive, and as memorable as the landmarks on Christian's perilous journey toward salvation. ... Read more

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A novel which tells the story of a woman from childhood to adulthood, beginning in wartime Brighton and spanning forty years. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Read this and enjoy
Praxis bij Fay Weldon is as much light as it is unsetteling. It referes to old knowlegde as well as to new adventures. To a need to be secure as well as the need to be free and uncommitted. It's not the story that's so special (an old woman looking back on her life, how she grew up (bizar indeed) the 'choices' she made) but the way it's written is special, almost poetry. And though Fay Weldon breaths seventy's moral and the feminisme of last century, stangely to me the story is not out of date, although I read it first 20 years ago.

Excellent
A great read and something to think about. It's very unsettling at times but none the less very compelling. I first read this book about 12 years ago and have read it twice since. It's one of those books that just stays with you.

What was I thinking?
Fay Weldon is one of those authors I love to hate. I keep reading them just to see how bad they really are. Praxis is such a quirky, odd character that you keep reading just to see how bizarre things can really get. It goes beyond my definition of bizarre, but don't take my word for it...read it for yourself!
:-) ... Read more