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August 29, 2008 10:54 AM

BOOK REVIEW: The Professors' Wives' Club by Joanne Rendell

Yes, it's yet another "Club" book, but not really. There really isn't a Professors' Wives' Club in The Professors' Wives' Club (I am so loving all those apostrophes). The women of the book are indeed married to professors at the fictional Manhattan U (which is based on NYU, where Joanne Rendell's husband is indeed a professor!), but rather than being a "club", they simply frequent the same private garden.

Until, that is, they learn that the Dean of the university (who one of the women happens to be unhappily married to) is planning to demolish the garden and build a parking lot.

In their horror at the idea of losing the garden, the women bond and find they've got more in common than simply being the significant others of university professors. They share secrets, discover secrets about the Dean, the university, and Edgar Allan Poe (!), and support each other through enormous life changes.

Which I guess is what the title would lead you to expect.

It's all hugely entertaining and I could hardly put the book down. I loved each of the female characters and really enjoyed reading a book set in (an albeit fictionalised) NYU. My only complaint is that the male characters weren't as well-rounded as the women, but once I stopped fretting about that, I enjoyed hating (most of) them instead.

I'm really looking forward to Joanne Rendell's next book. And look out for an interview with the author next week.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA by Ellen Meister

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Posted by Keris on August 29, 2008 | Permalink

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