Sunday 2 January 2011

Some alliteration



I've recently been dipping into Elspeth Thompson's Wonderful Weekend Book with some interest. There are some suggestions that could be off-putting to some readers, such as how to go about looking for a country weekend cottage, but many others are things that I and others of my baby boom generation have been doing most of our lives, along the recycling, handmade route. It's an inspiring book, but I wouldn't recommend following up every suggestion, just those that are really within your own personal reach of time, energy, and money and then only one or two at a time. There are also lots of useful suggestions of ways of involving children in weekend activities as well.
The Three Weissmanns of Westport, by Cathleen Schine is an interesting take on the theme of Sense and Sensibility, but set in modern day America. Joseph Weissmann decides to divorce Betty,his wife of over forty years and to kick her out of their apartment in Manhattan, for which she made the down payment. His two step daughters, Miranda and Annie, for a variety of reasons, move in with their mother when she is offered a cottage in the summer resort of Westport on Long Island. The story follows the vicissitudes of the lives of the three women and their circle of family and friends, including a trip to a desert resort with Cousin Lou and his wife, which offers a nice contrast to winter in Westport, as well as the ups and downs of romances of Miranda and Annie. I enjoyed this as a read and found it very amusing in places.


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