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Book Details
- Paperback: 220 pages
- Publisher: Paul Dry Books (May 27, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1589880951
- ISBN-13: 978-1589880955
Suzanne Davis, the heroine of the book, lounges around her tiny New York City apartment in her pajamas, writing press releases for the International Association of Air-Conditioning Engineers, listening to the ticking of her biological clock, and feeling sorry for herself. As her 35th birthday looms, Suzanne embarks on a characteristically wrong-headed, but very funny, quest—to find Mr. Right and start the family she hopes will give meaning to her life.
Suzanne’s efforts draw us into the world of her Upper West Side apartment building—a world of overly invested mothers, fanatical dog-owners, curmudgeonly aged Jews, and young (and not so young) professionals. All are keenly observed by Suzanne, our feckless narrator, whose witty self-deprecation endears her to us even as it makes us want to shake some sense into her.
Suzanne Davis Gets a Life is a fast, clever read, light in its tone but incisive in its social satire. We can't help but wish Suzanne success in getting a life. But is she on the right track? Can her search possibly yield the meaning she craves? When she is diagnosed with cancer and her extremely annoying mother arrives to take care of her, it appears that her plan has been hijacked. But has it? The ordeal of treatment opens her to new people and a new perspective. She ends by getting a life, even as she may lose one.
About the Author
Paula Marantz Cohen is Distinguished Professor of English at Drexel University where she teaches courses in literature, film, and creative writing. She is the recipient of the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching and is a co-editor of jml: Journal of Modern Literature.
Cohen is the author of four nonfiction books and five novels, and is the producer of the documentary film, Two Universities and the Future of China. Her play, The Triangle, about John Singer Sargent, Henry James, and Edith Wharton, was a finalist in the Julie Harris Playwriting Competition. Her essays, stories, and reviews have appeared in The Yale Review, The American Scholar, The Southwest Review, the Times Literary Supplement, Raritan, The Hudson Review, and other publications. She writes a weekly online column, "Class Notes," for The American Scholar and is the host of The Drexel Interview, a TV show based in Philadelphia that is broadcast on over 350 local stations, including 150 PBS stations, throughout the country.
Cohen holds a B.A. in French and English from Yale College and a Ph.D. in English Literature from Columbia University.
To learn more, visit www.paulamarantzcohen.net
My Thoughts
Suzanne Davis Gets a Life is how one unhappy woman decides to do some changes in her life. She has a rather boring job, even though she has the luxury of working from home. She has issues with dating and a mother who is a very annoying woman, albeit helpful when Suzanne is diagnosed with cancer. We learn a lot about the characters that live in her Upper West side apartment. We go along with Suzanne for the ride of the hell that cancer can be, through chemo treatments, losing her hair, wig shopping and generally not feeling well. I know what this is like having had a husband go through chemo treatments. It is not a fun ordeal for the person suffering from it not the caregivers observing it. But persevere she does with sarcastic wit and a best friend and her mother to help her through the worst of it.
Does Suzanne Davis get a life and is it the one she most wants?? You have to read the book for those answers... I loved this fast paced at times snarky novel. It is easy to read and full of interesting and eccentric people, most of whom live in Suzanne's apartment building. Great story!
I received a copy of this book for review and was not monetarily compensated for my review.
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