Close Relations

By Susan Isaacs

Book Overview

Fans of New York Times Bestselling author Susan Isaacs' signature satire won't be disappointed with this new edition of her classic tale of family, sex and New York politics Marcia Green is a sophisticated, witty, successful New Yorker, a whiz of a political speech writer, a woman who finds a smoke-filled room more intoxicating than a magnum of champagne. Her private life is a little less bubbly. She has a passionate but not very promising live-in relationship with her boss's dashing chief of staff, Jerry Morrissey. He offers her only a good time- but what a time Can Marcia resist when a new man arrives on the scene, a man who is exactly the sort her family wants her to marry- bright, kind, attractive, wealthy, and charming- in short, too good to be real?

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061099473
• ISBN13: 9780061099472
• Release Date: February 1992
• Publisher: HarperTorch
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

fine character study

In New York City, Marcia Green is a successful political speechwriter. However, her family, instead of marveling at her success, loathe her job that her mom and aunt believe interferes with her meeting a nice Jewish dentist to marry and bear grandchildren. Just because she is thirty five, divorced from Barry Plotnick and happy with her work and sex with Jerry Morrisey are irrelevant to her mom and aunt. They cannot understand how Marcia can live with someone whose DNA runs towards boiled potatoes instead of appreciation of the fine art of a knish. However, when Marcia meets her Mr. Perfect, she wants to run away before her family stalk him. David Hoffman is affluent, handsome and intelligent as expected of a Harvard Law School Graduate; but his greatest trait besides not mentioning his alma mater is his fearlessness when he enters the Green family jungle. As he falls in love, she remains in a state of "Definitely, Maybe" denial. This is an entertaining reprint of a 1980 fine character study although the support cast consisting of her family and co-workers are purposely hyperbole stereotypes. Marcia is marvelous as her professional life is perfect (at least she says so) and her personal life a mess (at lest her mom says so). When David enters her life, he nukes her feelings as she reconsiders what she wants in a man looking back to Forest Hills HS and her crush on Barry for guidance. Fans will enjoy this pre-Twitter era tale with a touch of chick lit before that became fashionable. Harriet Klausner

Marcia is a heroine for the ages

Isaacs follows the great COMPROMISING POSITIONS with another winner that follows similar lines. Only in this case it is not middle-America suburbian married life that is being examined but poor Marcia and her gaggle of well-meaning relatives. She is introduced to loser after loser until there he is one day. The sexual exploits combine with her amateur snooping to create a funny, intriguing book with characters as well-honed as the plot. Isaacs has a way with words and specializes in dialogue of the funny sort. I again laughed out loud over and over and the characters became almost like the people you meet daily. Good fun can be had by all.

Marcia is a heroine for the ages

Isaacs follows the great COMPROMISING POSITIONS with another winner that follows similar lines. Only in this case it is not middle-America suburbian married life that is being examined but poor Marcia and her gaggle of well-meaning relatives. She is introduced to loser after loser until there he is one day. The sexual exploits combine with her amateur snooping to create a funny, intriguing book with characters as well-honed as the plot. Isaacs has a way with words and specializes in dialogue of the funny sort. I again laughed out loud over and over and the characters became almost like the people you meet daily. Good fun can be had by all.

The characters stay with you a long, long time!

I first read this book more than 15 years ago, and it was my introduction to Susan Isaacs' work. Since then, my coopy has literally fallen aprt, and I was delighted to see a reprint.The heroine, Marcia, has a good life. Her family wants her to have a different life. How Marcia gets what she alsways dreamed of and makes her family happy is a funny, bitter, and very true story. Anyone who has ever tried to forge a life of their own will see themselves in Marcia.I know this book so well, I sometimes quote parts of it. It has never failed to give me pleasure, and it has the right mix of good writing, good characters and good plot to keep the story moving. Buy it and read it before Labor Day!