Otherwise Engaged

by Suzanne Finnamore

Book Overview

Otherwise Engaged is Suzanne Finnamore's wickedly funny account of an intelligent, rational woman's transformation into the harpy of anxieties that is the bride-to-be. When Michael pops the question,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375406522
• ISBN13: 9780375406522
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.9" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

A very pleasant surprise...

I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. In fact, when I saw it on my bookshelf I couldn't even remember why I bought it. Imagine my surprise to find a witty, honest account of a woman's experience with engagement, relationships and life.The story is told in the first person by a woman in her late thirties who has given her boyfriend an ultimatum, which he accepts. As she moves toward marriage, she encounters many ups and downs and emotional obstacles, all of which are related in a straight forward manner, easy to believe and relate to. This is not a book about a woman who simply has to get married; she really cares about her intended, even panics at the thought of life without him. Yet she still experiences doubts and jitters, a clear illustration of the effect that marriage can have of even the strongest relationships.I highly recommend Otherwise Engaged to anyone, married, single, engaged or not. There's a lot in it that everybody can relate to, whether her fear of commitment or of being found out, proven to be the 'phony' she feels she is. And all of this is presented in a funny, smart and engaging (no pun intended) way. It's certainly good for a laugh, but I was very pleasantly suprised to find out how much more there is to it. Enjoy!

Funny because it's honest and thoughtful (not crazy)

As I write this review, 186 other people have reviewed this thing- so the question is: What incremental contribution can I make over and above the other 186 people who've had something to say about this book. Well, I'll try and be helpful by summarizing what everyone else has said, dispel some myths, and help set expectations: I avoided reading this book because based on what reviews I had read, I was afraid it was this "madcap romp through the bridal world"- I was scared it was going to be Bridget Jones Gets Married. I like Bridget, but "being engaged" and weddings are already superficial enough in this culture without the added bonus of slapstick. This book is honest, genuine and really has very little to do with ordering flowers (don't even think i saw the word "florist," actually) or invitations (she does talk about addressing them and picking them out, but it's fairly quick). It's more about a person going through a transition in life and coping with the fears associated with those changes than it is about being engaged. I found it to be very similar to "Welcome to My Planet" by Shannon Olsen- Eve (from this book) and Shannon (from "Welcome...") both are transitioning and having to grow up and realize that they have to stop looking backward and give up certain things in order to gain certain things. I'm not engaged and never have been married, and I still very much related to that kind of emotional growth.I also liked the fact that she's not a screw up at work- It seems a lot of these 30-year-old-woman books (Lucy Sullivan, Welcome to my Planet, Getting over it) are about a woman who's a mess at work and in her personal life- This woman is successful at work (six figures no less), and I could really relate to her a lot more- I'm a little maxed out on screwups. It is a fairly quick read but- I've read other reviews that said it's a superficial book. They are reading it too fast, which isn't necessarily wrong- it's just that they are sorta being like those dogs who gulp their food down without tasting it. This book is hilarious. Partly because of its honesty, but also because of some one-liners. For example, she's discussing the fact that Michael (her fiance, obviously) has been married before and discussing her feelings about being a second wife:"First wife, second wife. I will always be second. Even if his first wife dies, I don't move up the ladder. It's not like being an understudy. It's so much more complicated. Second. It's so Nancy Kerrigan."So far, I think this is one of the better of this 30-year-old-woman books, for what it's worth. Thanks Suzanne- Do we get a book on the next stage of life too?

Wonderful

This is a brilliant novel. And I'm a guy. (And I have to say to those people who have written lonely one star reviews: it's a novel, get a life. It's make believe, just like, oh, I don't know, Barbie.) Funny, yes. But also interestingly profound. Which I feel, personally, is a fair fifty-fifty thing. This really is a book about the process (and it is a process) of engagement. I have a hunch, but no proof, that this is really a bio disguised as a novel. I like to think this, anyway. I like to think there is a real Eve out there somewhere. An actual woman. At least, I'd like to hope there is. On a personal note, I have to say: My girlfriend became the Bitch From Hell after we set The Date. She read this book and it was like she had suddenly entered a Valium haze. All of a sudden, she was calm, cool. The panic was gone. I think because she sort of identified with the main person in the book. She felt like she wasn't alone thinking she was crazy. The ONE complaint I have about this book is a line in the book that says something like, "a sock on the floor is a sock on the floor for the rest of my life" or something. Anyway, the same is true for me. For the rest of my life, I will walk into the bathroom in the morning and be greeted by nylons hanging over MY towel. And also, there's never any room in the medicine cabinet. At least I hope.