Rockville Pike: A Suburban Comedy of Manners

by Susan Coll

Book Overview

Jane Kramer never imagined a life selling discount furniture and commuting between grocery stores and soccer fields via minivan. But when her father-in-law has a heart attack, she and her husband, Leon, trade in their glamorous New York life for a stint running the family business on Rockville Pike, a tributary of the suburban sprawl line extending outward from Washington, D.C. Kramer's Discount Furniture Depot sits away from several lanes of traffic,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743267109
• ISBN13: 9780743267106
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Bravo!

This book is smart, funny, and hilarious! The story is NOT predictable, the characters are unlike any I've ever read about, and it was such a fun read that I wish it had been twice as long. This would make a great movie!

Rockville

I live in Rockville and have always been both fascinated and confused by the location of the Fitzgeralds' graves. It's so utterly bizarre and incongruous, something that I shouldn't be stumbling upon on my way to pick up the laundry. What an interesting plot thread.

I loved this book!

This is a very nice book -- Except, WAIT -- I think it is about MY LIFE! Ha. I guess I could really relate to the dismal, suburban setting and the odd suburban characters. I loved the Goth son and his rich friend. The husband was, well, in many ways, pretty typical! Janie manages to rally, but you can see why it wasn't easy for her. If you are wondering how you ended up in suburbia you'll be able to relate to Janie too.

Fun on the Pike!

Angst-ridden and unhappily married Jane Kramer helps her husband Leon run his family's discount furniture store on Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland. Coping is difficult for Jane as she tries at the same time to keep an eye on Delia (a store employee to whom she suspects her husband is attracted), supervise her 16-year-old Goth son who was just suspended from school, and assist fellow soccer-mom Tiffany in running a scrapbooking business. At the same time, a mystery ensues. Money is disappearing from the store's funds. Who could possibly be taking it? It's not as simple as it sounds. How Jane deals with all of these problems makes for one hilarious read. The author's hard-hitting, sarcastic humor is timed just right to provide a truly laugh-out loud reading experience. I absolutely loved the Rockville setting since this city is my hometown. The author did a fantastic job of bringing some true-to-life local color into this story. She used not only the quirky character of the city but also references to F. Scott Fitzgerald who is buried here in Rockville. Rockville Pike is a fun story with very interesting characters, many of whom you'll be sure not to forget. This is an excellent novel for everyone. No, you do not need to live near Rockville Pike to really enjoy it. I highly recommend it for everyone who likes to laugh.

A great character study

In the DC vicinity Jane Kramer worries that she is flunking at Life 101 as nothing she does brings her any degree of satisfaction let alone happiness. She has no one she is close to including her husband Leon. Because money is tight, she works at the family store, Kramer's Discount Furniture Store, along side of her husband and his Uncle Seymour. The school has suspended their teenage Goth son Justin. Finally she believes that Leon is having an affair with furniture saleswoman Delia. Jane refuses to eat lunch at the store; instead she seeks solace in a graveyard where F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife are buried. Jane turns to the Fitzgerald novels and Memories Inc., a business run out of people's homes for some solace. When Justin flees to New York without informing his parents and Leon leaves on a business trip with Delia, Jane follows in their wake, but has her own escapades to contend with. This is a solid character study told in the first person by Jane, who questions why she lives. The story line is intriguing as Jane struggles with the realization that no one cares whether she lives or dies beyond costs of a burial. Though the ending seems to simple for the centerfold of inferiority complexes, readers will appreciate this strong look at a woman in trouble with no one she believes she can turn to while she goes deeper into crisis. Harriet Klausner