Family Man

by Elinor Lipman

Book Overview

A hysterical phone call from Henry Archer's ex-wife and a familiar face in a photograph upend his well-ordered life and bring him back into contact with the child he adored, a short-term stepdaughter from a misbegotten marriage long ago. Henry is a lawyer, an old-fashioned man, gay, successful, lonely. Thalia is now twenty-nine, an actress-hopeful, estranged from her newly widowed eccentric mother--Denise, Henry's ex. Hoping it will lead to better...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 054733608X
• ISBN13: 9780547336084
• Release Date: May 2010
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

sometimes it grabs you, sometimes it doesn't

I had tried several times to get into this book and I found myself getting into maybe chapter 3, and then putting it down and picking up another. I cannot honestly say what it is about the book that failed to catch me. The plot was a standard one: gay ex-husband becomes primary custodian and has to grapple with his new gay lifestyle, his VERY contentious ex, and his daughter in his house 24/7. I like this writer and have enjoyed other things he has published. Perhaps I just found this book to be somewhat pedestrian.

A Delightful Light Read

Elinor Lipman's The Family Man is a delightful light read. The story of Henry, a middle-aged, single gay New York man and the "family" that essentially happens to him throughout the course of the novel is charming and enjoyable. Henry sends his former wife, Denise, a condolence card after her husband dies. Denise sees this as an invitation to renew their friendship and Henry reluctantly meets with her. Denise somehow, unintentionally, launches him on a richer life. Henry is a lovable, as are most of the characters in this novel. The plot is creative and not predictable, the dialog snappy and the pacing well done. High marks all around for this enjoyable light read.

Delightful, charming summer read

Pour a glass of lemonade, slide into a hammock, and immerse yourself in The Family Man by Eleanor Lipman, a delightful summer read that's both witty and moving. After 25 years, divorced, gay, genteel New Yorker Henry Archer is reunited with his stepdaughter, wannabe actress and coatcheck girl, Thalia Krouch, which changes his life in unpredictable ways, helping him create a blended family like no other. Eleanor Lipman's books manage to be heartwarming and sweet without making you long for insulin. You like her characters, despite their flaws, and she reveals them artfully. For example, Todd, Henry's gay friend, works in an upscale home linens store. As Henry stands by, Todd assists a young woman with finding perfect ways to disguise a hideous antique Thanksgiving tablecloth given to her by her mother-in-law by suggesting things such as covering one of the larger Pilgrim's heads with a turkey platter. The reader can see the tablecloth, imagine the client enjoying Todd's witty advice, and understand why Henry, a former lawyer, is drawn to him. The dialogue is clever and witty without being cruel, a difficult task managed deftly by Ms. Lipman. If you enjoy the lighter side of well-written fiction, you'll have fun with this book. Don't read too quickly; you'll want more when it's over.

A world well worth visiting

Elinor Lipman's The Family Man is a delight. The protagonist, Henry Archer, is a stand-up guy and wonderful company, but then, in the end, so are all of Lipman's characters. Her world is full of inherent goodwill with no sappiness, which is no small feat. There is kismet and serendipity aplenty as the plot rollicks along, guided by Lipman's cheerful hand. As a writer, she is generous to everyone, large and tiny characters alike; New York-y random encounters--Henry's boyfriend comforting a worried bride with an ugly tablecloth at his job at Gracious Home, Henry and Todd talking at dinner, about when and how Todd should come out to his mother, with the couple at the next table--are some of the book's most charming. This is a world, natch, where Todd's mother has always known he was gay, and just wants him to be loved. Lipman handles "the gay thing" deftly--or, rather, doesn't really handle it at all; it's a plot point, but not the defining fact of the book by a long shot. Or maybe it is. It is, after all, called The Family Man, and in the end Henry, and a number of other people as well, who have been a little bit too lonely for a little bit too long, end up with a family far more multi-gendered, multi-dimensional, multi-generational--and witty--than any of them would have imagined possible.

"You know, the short redheaded boy in high school whose mother put creases in all his clothes?"

We all know that kid. This is how Todd, one of my favorite characters in "The Family Man", is described when introduced into the story, and of course one just gets it. That's how all the characters are in this book, funny and relatable and you care what happens to them, even the schmucky ones. I always love the protagonists of Lipman books for this reason and Henry Archer is no exception, my favorite ever, tied with Harriet of "Isabel's Bed". Henry enters into his new paternal role at once tentatively and wholeheartedly, desperately wanting to be appropriate, reconciling his feelings of practically every kind toward Thalia's mother, Denise, and trying to chart the territory of fatherhood and friendship to and with an adult, childlike woman. Plus, starting a new relationship with someone wonderful and hilarious. Plus, grieving the recent loss of a dear friend. It's wholly satisfying. It's a funny story with unexpected twists and turns and I felt great the whole time I was reading it.

Another marvelous read...

Elinor Lipman's latest is another in a long line of great comedy-of-manner novels she's written. Maybe not quite as good as Lake Divine and Dearly Departed, but almost at that level. There's something unique in Lipman's writing that I've tried to figure out in all ten of her novels. Her secondary characters are written as brilliantly as her main characters. I don't know how she does it - I guess that's why I'm a reader and not a writer - but maybe it's her wonderful dialogue. I'm left after reading her novels with the - unacted on, of course - urge to call her and ask her to write another novel, using the same characters, taking the storyline further. As all her novels are "stand-alones", it's clear she considers each one finished at the end. She is a worthy successor to the late Laurie Colwin.