The Not-So-Perfect Man

by Valerie Frankel

Book Overview

As far as her family and friends are concerned, Frieda has been the grieving widow for long enough. At 35, she's still (relatively) young, still (adequately) attractive. Her sex drive is very much alive; even Frieda admits she'd like to put it to use again. Besides, she has a son who certainly needs a father figure. With visions of the perfect second husband in mind, Frieda's sisters start to send eligible males in her direction.

Big sister...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060536683
• ISBN13: 9780060536688
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Another winner from Frankel!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. So far, I've read 2 of Frankel's books and loved both. It's the right combination of funny, serious, smart, and real! Another reviewer wrote that she would have given it 5 stars but didn't because of the bad language...there is not that much of it and it's real. Meaning, I don't know about everyone else, but my friends and I speak just like what was written in the book. Do we always curse? No. Do the characters in the book? No. It's just enough that it is believeable in real life conversations. It's chick lit...one shouldn't be uptight about it anyway! That's my 2 cents and I'm sticking to it. The characters are developed very well and the reader always knows who is who and their motives. There are many characters but the book's flow is easy to follow. It is a book about a widower, an uptight sister and another sister that has slacked off on her image. They all transform by the end of the book. It also makes one stop and think whether true and passionate love is better than the safe and dependable friend. I always root for the true and passionate side - that's what makes us alive! Have fun with this one!

Very entertaining reality-romance novel

This book had the right blend of humor, reality, and romance. This book illustrates a common issue in relationships: Whether it is better to marry someone you are passionate about vs. someone who is practical. I would not recommend it for young adults. The only reason why I did not give it 5 stars is because there is some bad language in the book. Otherwise, it is written very well.

this should be a best seller

I could not believe how good this book is. Funny, sad, characters I loved and a complex involving plot. I was expecting a chick-lit romance novel, but got much more than I'd hoped for, or paid for. Highly recommended.

More, Please!

Give me more of the Schast sisters, please! All three are smart, funny, and ultimately flawed (in the best possible, most relatable, laugh-with-me) kind of way. Unlike some other fictional NYC women, this trio of unlikely heroines is neither sexier, more clever or hipper than thou. And there's a minimum of coy product placement. What there's a maximum of: interesting characers you root for, a plot with just enough complications and some informative insight about the complexities of emotions inherent in being married, single, and widowed. A great feel-good read on a cold day.

my first amazon review

Picked this up the day it was released and read it non-stop until the last page. The story covers a year plus in the lives of three sisters in New York City--one widowed, one married, one single. They each have a romantic storyline with a beginning, middle and (happy) end, all overlapping, all having an influence on the romantic destiny of the others. It's an amazing bit of storytelling, actually, where the smallest early detail is relevant and pivotal on another sister's life pages later in the novel. Which isn't to say that The Not-So-Perfect Man is too complicated to keep track of. The short chapters keep the plot humming along. I would decide I related best to the single sister, and then I'd get more involved with the widow, and back and forth. Although each of her character certainly has her share of problems here, Frankel is as funny in this one as in any of her other novels. The Not-So-Perfect Man, though, goes deeper. For me, that means better.