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This is a story
revolving around the three Schast sisters. Irene, the eldest, is married
and loves to manage everybody’s love life but her own. Frieda, the
middle sister, is a recent widow with a young son and she’s the central
character on whom the story hinges. Betty, the youngest, is so
introverted and rude that she never gets any dates.
Irene keeps setting
Frieda up with men that she feels are eligible and who generally don’t
interest Frieda at all. At the same time, she’s harshly critical of her
own worshipping husband Peter and his growing weight problem. Peter
rebels by eating even more, and this greatly strains their marriage.
Meanwhile, Frieda meets a handsome young actor, Sam Hill, at her framing
store and immediately begins a sizzling hot passionate affair with him.
But Sam’s constantly away touring and his absences drive Frieda insane.
Her sisters, especially Irene, don’t approve of him and gently erode her
confidence in their fledgling relationship. Irene then introduces Frieda
to a very eligible single father. Now, will Frieda choose for comfort
and reliance, over passion and energy? In the meantime, Betty meets and
is greatly infatuated by a new co-worker who refuses to be turned off by
her overweight body and extremely prickly disposition. Is it true love
or something else entirely?
This latest Valerie
Frankel novel is amusing and in-depth at the same time. The three Schast
sisters have very different personalities, but what’s endearing is how
they’re always there for each other through good times and bad. This
closeness touches emotional chords, but also gives rise to plenty of
interesting and sometimes acrimonious situations. Irene’s obsession with
weight and matchmaking, Frieda’s sudden and uncharacteristic love
affair, the startling change is Betty – all make for absorbing reading
and through which Ms. Frankel subtly points out how a single tragic
incident has a rippling, lasting and unspoken effect in the lives of
everybody around. Besides sisterly, platonic and passionate
relationships, the novel also touches upon some serious subjects such as
people’s struggles with their growing weight, what makes them eat
uncontrollably, their efforts to diet, and how some unscrupulous
nutritionists take advantage of this. The story is also a lesson in how
to look beyond the surface and discover the unconscious need which
motivates us all. This saga is not only very poignant but also
inspiring. There are also plenty of humorous scenes to offset the
sublimal serious tone of the book. Overall, “The Not-So-Perfect Man” can
easily be called Valerie Frankel’s best book so far and is greatly
entertaining to boot!
Reviewed By
Rashmi Srinivas for The Road to Romance
January 26, 2004 |
