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| Plot Summary of Stranger In Paradise |
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"
Viking, Jun 2001, 24.95, 320 pp.
ISBN: 0670899879
In Carson Springs, California, change is everywhere for the Kiley females. Alice marries Wesley Carpenter, a kind person older than her mother. Alice's sister, recently divorced Laura, looks sad as the happy couple exchanges their vows. Following the church ceremony, the mother of the bride, a widow Samantha, needs a ride to the reception when her car fails to start. The son of the groom Ian provides a lift to the party hosted by Sam.
Ian and Sam share a banter that leads to an attraction, dating, and a hot affair. Alice is mortified that her mom is stepping out on her deceased but idolized dad. Laura is stunned more when her mom becomes pregnant something that she wants but her body cannot accomplish. Instead, Laura brings into her home Brooklyn teenage runaway Finch. The goings-on of the Kiley women shock the residents of this coastal town.
STRANGER IN PARADISE is an interesting look at third and fourth generation Californians. The story line consists of three subplots that tie together through the relationships of the Kiley trio. The lead women are fully developed while the key secondary players are refined enough to supplement the Kiley females. However, the effort to compare reactions to the younger woman-older man vs. the younger man-older woman theme seems obsolete in today's age of so many couples pairing with both types of backgrounds. Still Eileen Goudge is so talented that her tale will send her fans to reader's paradise because she provides another entertaining tale.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"A forty-eight year old widow's passion for a man almost twenty years younger than her threatens everything she holds dear-her daughters' love most of all. Especially after she discovers she is pregnant. Each daughter has her own problem with their mothers choice. For Alice, this love affair is a violation of her fathers memory. And for Laura, who was recently divorced, partly due to the fact that she couldn't conceive, the irony of the situation is painful. The murder of two people in town adds an interesting subplot to this novel. One of those books you will fly through. "
Kim Mills, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Stranger In Paradise |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of story
- 1980's-1999
- Present (2000-2010)
Forbidden/mismatched love?
Yes
How mismatched?
- old guy loving young gal
- old gal loving young guy
If one lover chases another...
- he chases after her
Children/Pregnancy
Yes
Children/Pregnancy:
- Get accidently pregnant
Matchbreaker
Yes
Matchbreaker is
- Son/Daughter/Brat
Family focus?
Yes
Family, hating
Yes
Main Male Character
Profession/status:
- business executive
- artist
Age/status:
- 20's-30's
How sexual is this person?
- very picky
- several sexual encounters
How romantic is this person?
- very romantic
Sex has good effect on him
Yes
Sex makes him
- confident
- blissful
- mature
- sensitive
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Female Character
Age/status:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- small businessman
How sexual is this person?
- very picky
How romantic is this person?
- very romantic
- somewhat romantic
effect of sexing
- confused
- scared
- guilty
Sex has bad effect on her
Yes
Sex has good effect on her
Yes
Effect of sexing
- confident
- blissful
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
- hostile, like Gomer Pyle on steroids
- sinister, like an X-Files Gomer Pyle
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
- moderately detailed references to deaths
What % of story is romance related?
- 50%
- 70%
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- descript of kissing
- touching of anatomy
- impregnation/reproduction
- actual description of sex
- descript. of female anatomy (the big B's)
Part of a series?
Yes
Focus of story
- many multiple characters
Consequences of sex
- pregnancy
How much dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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