The Family Man
Categories: Staff Picks , Fiction , Gay & Lesbian
Elinor Lipman is back and in top giggle-inducing form in her newest satire, The Family Man. I might like this one even better than Isabel’s Bed.
Henry Archer, in a moment of weakness, sends his ex a note of condolence after her latest husband dies, even though Henry hasn’t spoken to her in years. Henry has come out and moved on since their decades-ago marriage, but once that door’s open again, it’s not closing anytime soon. Couldn’t Henry just take a look at Denise’s prenup and keep her greedy stepsons from selling her Park Avenue apartment? And by the way, couldn’t she fix him up with just one or two of her gay friends?
Meanwhile, another door has opened. The coat-check girl at Henry’s hair stylist’s turns out to be Thalia, Denise’s daughter, whom Henry adopted and then had to give up as a toddler when Denise divorced him. Henry might have a second shot at fatherhood here.
At any rate, his tidy life is about to get pretty messy.
Thalia comes with her own set of complications. Thalia is an actress, and she has been approached by horror film director Leif Dumont’s publicity company to fake a relationship with him in order to improve his image in the tabloids.
Like that can’t go wrong. Oh, and she’s not speaking to Denise either—Denise was a little medicated when she gave the eulogy at her husband’s funeral.
With a new-found daughter installed in his downstairs apartment, a new lover (Denise’s matchmaking talents turn out to be surprising), his indomitable ex-wife popping over to cook the occasional dinner for him, and the paparazzi practically on his doorstep, Henry’s life is suddenly, delightfully full.
You won’t be able to turn the pages fast enough in this deliciously amusing satire.
