The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing

The Fifth Child is a British novel first published in 1988. So as both a foreign and an older book I was quite surprised at how much I like it. Doris Lessing is extremely talented, creative and sick in the head. The book was terribly disturbing. It was the direct cause of several nightmares.

Harriet and Jack meet at the very beginning of the novel, which sets the quick tone for the rest of the book. Doris Lessing moves quickly and skimps on the detail. At first I found this hard to deal with but it allowed me to use my own imagination for much of story. Harriet and Jack share similar interests, ideas on life and the desire to have a large family. A game of scrabble with a bowl of clam chowder would be their ideal evening spent. They marry quickly and buy an over-sized house for just the two of them. They do so because they plan to fill it with 9 kids! Immediately! Everyone around them is outraged. They insist that 9 children are too many and it’s not fair to the kids or to the family as a whole. However, Harriet and Jack are determined. They begin their family anyhow. Four kids later they are as happy and anyone could have imaged. They regularly fill the house on holidays with all their family and friends. It is the birth of their fifth child, as the title preludes to, which the story turns. The love of a mother can go a long way. It can go to the ends of the earth. But what if your child scares the bujeezus out of you, your husband and all your other kids.

It is never clear what the exact problem is with the fifth child. A great imagination would come in handy here. The ending was mildly believable, but lacked closure. As a mother I am extremely blest. The most outrageous problem we have is a mild case of ADD. Other than that my kids are beautiful, loveable, and healthy. Doris Lessing gave me a reason to thank my lucky stars!

Baby Proof by Emily Giffin

First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes...a baby carriage? Isn't that what all women want? – The tag line for this book.

I had fallen in love with Rachel and Darcy’s love-hate relationship that started with drama, but ended in happiness. So, after reading Emily Giffins’ Something Borrowed and Something Blue, it was natural to want to complete the trilogy. Or at least, I assumed it was a trilogy based on the titles. Now along comes Claudia. Claudia was not a character in the first two books so immediately I am confused.

Claudia is a girl who grew up knowing for a fact that she did not want to have children. It was barely factor for her until she hit 30 and she was still alone. She became certain that she was not married, because of the child factor. It was a deal-breaker! No kids, no way. After she becomes comfortable with the idea of growing old alone, it finally happened for her. . . .love. Love in Ben. On date one they declare their mutual decisions not to have children. Claudia is immediately smitten and the relationship flourishes. It flourishes all the way to marriage. You would think this would be the happily ever after part, right? No, one day Claudia and Ben’s very best couple friends announce that they are expecting. Ben begins to question his original stance on children. Then after the birth of their friends’ baby, Ben’s mind has officially changed. He has a serious sit-down with Claudia. Asking her to please change her mind as well. Claudia will not budge on the idea. She is "baby proof". During this sit-down, Claudia asks Ben, are you choosing right now between a baby and me? "With guilt and grief in his eyes", Ben chooses.
This is the turning point in their story where Ben and Claudia have to truly decide if love can conquer all.

Unfortunately, I cannot relate to Claudia at all. Myself being a mother of two. I like to read as if I am the protagonist in a book. However, I could never bring myself to agree with Claudia, not even a little bit. I found her character selfish and needy. Emily Giffin did a famous good job in the believability of the character. However, the story ended poorly, without resolution. It left me empty handed and mouth ajar.

not quite the New York Times

since the permanent hiatus of the friolitas i've decided the continue with my own book reviews. i am starting with what i've read since february. let's call it a book club of one aka the friolita solita. i am doing this for a number of reasons. #1. for my own entertainment and love of reading #2. so that i can better remember what i've read. many times i will buy a new book forgetting that i've already read it. until i read page one and i have a cripes moment. #3. against all recommendations, i DO judge a book by its cover. most of the time i'm right on, but. . . i've been wrong. i'll admit it. i'd like to save others from this mistake by imposing my recommendations on whomever will let me.


so, i'm not technically qualified to review books, but for entertainment purposes; go with me on this one.


Reviews Soon to Come:
Baby Proof by Emily Giffin
The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Eating the Cheshire Cat by Helen Ellis
Diary of a Wimp by Jeff Kinney
Sula by Toni Morrison

tobe has a playdate

they didn't "technically" play together, but they played in the same vicinity of each other. each having a ton of fun on their own.

Middle School MADNESS!!!

aaaakk. the pain in my chest and throat was intense when tommy told me not walk him to his first class this morning. i threw in a few "are-you-sures" . . . you know. . . just in case. but he didn't budge. rod and i sat in the car for several minutes completely bewildered on what to do next. keep waiting, follow him, drive away or cry. rod drove away eventually and i fought tears. i wanted to cry justin timberlake a river, but i rationalized that if i didn't cry for kinder then i shouldn't cry for jr. high.

i do want to also point out that we were only a handful of parents who did NOT do the walk in. but we did see one mom reach for her son's hand and she was immediately (but discreetly) swatted away.

work, school & fibromyalgia

one day a couple of months ago rodney text me while he was at work saying how frustrated he was with his job. he called himself an over paid associate instead of a manager. all i could say was HANG IN THERE! and he did. he did a great job; and his prayers were answered because shortly there after he got a call from the owner of the G.O.D. she asked him to please come back to work for them for a great raise and a better work schedule. he took it w/o a second thought. so monday was his first day of work after PB gave him a week off with pay. i think this will be a great move.

also school is about to start again for the '08-'09 school year. thomas will be going to MIDDLE SCHOOL. i am soooo scared. if he's scared he sure isn't showing it, but really i think he is CLUELESS. he has no idea what he's in for. i've tried explaining but it's one of those things the he will have to experience for himself. diney is a sophmore this year, hayden is going to the 2nd grade and jocelyn will be in 4th. but at least all the school clothes and supplies are ready!

me?? i thought i was having a heart attack on friday night. turns out it was heartburn. not a heartattack or fibromyalgia as i had first suspected. i stayed home from work on wednesday to rest after a few "episodes" this past week, so i went to sarah's house to discuss my condition. thomas later told rodney that i was . . . "talking to aunt sarah about her fibromyalgia".

AFV here we come!!!

we are on a mission!! a mission to win $10,000 on America's Funniest Videos. the show has been a favorite of mine and tommy's for several years. we stop whatever we are doing on sunday evenings at 6pm to gather around the TV. we watch re-runs and even google favorites online to watch over and over again. it is one of the few things that thomas and i can enjoy together. i have little interest in Halo 3 and the cartoon network. in turn, he has zero interest in chick-lit novels and garage saleing. this is our first try, but as you can see i was distracted during the video shoot!

3 part birthday

part 1

we took tommy to portrait innovations to take his picture. he totally wanted to do a photo shoot like we did for toby. BUT. . .come picture day he got all embarrassed in front of his dad and started back pedaling. (i knew he really wanted to go. MOM ALWAYS KNOWS) so i had to play bad guy. i said "thomas, don't make me waste my time and gas going all the way to plano for this, if this is something that you don't want to do!". already packed up and in the car. thomas quietly says "yes, i want to go". i'm watching him in the rear view mirror and caught the grin that wasn't meant for me. i don't mind being the bad guy so that thomas gets what he really wants and doesn't have to be embarrassed about it in front of dad, because mom is "making him do it" (wink wink)

part 2

a family just cake party at the house. we got the grandma's over to the house and we sang happy birthday to tommy. he got a tennis racket and tennis lessons. something he's been wanting to do for quite a while. he also got a great birthday spanking from his uncle morty!

part 3
we took thomas to medieval times. he invited one of his friends to join him and we had a good ol' time. actually i think that i had the best time. i've lived in dallas for 21 years and this was my first time there. tobias had a ton of fun. he LOVES to clap and there was lots of clapping there.