It's about Your Husband

The beginning of the novel was not interesting enough for me to continue reading.

This was one of the best books I've read this summer. I am looking forward to more books from Lauren Lipton. The heroine, Iris Hedge, was the type of woman that women can relate to. She's warm, funny and endearingly flawed. I highly recommend this book.

Once started--I could not put the book down. I read it--start to finish--in one day, and found myself laughing out loud 'watching' Iris, the well-meaning heroine deal with the foibles of life; the demise of her marriage, perhaps that of a quasi-friend, among the fellow citizens in New York and with a parent who embraces their own faults to the frustration of a distant daughter. Each character was woven with threads of people that I feel I have known at some point or another in my life. Ms. Lipton writes with the authority of a journalist and the creativity of an artist. The delightful result is a well written story that is at once comfortable, spellbinding, fun and fresh. LOVED the unexpected twist at the end and hope Ms. Lipton's next book is as enjoyable as her freshman novel. I encourage you to buy this book!

Reviewed by Susan Pettrone for Reader Views (11/06) "It's About Your Husband" opens with `Iris' meeting with who she assumes is her close friend `Val,' but whom she quickly discovers, is not Val but her twin sister `Vickie.' Upon closer inspection she realizes that not only is this not her somewhat bohemian, free-spirited friend Val, but that Vickie is about as opposite as possible. The difference is evident and amazing as well. Vickie is the pink, page boy, twin cardigan counterpart of her sister and as Iris is pondering how two women can look so much alike, yet be so different, Vickie drops a bombshell in her lap in the form of the statement "... my husband is cheating...again!" Upon the appearance of Val and the desperate need of Iris, a newly-separated woman who is jobless to boot, to pay her rent, she is swept up into becoming Vickie's personal private investigator. Her job is simple.....find out if Vickie's husband Steve is in fact cheating on her and if he is, find out WHO the woman is. Iris, being the complex woman that she is, finds this task easier said than done, when she meets, greets and literally runs into Steve. As if Iris' bewilderment can't become any worse, she soon finds herself inexplicably drawn to Steve romantically. When she finally confesses to Steve that she is in fact spying for Vickie, he agrees to try to help Vickie save her marriage. As this thrust-together duo agree to meet periodically throughout the book, the bewilderment of Iris at the turn of events, the emerging emotions and the growing relationship all add up to a surprising end that the reader finds not only satisfying but amusing as well. This book is written in such a lighthearted manner that the story of Iris, her new thrust-upon profession and the characters she encounters will leave the reader alternatively rolling with laughter or shaking ones head in dismay at the turn of the events within its pages. It is a great light read for anyone looking for something to take the edge off the seriousness of life. I would highly recommend "It's About Your Husband" to any and all adult age readers who are looking for a good laugh, a light story with a twist and engaging characters as well. Lauren Lipton has a fantastic character in Iris and her personification of Iris and Steve are priceless. This is a book well worth searching the shelves for. It would make a great gift for a friend or co-worker. It is the type of book women laugh over and men shake their heads in dismay over the confusion within.

Lauren Lipton has spent half of her life as a journalist, primarily as a newspaper reporter. In this, her first venture into fiction writing, she has shed the constraints that bind a journalist to accurately report news stories and has shown a real talent for creating her own. The result is an enchanting tale about the transformation of Iris Hedge, California Girl, into Iris Hedge, New Yorker. At a time in her life when her marriage is falling apart, Iris is offered the chance of a lifetime --- to get a promotion and work for a marketing company in New York City. The move from the San Fernando Valley is a little scary but exciting in view of the opportunities it will provide. Unfortunately, she barely gets settled into her incredibly expensive studioette when she is "restructured" right out of her new job at Hayes Heeley Market Research. So instead of the glamorous job she envisioned, she is now attending "Job-Hunting Tools for the Twenty-first Century" classes sponsored by the New York State Department of Labor. Fortunately, she was able to make some friends before she lost her job and looks forward to spending time with Val and Vickie, twins who have only their beautiful looks in common. Val is fun-loving, frivolous and flirtatious, while Vickie is married, meticulous and melancholy. Vickie suspects that her husband, Steve, is cheating on her. Therefore, she hires Iris to "get the goods on him" so that she can get the goods from him. This results in a series of miscommunications and cover-ups that could have had disastrous repercussions if it were not written as a comedy of errors. What makes IT'S ABOUT YOUR HUSBAND such an excellent read is not the plot so much as Lipton's ability to capture the flavor of New York, the foibles of her characters and the metamorphosis of a delightful heroine. Her use of the language and ability to make us smile and nod as we read about Iris's mother, the psychic New Age Nymph, are priceless. She describes this character as "Once a yoga-doing, herbal-tea-drinking, alfalfa-sprout-eating Southern California mom, she is now, fifteen years later, remarried and a cottage industry, a guru with a Web site and newsletter who dispenses nuggets of goddess wisdom to women she's never met from a six-thousand-square-foot Arizona hacienda." Further, you are constantly drawn in as Iris vacillates, as she teeters between loneliness and hope, despair and exhilaration. Her New York moments will spark fond memories in anyone who has been there...or has ever watched "NYPD Blue"! Lipton provides a nostalgic romp for those who "heart" New York and an inspiring one for those who have always wanted to embrace the Big Apple. We look forward to what Lauren Lipton has in store for us next. --- Reviewed by Maggie Harding

Iris Hedge is one of the funniest, most engaging modern heroines I've met in ages. Her plight through divorce and joblessness in the big city will ring true to any young woman who's had to refashion her life and her presumptions. When she finds herself unemployed she takes on the job of spying on her friend's sister's husband. She makes a few wrong assumptions, but then, so do we--just when we think we know where the book is going, it surprises us and Iris, in the end, DOES get it right. Along the way, we learn how to wear heels without getting blisters and what shade of lipstick will really work (and how not to dye your hair!). I loved the picture of New York City that emerges--it's a real Valentine to the city and to the resourceful young people who come there every year to find a second chance. Beneath all the humor and fashion tips, this is a wise and mature book. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Lipton!