Moon over Minneapolis, or, Why she couldn't stay

I often find that people don't quite understand what Fay Weldon is doing in her books; or, at least, I find that they'd understand them better if they read the sleeve in the back that says she studied in St. Andrews University in Scotland, M.A. in Economics (and psychology).I've read some reviews saying she is negative. Not so, not so.Not so.It really benefits everyone to study at least one course of economics at least once in their lives. Or, at least, to have a grasp at the concept of choice and what it really means. Choice is a really simple concept, but like all simple things, it can become very unsimple, because human beings happen to be tied to each other. (Like it or not.)So many of her ideas have already been explored before, but in a more lyrical way. Then, people are apt to miss the point.I can think of the Swedish film from 1967, Elvira Madigan. This film is a great example of the consequences that an idealized, absolute love between one man and one woman may result in. When Fay Weldon talks about love, she does not say love is a bad thing. On the contrary, she wonders quite effectively WHY we THINK it's a bad thing. Love, like anything else, in this world has a price. It's just the way it is, whether we like it or not. That is to say, we might be individuals, but we live within another individual - called the society. Being inside it is like being seriously married to it, because divorcing ourselves from it is very, very difficult. Yet, deep down, Fay Weldon addresses always this very important question: should we choose to conform or to rebel? It is always, always, always, an economic choice.People do not understand what economics is. It, really, is a philosophy that is very applied, therefore people associate it with money. But Fay Weldon's books are precisely that: where is the equilibrium between efficiency and the other problem of economics---equity? She takes a feminine perspective always because she probably found out out there that being a female economist is a really damn hard thing to do when you are used to being a woman. In a field shaped mainly by men, it is very hard to reason with them once they believe they have the answer. Why is there inequality? Perhaps it is efficient -- but is efficiency ALWAYS efficient in the long-run? Shouldn't things like health, self-reliance, happiness even--come first? Fay Weldon asks this questions. She is a great economist, even if she is not working in a bank or an university.Very independent, brilliant lady. She asks women, "Don't YOU have a choice, too? Hey! YOU! Wake up. Maybe you forgot you had a choice too."

fay weldon is just so wonderful, i cannot imagine anyone enjoying dannielle steele comparied to her, its like eating a bowl of whipped cream as compared to a tasty lobster dinner, one iwth a zing of tart and sour lemon juice throughout, but hey, thats life and no one and i mean no one is a better, more honest chrinicler of life than fay weldon. she should be requried reading in every book club, and her books should be lining the book stores first tables, not hidden in the back. i just love her work and i hope she becomes more well known here in the states, as the english say.