What About the Love Part?

I think this book is more like a novel than a collection of short stories, but the poignant and touching memoirs of Abby moved me. The words carried me. Her struggles to overcome the life as a single mother are a departure from the traditional chick lit. Rosenfeld is proficient at creating characters that endears the reader with her unique sense of dry humor and sharp dialogue. I see no reason not to heartily recommend this book to everyone who wants to go beyond the single-woman-looking-for-love-in-the-big-city drivel. I am an avid reader of the aforementioned genre, but it's great to stumble upon a book with a plot that sets it apart from the rest. I can't recommend this book enough...

There are plenty of books out there written by, about and for women who are in the midst of great changes of their lives, but WHAT ABOUT THE LOVE PART gives us something that we so often lack in contemporary fiction -- a skillfully drawn, memorable character.How Abby goes about her life, trying to put the pieces of it together will certainly resonate with so many us, especially women who continue to find themselves in situations that they helped to create, but aren't sure of how or why they did so.If Rosenfeld can create such a life in stories, what might she do in her upcoming novel? I can't wait to find out!

This collection of stories is the history of a long distance romance that starts on a river trip then fades over time. The rivers are the Yampa and the San Juan in Colorado and Utah and the rafting details are accurate. The trajectory of the romance feels accurate too, with the sense of regret and relief that it is over. The detail in these stories is wonderful, and the humor is warm and subtle. If this story were a movie it would be a chick-flick, but I liked it a lot.