A review by sde
The View from Penthouse B by Elinor Lipman

4.0

Another light, fun read from Elinor Lipman. Although I call her books light, this does not mean she is a bad writer. She somehow has the skill to make her stories breezy and fast while still having a good story behind them. The thing I like about her books is that people are pleasant to each other and actually try to get along. In this case, there are three sisters with very different personalities and life stories, but they still manage to meet for dinner on a regular basis and support each other. Two of the sisters move in together - one a widow and one recently divorced from her incarcerated ob/gyn husband - to help each other financially, and they end up helping each other in so many other ways to get on with their lives. Add a third roommate - a 20-something gay man who is a fabulous cook and recently out of work because his last job was with the ill-fated Lehman Brothers - and you get even more chuckles.

I loved the main character, Gwen, maybe because she is a bit like me - quiet, introverted, and not wanting to rush into any changes. Some of the characters make choices that were a bit unbelievable, such as forgiving the ex-husband, but so what? It's not supposed to be the next "hard-hitting drama of people facing their demons." It's supposed to be fun.