[amazon_link id=”067002564X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]Title : The Widow Waltz
Author : Sally Koslow
Genre : chick-lit
Publisher : Viking
Pages : 342
Source : Publisher
Rating : 3.5/5

The summary, from Goodreads :

“Georgia Waltz has things many people only dream of: a plush Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park, a Hamptons beach house, valuable jewels and art, two bright daughters, and a husband she adores, even after decades of marriage. It’s only when Ben Silver suddenly drops dead from a massive coronary while training for the New York City Marathon that Georgia discovers her husband—a successful lawyer—has left them nearly penniless. Their wonderland was built on lies.

As the family attorney scours emptied bank accounts, Georgia must not only look for a way to support her family, she needs to face the revelation that Ben was not the perfect husband he appeared to be, just as her daughters—now ensconced back at home with secrets of their own—have to accept that they may not be returning to their lives in Paris and at Stanford subsidized by the Bank of Mom and Dad. As she uncovers hidden resilience, Georgia’s sudden midlife shift forces her to consider who she is and what she truly values. That Georgia may also find new love in the land of Spanx and stretch marks surprises everyone—most of all, her.”

Georgia and her daughters are used to being rich without having to think about it. When that comfortable blanket of wealth is whipped out from over them, they each need to cope. So this book is a journey of a happily-married, much-in-love woman going from a cared-for wife to single, relatively impoverished responsible-for-everything parent.

This novel is told in first person by Georgia, but daughters Louisa and Nicola Silver-Waltz get their own chapters to tell of their points-of-view. Nicola or Cola is Korean born and adopted as a baby by Georgia and Ben. She, sponsored by parental funds, has taken her time getting her bachelor’s degree and has after, traveled and dabbled in learning culinary skills. As Georgia puts it “no one can accuse her of following a straight path to success”. Louisa, or Luey, the biological daughter is brilliant and at Stanford. Luey is whimsical and irresponsible as is evinced by her dropping a semester at Stanford, unbeknownst to her parents, to accompany her then boyfriend to an elephant camp in Zimbabwe.

Georgia herself, appears to be an entitled, rich woman with a housekeeper, chauffeur, expensive vacations and doodads – every thing she wants. She also, as we discover from her words, has a penchant for sharp-edged commentary. Everything she says has bite. Astute, pithy observations spew from her lips – this is interesting to read, but after a couple of pages also a tad tiring – does one not relax sometimes, soften maybe, in word and thought?

Time is history’s bulldozer. I am no longer a glorious bloom in the ecosystem. I can almost hear people saying behind my back, You should have seen her in college – Georgia Waltz . . . a knockout. I try to evaluate my daughters as the rubbernecker must, gliding with the posture of ballerinas. “Stand up straight, shoulders back.” Every time I said it, I heard my mother’s voice. At least Nicola and Luey listened, they’re tall enough to get away with a slouch. When you’re like me, every quarter inch counts.

Georgia was also very much in love with her now dead husband. His deception has broken her trust, but she still misses him, still yearns for him. While her loss makes me sympathetic, I cannot overlook the fact that I think of her as a little ditzy and impractical; this is a pampered woman who has no idea of her finances – she’s quite at sea when it comes to knowing how much her husband earns or where he puts it. Even though the shock of Ben’s death and deception is great she does not collapse into terror, as maybe a lesser woman would. From that I glean that she is a strong, resilient woman (good quality) who has consciously dumbed herself down into playing the role of society wife, content to let her husband look after her (not so good quality). I look at her daughters in a more kindly light because they buck up and help their mother as best they can, and they are young – when many faults can be forgiven.

The book gives a pretty good idea of the characters via the thoughts in their heads. The plot is quite predictable once the initial seeds of suspicion are sown. The conclusion is hard to swallow, and a little distasteful. “Widow Waltz” has great writing and pace, but I’m only vaguely sympathetic to the spoilt characters. Still it nicely underscores the fact that family is family, messy and supportive and yours for life. For all it’s substance, “The Widow Waltz” is ultimately chick-lit and might make a fine beach read.