Midnight Lemonade - Softcover

A first novel about thirtysomething Katherine, single parent and late bloomer, that breathlessly pushes all the right contemporary buttons--only to reach an uplifting, old-fashioned conclusion. Convent-educated in Louisiana, Katherine had wanted to be a poet so badly that she dropped out of college freshman year and returned to work in her beloved New Orleans. Katherine, a daddy's girl who grew up in a small town along the Mississippi, has been shaped by her Catholic education, especially in her attitude toward sex--which means that when she meets handsome English prof Eric, and they soon make love, marriage is obligatory. A daughter is born shortly thereafter, followed by a son, and soon Katherine-- overwhelmed by motherhood--finds herself drinking more and reading less. A move to North Carolina strains an already rocky marriage; and though there's a third baby, Eric's continued infidelities are too much. Katherine leaves, bravely makes a home for herself and the kids, and starts writing for the local paper. But the children are a problem, though she loves them intensely, and so is sex, for there's still all that lingering Catholic guilt. And despite a few affairs, including one with married Ian (who prefers her without her kids), Katherine's love life remains unsatisfactory. Then, just as her career begins to take off, her father's death and a near- fatal accident involving the youngest child precipitate the inevitable crisis. Tired of being simultaneously mom, lover, and career woman, Katherine hands the kids over to Eric and flees to California with Ian--but in an obligatory epiphany realizes that she has ``never truly dug in for a fight.'' Eventually, she'll head home to reclaim the children and save Louisiana from developers and pollution. Typical of the genre in which every mistake is forgiven if an allegedly strong, talented, and sexy woman finally grows up. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Goethe's first novel concerns a nice, middle-class, Catholic girl and her disillusionment with the Prince Charming myth. In a fairly realistic story that is typical of postfeminist novels of the day, the heroine becomes infatuated with her college professor and gets pregnant. She drops out of boarding school and marries the professor, who lets her stay home and grow miserable while he chases new students. When they both become alcoholics and break up, she must slowly put the pieces of her life back together. This is enjoyable reading notwithstanding, and Goethe writes with style. Yet there is something naggingly familiar about the characters and situations she presents. The novel is recommended for popular fiction collections if only because, given the publisher's high expectations, it is being heavily promoted. Judgment is reserved until we see more of Goethe's work.
- Denise Johnson, Bradley Univ. Lib., Peoria, Ill.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.