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"In A Window Opens, Elisabeth Egan brings us Alice Pearse, a compulsively honest, longing-to-have-it-all, sandwich generation heroine for our social-media-obsessed, lean in (or opt out) age. Like her fictional forebears Kate Reddy and Bridget Jones, Alice plays many roles (which she never refers to as "wearing many hats" and wishes you wouldn't, either). She is a mostly-happily married mother of three, an attentive daughter, an ambivalent dog-owner, a part-time editor, a loyal neighbor, and a Zen commuter. She is not: a cook, a craftswoman, a decorator, an active PTA member, a natural caretaker, or the breadwinner. But when her husband makes a radical career change, Alice is ready to lean in--and she knows exactly how lucky she is to land a job at Scroll, a hip young start-up which promises to be the future of reading, with its chain of chic literary lounges and dedication to beloved classics. The Holy Grail of working mothers--an intellectually satisfying job and a happy personal life--seems suddenly within reach. Despite the disapproval of her best friend, who owns the local bookstore, Alice is proud of her new "balancing act" (which is more like a three-ring circus) until her dad gets sick, her marriage flounders, her babysitter gets fed up, her kids start to grow up, and her work takes an unexpected turn. Fans of I Don't Know How She Does It, Where'd You Go Bernadette, and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry will cheer as Alice realizes the question is not whether it's possible to have it all, but what does she--Alice Pearce--really want?"--… (more)
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I would highly recommend this book to book discussion groups; I think there are many issues worthy of discussion. I looked at the author's twitter account and will check out her book recommendations. I look forward to her next book.
She is offered what she thinks is a dream job, a new type of book store that offers first editions, e-books and other things in awesome setting. Until things change and her dream job morphs into something different.
This is a novel about books vs. e-books, her friend's independent bookstore versus a whole new reading experience. There are humorous bits, usually coming from the mouths of babes, (we all know kids say the darndest things),. A novel that asks the question, Is it ever possible to really have it all? To find out what Alice decides you need to read the novel. A lighter read, but one that deals with some important issues, issues relating to what is called the sandwich generation among others.
ARC from publisher.
Alice Pearse is the happily married mother of three. She has a relaxed part time job reviewing books for a women's magazine that allows her to still be a part of the PTA crowd. Her beloved parents live quite close and she has a wonderful babysitter to help her on days she's working. Her husband Nicholas is a lawyer at a high powered firm and they all seem relatively content with their lives. That is, until Nicholas finds out he won't be making partner at his firm and decides that he's going to start his own small legal practice. Worried about what this means for them financially, Alice starts to look for full time work to keep the family afloat while Nicholas slowly builds a client base. She lucks into a job that seems like a book lover's dream: content manager at startup Scroll, a company intent on creating an entirely new bookstore experience. Alice will be on the ground floor of something truly innovative and she is one of the people who gets the opportunity to find and curate the collection of books that will be available in these amazing sounding literary lounges. The only downside seems to be the very real threat these e-book and first edition p-books (that's Scroll speak for paper book) reading rooms pose to traditional brick and mortar independent bookstores. But Alice can look past that; she has to, doesn't she?
Setting aside the troubling fact that the company's parent is a monolithic retail mall developer, Alice is initially excited about the vision of Scroll and its focus on the whole reading experience. Even if she is a good decade older than most of the employees and she smirks at the ridiculous jargon they all use, she is fully invested in her job. As a matter of fact, she's so invested that she feels she's missing out on the home front. And she is. She's so attached to her phone, tied to her emails, and consumed by her job that she barely sees what's going on with her kids, she misses a doctor's appointment where her father discovers that his throat cancer has reoccurred, and she misses the fact that her husband is suddenly drinking too much as a way to alleviate his own stress. Meanwhile, Scroll is not designed to accommodate a work life balance and its clearly stated intentions are changing from what they once were, morphing at the speed of light to something that isn't quite as aligned with Alice's beliefs as it once was. Alice is frazzled and unhappy, stuck in a juggling act that just serves to make her feel terrible. Things must come to a head and Alice has to decide just how far she can stray from her ideals before she no longer likes herself and how much her family's and her own happiness means to her.
Alice is an appealing character who just wants to do the best thing for her family and to be happy. She is pulled in a million different directions and her thoughts and feelings on the push and pull are incredibly realistic. Egan's depiction of the book world, the flux that it is in, and the threat of huge, impersonal corporations which hire enthusiastic people, only to dismiss their very valid suggestions and concerns about the industry, is spot on. There is much that is heartbreaking here, a struggle to adjust, terminal cancer, and the almost too late realization of what is most important in our lives. Egan doesn't condemn anyone for their choices but she clearly explains the compromises that we all have to make and the cost those compromises can bring. Nicholas is a frustrating character, unable to slide into the role in which Alice served him for years and resentful that she needed him to do that. I wanted to like him for the loving things he did but instead he made me angry for his lack of realization about how his decision to start his own firm and to burn his bridges at the old place would seismically shift his family and all the roles, his included, in it. The narrative pacing is a little uneven in places, with definite slowdowns in the tale. There are brief light moments but this is not really a funny book; it is far more serious than it initially seems. It's an examination of the lives we build, the trade-offs we make, and finding the balance we can live with, even if that balance will never be 50/50. It's sad but ultimately hopeful and incredibly relate-able.
The struggle of holding everything together, including a job that isn't what was promised, is the lion's share of this story. I found it a bit depressing at times, but the author keeps the story rolling, and eventually a window opens bringing some desperately needed fresh air to Alice and the story.
I enjoyed this book and will pass on my recommendation. This one will probably appeal much more to the women, even if it's not completely in the chick-lit category. Many women will relate at least in part to Alice and understand the challenges that she and other career moms face. Incidentally, if you have a love for books and small bookstores, like I do, you will also enjoy the part that they play in the book.
I thank the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.
Alice Pearse was happy with her life as a mom-wife-part-time-writer until her husband came home one day and said he’d quit his job. Alice quickly obtains what appears to be a dream job---she’s helping launch a start-up innovative bookstore---but the view from closed doors of her job isn’t quite what she’d hoped. A gentle look at what companies say vs. what companies do along with an inside look at women at work and home today. Very good story.
She ends up at Scroll, a seeming amalgamation of Amazon
Alice takes that morning train while husband Nicholas sets up a local law office and becomes the secondary (they have a nanny, of course) caregiver for their kids. Comedies and tragedies ensue, in a most enjoyable and realistic way.
The comedic center of the novel is Scroll, by turns hilarious and soul destroying. This is a most enjoyable read, and finally the sour suburban taste (for some) of Gone Girl is dissipated!
This was an enjoyable light read about work-life conflict, a desire to find the "perfect job," and trying to have it all. I enjoyed this novel because it mixed several of my favorite interests, including bookstore culture, literary themes, and the visceral descriptions of food, coffee, and reading. #SRC2015 #Booksparks
It took me a while to get into this book and to warm up to the characters. Once I got into the book, it was an enjoyable, easy read. I
By way of a story, there is nothing new, in fact, this type of story has been done time and time again. Alice is struggling to do it all - she's part of the sandwich generation with demanding kids, a sick/elderly parent,
What was interesting to me was Alice's professional journey, I also work in publishing, but it wasn't enough to really sell the story.
Unfortunately, as a package, it didn't wow me. It is nice to be able to relate to a characters, but I would rather learn something from them or at least make a serious connection. A Window opens neither entertained in any way that made me want to shout it out to my friends, nor did it open my eyes to anything noteworthy. What I got was an average read that was mediocre in entertainment with nothing much happening other than contemporary life.
A Window Opens may be a better fit for fans of chick-lit. I am just ot this books target audience.
I completed A Window Opens in four hours, because this is a book for people who love books and I am definitely one of those.
Alice Pearse has an idyllic life, she works part time as a book
I adored this book and immediately suggested to a few friends of mine that they pick it up when it hits shelves. Elisabeth Egan successfully weaves a story of the challenges of being a mother in the corporate world. She writes with a true love for books and knowledge of the industry that I feel really lent to this book. I really liked the characters, even when they were in the pitfalls of real life struggles, and Egan's method of flashbacks made this novel that much more relatable. She doesn't shy away from the struggles of sick parents, friendship battles, or sugarcoat how hard Alice and her husband worked to get to where they were. The concept of landing one's dream job, only to find that it is not all that it seems, is all too common in my life and my friend's. Egan approached this wonderfully, with Alice learning herself while watching Scroll change right in front of her. A Window Opens is truly a realistic journey and as Alice finds her way home and back into the arms of her family I was really inspired by how real and ordinary the story really was.
The novel's various methods of dialog did throw me off at first, this isn't my normal preference, but the text messages and e-mails grew on me. They actually helped build the character more than I expected, especially Alice's manager who successfully played the role of friend and judgmental boss.
A Window Opens isn't a novel with a new concept, but I think it is a fresh take on an old concept. The dilemma for women in the corporate world and balancing family life is approached in a new way and Egan really did a fantastic job of blending several real life situations into the plot. I adored this book and I am really looking forward to hearing my friend's thoughts as well.
My reviews can be found at carleneinspired.blogspot.com.
But, the story held up pretty well and I was interested until the last 30 minutes. The last 30 minutes were just one self-involved, pontifical, sanctimonious rant against the life that I, personally, have enjoyed. I know for a fact what the author does not. One can have a rich, valued life without a husband and children.
Probably I should take away a star but really it was fun and compelling except the final 5%.
A Window Opens is a smart, funny and poignant debut novel by Elisabeth Egan. This entertaining story is fast paced with appealing characters that are flawed but easy to relate to. A heartwarming and touching story that will make you laugh and cry as lead protagonist Alice Pearse tries to
Alice is a happily married mom of three whose peaceful life is about to undergo a dramatic transformation. After a change in her husband Nicholas's career, she willingly trades in a part time job she loves for a new position job with a new and innovative company. A longer commute and full time hours mean less time with her family, but she is excited to about her new career. However, her enthusiasm soon wanes as her workdays spill over into family time and the company's focus shifts into areas she is not comfortable with. At the same time, an unexpected and heartbreaking diagnosis for her beloved father adds to her stress when she helps her parents manage his care. Her relationship with Nicholas becomes even more strained when his drinking spirals out of control and their endless fighting takes a toll on their marriage and family life.
Alice's excitement at her new job quickly wanes when she is thrust into a bewildering position that she knows nothing about. Just as she gets a handle on the demands of the job, the company switches gears, forcing her to once again play catch up. Her workload is overwhelming, her boss's expectations are ever changing and the long hours leave little time for her spend with her family. She depends more and more on longtime babysitter Jessie to manage the day to day details of the children's lives which eventually leaves Alice feeling like an outsider to her own life. However, with her family depending on her paycheck, she feels trapped in a job that she is beginning to loathe.
Alice is also heartbroken when her father's health takes a turn for the worse. With her brother living out of state, her mom is counting on her to go to doctor's appointments and provide moral support. Working for a big corporation whose main attention is their bottom line, Alice is soon pressured to up her productivity just as her parents need her the most. This story arc is one that will resonate with many readers who often find themselves trying to raise young children while also juggling aging parents and their health issues.
A Window Opens is a heartfelt novel that many readers will relate to. Elisabeth Egan touches on many issues facing women (and families) today in a straightforward and sensitive manner. The characters are well-developed with believable problems to overcome and the storyline is realistic and engaging. An incredibly moving novel that I highly recommend to fans of contemporary literary fiction.