Book Information
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ISBN-13: 9780345442826 - ISBN-10: 0345442822 Publication Date: 2004 Pages: 413 |
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Book Reviews of Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons
170 Book Reviews submitted by our Members
sorted by voted most helpful
Julie reviewed on 6/1/2007...
13 member(s) found this review helpful.
Hilarious! And sad. And a great read. My mom grew up in the neighborhood written about here and so it was great to relive some childhood memories.
Karleen H. (
10 member(s) found this review helpful.
I loved this book. It's about women and friendship, motherhood, love & survival. Each character is interesting and Landvik shares enough of them to get you invested in who they are - even the ones you hate. Really well written. Perfect book club reading.
8 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is possibly one of the best books I've ever read! A slide-show of stories twined around the life stories of women in a bookclub. The book takes you from the day they first met until decades later - in a hospital -waiting. Ms. Landvik use of character development is a marvel. I feel as if I not only really know these women, but I think I'm a charter member of their bookclub. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK! You won't be sorry!
5 member(s) found this review helpful.
LUVVED this book and the women in it. The title refers to a monthly bookclub formed by the women of Freesia Court, so designated by a scornful husband but embraced by the women. The book begins in the present but flashes back through the decades that the women have known each other. Each grows, deals with spouses, affairs, children...all the stuff the rest of us deal with. Although the cover reminds me of my mother-in-law and her friends, the Angry Housewives are of my Boomer generation. I called a friend the other day and said, "You have to read this book. You ARE Audrey!"
5 member(s) found this review helpful.
Excellent woven story of 5 women that follows them throughout their lives together... makes you feel part of their lives... enjoyed tremendously!
5 member(s) found this review helpful.
LOVED this book....a great tale of the enduring power of women's friendships and the love they share across the decades and through the births and deaths, marriages and divorces on their cul de sac.
Maureen C. (
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
What a gem of a story! This book made me a Lorna Landvik fan! I adored the characters! I think that all female book lovers will love this wonderful tale of a women's book club.
Jessie M. (
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
Reminded me of Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood, but BETTER. A book lovers book, a story for women ABOUT women, a fun, engrossing story!
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was really an up lifting book. While I did shed a few tears it was well worth it. This book is about 4 ladies starting a neighborhood book club while going through the stages of life, starting in their early 20's. You get to watch their children grow up along with the ladies. I would reccomend this book to anyone and everyone for a good laugh, a couple tears, and good food ;)
Liese S. (
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
An interesting read...kind of a chick-lit version of Marilyn French's The Women's Room (which I highly recommend BTW)...heavy on the feel-good, easy to read.
Dana (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I wasn't really sure how I'd like this book since I've seen mixed reviews of it and since sometimes I can't get into a chick-lit story where the characters are older than my parents. But, the writer did a remarkable job in creating characters who you can visualize and writes a story that just compels you to keep reading. I loved how the characters all grew as individuals and didn't annoy me by remaining static and boring. It just made them come to life.
The only reason that I put this down was because I got too tired to read anymore (I started this book intending to only read a couple chapters before going to bed around 3am and I stayed up past dawn.) and got to the point where the book bonked me in the forehead when I was "just resting my eyes so I could read further". But, as soon as I got up a few hours later, I was back to the book so I could finish it.
I don't care what age you are, there is so many wonderful things about this book that it's one of the best I've read in a long time!
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
After reading this book, I feel that every woman ought to be a part of a group such as the AHEB! Amusing, interesting, heartwarming book that appeals to women of all ages. My 82 year old Mom enjoyed it as much as I (age 56) and my daughter (age 32) did!
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
A wonderful story about friendship among 5 women that spans 30 years. Their book club, "Angry Housewives. . . " gives them a venue to share good and bad times.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was an interesting read on one hand the book had a good story in depth emotions and realistic people but they went no where. I really stuck out reading this book with almost constant sadness and was not happy that i did so overall i woundnt recomend this book it just wasnt her best work
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I didn't want to read this, but loved it once I did!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A story of true friendship. A group of women - Faith, Audrey, Merit, Kari, and Slip - form a book club. They take turns picking a book to read and get together to discuss it. This book goes from 1968-1998 so we "see" it all - the world changes before our eyes and so do their lives. Each woman has a story to tell, some take longer than others to share their story, but we do finally hear them all. Some of them get divorced along the way and we hear about it BUT ultimately this is a story about the women and how their friendship helps get them through. I liked how the book is laid out. We have sections with the years; we have chapters "told" by each woman. A nice read with wonderfully strong characters.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
What an enjoyable read! I felt like I was glancing a peak of how my mother could have spent her days while raising me. It reminded me of what I consider a nostalgic time when mothers could stay home raise their children.Also it brought home that the strength of friendships can help along the bumps that life can throw you.I could see a little of me in all the characters.I was sad when the book was finished I really wanted to stay in that circle of friends that had invited me in threw the pages of this novel.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I really enjoyed this book and the characters in it. I like the fact that you followed these women and their relationships through several years so you could see how time and circumstances changed them.
Beth H. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book is one that I will read over and over again. I love the title, the characters, and the stories of their lives. You are able to really connect with them as you follow them through the good and the bad. I have recommended this book to everyone!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons" is most likely the best book I've read in a really long time. I loved it. I couldn't put it down. I was so engrossed by all the characters that I had to know what would happen to them as time went on. And, believe me, time goes on in "Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons" as the book spans 30 years.
"Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons" tells the stories of the women of Freesia Court who bond together and form a book club. But that's not all they form. Slip, Audrey, Merit, Faith, and Kari form friendships that span more than books. The five are there to help one another through all of life's joys and trials.
The only problem that I initially had with "Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons" was the narration style. Each chapter is narrated in first person (well, almost), by a different character. It took me a minute to catch on, but when I did, it really helped me gain a better understanding of the characters.
I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of "Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons" today. It is one of the few books I can remember that made me laugh, cry, read passages out of it to other people, and carry it with me everywhere I went.
Ann Marie U. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Absolutely loved this book! Highly recommend it. Characters are well developed and story flows smoothly, you won't want it to end.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book is a must read for all women who have close girlfriends in their lives. This story revolves around a group of suburban housewives which begins in the 1960's and goes through their often funny and poignant moments together up to current day. There is much humor and you can't help but route for them as they discover and grow together.
Rebecca H. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Loved it. Stupid title, great story. It reminds me of a dear friend in her 50's and her almost life long friendships with other wonderful women. These are the friends we hope to have to love us, support us, and keep us honest.
Bonnie S. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I enjoyed this book, getting to know the characters. It spans the years and the emotions, but don't let the title fool you. It is a facetious name these women give themselves and their "book club." I just wish the author had gone a bit more into the characters reviews of the books.
Sharon C. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Fabulous and funny book.
Got me through a bad time and helped distract me from
gloomy thoughts.
Very easy read. Wish I had friends like these women!!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
What a wonderful book! It's like sitting down with girlfriends and having a chat. I've even ordered other Lorna Landvik novels now that I'm hip to her.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I was very surprised by this book - it was very funny and tragic. Kind of an odd mix but a great read! Highly recommended.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book was about a bunch of women in a book club but really ended up helping each other through life. I loved this book and got up at 4 AM this morning so I could finish it!
Jody W. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A fun and easy read, enjoyed by my book club whose members love to read and eat!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Hard to put down! I loved this book.
Janey H. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
The story of 5 women living in a cul-de-sac who are convinced that there is nothing good coffee, delicious desserts, and a strong shoulder can't fix. Laughter is the glue that holds them together - the foundation of a book club they call AHEB (Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons) which becomes much more. It becomes a lifeline of some sort for each woman.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A lively story as delectable as a five-pound box of chocolates....a thoroughly engaging chronicle of friendship and the substantive place it holds in women's lives. You will get caught up in the lives of Faith, Audrey, Merit and Slip. This group of friends depicts a special slice of American life. It bold beginnings and second chances, in which the power of forgiveness, understanding, and the perfectly timed giggle fit is the CPR that meds broken hearts and shattered dreams.
Lynn D. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A great read. It shows what true friendship is all about.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Five friends form the Freesia Court Book Club. Three decades, marriages, child rearing, neighborhood parties, bad husbands and great brownies pretty well sums up this novel of female bonding. It's a heart-warming story about the power of women's friendships.
Written from the different points of view of a group of women who form a book club as young women, the stories of their lives through the decades unfold as each reveals elements of the plot from varying perspectives. Although somewhat predictable at times, I still found myself absorbed in these women's lives. Lorna Landvik is an engaging and insightful writer. I heartily recommend the book.
Loved this book! Reminded me of my group of 40-50 year old friends.
Loved it, loved it, loved it!!! Hated to finish...wanted to know more about these fascinating characters.
A book about building community, finding common ground among vasty different people, book clubs and surviving suburbia! Quirky, heartfelt, fun.
Great book for my age group (50's) and could totally relate since we are all great friends also in a book club! Fun read.
Lisa J. (This book has alot of heart. It is interesting to see how the women form relationships and how those relationships hold together over the years.
I enjoyed this book and really related to the friendships of the characters as well as the different problems they all went through.
Lynn P. (I loved this book. It is about a group of women who form a bookclub. It goes through the trials and tribulations of their lives and how they all rally around each other in their time of need. It has funny and sad moments. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a quick and easy read. You may find yourself and your friends in this book!
Jennifer P. (This was a good little read. I enjoyed the relationships the women had with each other as well as the different life stories. It made me want to start a book club. Overall it was a entertaining book.
This was the best book I have read in a long time. I did not want it to end that's how much I loved it. My first time reading this author. What a treat!!
I loved this book, the writing is fun, the story sweet and sad and strong. Having grown up in Minneapolis, I enjoyed how true the author was to the setting.
Brandy M. (This book was surprisingly outstanding. I identified with characters though I shared none of the situations. It was an emotional roller coaster ride. Light read.
Corrie S. (Read this many times and each time I find it gets a little bit better. Love this book!
I enjoyed reading this book. It was a quick read and the characters were very likable. This is a great beach read as the chapters give you good stopping points and go by fast.
Amy M. (I couldn't get past the first 40 pages. I found it dull and didn't connect with the characters.
For some reason, at the time of my life, this book was just good....a little Desperate Housewives before that show began. :)
This was a good read for me while on vacation. The characters were interesting and I enjoyed following the relationships of the women.
I read this book more than two years ago and I just loved it. I passed it along to so many of my friends and we all enjoyed it.
Ann D. Funny and sad and very well written. You feel for all the characters.
A lovely story of 5 friends journeying through life together over the decades. A lot of fun and humor. The story is told through their book club meetings and memories. I always enjoy Landvik's books.
I've read a couple of her books and this one is the best. A wonderful book about a group of women and how that group and the friendships that develop empower them to change. It is funny, wry, sad, a hundred emotions at once. A book you won't want to put down.
LOVED this book...a fun read thats about lifelong friends and good books...what more do you need?
I absolutely loved this book so much that I can't bare to but it up for swap! This is a must read!!!
The women of Fresia Court are convinced that there is nothing good coffee, delicious desserts, aned a strong shoulder can't fix. Laughter is the glue that holds them together - the foundation of a book group they call AHEB (Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons), an unofficial "club" that becomes much more. It becomes a lifeline.
Judy C. (This book was a little slow starting for me, but once I got into it I could not put it down! I loved it. It was really interesting and I feel like I connected with the characters. Every woman needs friends like the Angry Housewives!
Great! Lorna Landvik always makes me laugh out loud, cry and think. Only regret is that it didn't keep going!
LOVED this book! The characters are real, with strengths and flaws, and their enduring friendship makes for a great story.
The book is funny and tender, and I loved it. Although it is not at the top of my list of most memorable books, it left me with a good feeling, and that is a big mark in its favor. I read enough gloom and doom in my non-fiction reading to want to find much of it in fiction.
Great book about the friendship bond in women...these ladies go through hard times, happy times, and sad times, but remain friends for decades! Fun read.
I loved this book...the characters were real, the situations funny, sad, tragic, inspiring...a book of true friendship.
Great read about friendships formed during a book club!
Friendship between women, frankly a wonderful read!
This was a bookclub book last month and one of our favorites! Great read!
Loved it, Loved it, Loved it! I read it on vacation with my entire family & it was everyone's joke to make up different names for the book.
I thought it would be like Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood. It isn't quite as good, but I was glad to spend some time with these characters.
From the cover: "A lively story as delectable as a five pound box of chocolates...A thoroughly engaging chronicle of friendship and the substantive place it holds in women's lives." Anne D. LeClaire,author of Leaving Eden.
I really enjoyed this book. It follows several friends over about 30 years time as they live their lives and meet monthly for a book club.
Chick-lit, but a very good read. Covers a lot of years of an enduring friendship between five very different women. Good vacation book.
Stephanie R. (This is a very fun book that follows several ladies through the years.
Five women organize a book club that lasts through new babies, divorces, back-to-college years, and grown up children. As they read they discover themselves and the depth of their lives.
This was a great start-up book for our book club and sparked lots of get-to-know-you discussion!
very cute story about a womans book club through the aqes.
Very good "chick book" about lasting friendships through thick and thin
Dearly loved this book. Time passes and flows with every page. Characters are well written and fleshed out. Stupendous.
If you love Desperate Housewives, you'll love this book. I sure enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed this book. It is a book about woman and the realtionships they make. Very funny in parts and touching in others.
Terrific and fun book about the different lives of a group of women in a nieghborhood who share their joys and losses of their lives. Light and fun to read. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.
so so. My bookclub loved it. Best discussion they had in a while.
I really enjoyed this book. For the over 50 year old woman. It was like a family saga, only the instead of family it was about 5 women who lived on a cul de sac and had a love for reading. The book told of their trials and tribulations, some funny, some sad. It was about friendship and the joys and sorrows that these women shared.
I LOVED this book!! Couldn't put it down! I wanted to BE a part of this group & their lives. I shared their tears & laughed along with them.
A fun read, hard to keep track of characters at times but a nice story about friendship that leaves you longing for this type of lifetime friend.
WHAT AN ENJOYABLE READ - I'D RECOMMEND IT FOR PURE ENTERTAINMENT AND FUN
I really liked this book; I read it completely over a weekend spent camping!
One of the best books I have ever read!!! These neighbor ladies form a book club and become very close friends. This book chronicles the changing roles of women in United States in a very unique way. LOVED IT!!!
The women of Freesia Court are held together for 40 year with laughter and tears. This group depicts a special slice of American life.
Great book! I really enjoyed the characters. Makes you appreciate the power of friendship.
Great read! I didn't realize the story revolved around a book club. Not as quirky as Tall Pine Polka, but I did enjoy it.
I got caught up in this story and felt like I knew them all. Five friends with different backgrounds and stories meld through the years into the best kind of support group.
A funny look into a group of neighbors who form a book club and the paths their lives take. Made me laugh out loud and cry two minutes later. Keep your tissue handy!
I wasn't able to get into this book. Maybe you will have better luck. :o)
Sue C. (I thought this was just an "okay" book, didn't love it as much as I thought I would. Rather disjointed and told from multiple perspectives over a long period of time.
I really enjoyed this book. I highly reccomend re-reading the PRologue after finishing the book (a lot of references make more sense). I am a bit young for this book so I didn't always pick up on the references to popular musicians and authors in the beginning, but I was still very interested and liked it a lot.
Five friends live through three decades of marriages, child raising, neighborhood parties, bad husbands and good brownies-and Landvik (Patty Jane's House of Curl) doesn't miss a single cliche as she chronicles their lives in this pleasant but wholly familiar novel of female bonding. When Faith Owens's husband is transferred from Texas to the "stupid godforsaken frozen tundra" of Freesia Court, Minn., in 1968, her life looks like it's going to be one dull, snowy slog-until the power goes out one evening and a group of what appear to be madwomen start a snowball fight in her backyard. These dervishes turn out to be her neighbors: antiwar activist Slip; sexpot Audrey; painfully shy Merit; and widow Kari. They become fast friends and decide to escape their humdrum routine by starting the Freesia Court Book Club, later given the eponymous name by one of their disgruntled husbands. As the years pass, Audrey and Merit get divorced, Kari adopts her niece's illegitimate baby, all five of the women find work outside their homes and they even smoke a joint together. Their personal dramas are regularly punctuated by reflections on political milestones ("First Martin Luther King, Jr., then Bobby Kennedy. As if we didn't have enough to worry about with this stupid war..."). While some scenes are touching and genuinely funny, readers of Fannie Flagg, Rita Mae Brown, Rebecca Wells and many imitators will feel that they've seen this before.
I LOVED this book. It was a really story about all different types of women and the trials of their lives. Well written and a fast read without being "too easy."
The women of Fressia Court are convinced that there is nothing good coffee, delicious desserts, and a strong shoulder can't fix. Laughter is the glue that holds them together - the foundation of a book group they call AHEB (Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons), an unofficial "club" that becomes much more....
This stalwart group of friends depicts a special slice of American life, of stay-at-home days and new careers, of children and grandchildren, of bold beginnings and second chances, in which the power of forgiveness, understanding, and the perfectly timed giggle fit is the CPR that mends broken hearts and shattered dreams. (from back cover)
I loved this book! Great characters, interesting, funny, touching, but not too "light-weight." The story covers many years of their lives and you really get to know them as 3-dimensional (realistic) people.
Kim C. (Just got this because of the title, but really ended up enjoying it. Wonderful characters who make you laugh out loud and then feel like crying on the next page. Shows the strength of women and friendship without getting all sappy.
For any women who loves to read & loves chocolates. This is a great read about 5 women who start a book club,& friendships that last through 35 years of laugher & heartship.
Wow! Got me on the first page and I couldn't put it down. The story of 5 women going through life all based around a book club. I cried, I laughed and I connected in some way with each of these women.
A great read!!!!! Makes you laugh and makes you cry. You don't want it to end
Amanda S. (I absolutely loved this book!! I laughed outloud in several parts....particularly the tree house scene!!!!! LOL A very easy read with real life situations....very well written!
Enjoyed this book about housewives who get to get together for a book club & the friendships.
A wonderful story of young wives and mothers growing up and old together.
Ladies book club becomes a support group during a 40 year period when each lady deals with crisis and has friends who help her cope.
what a great read! You feel as if you are part of these women's lives. You feel part of this group of women. It made me long for friendships like these! A must read!Hated for it to end because I felt like I was loosing my friends.
A group of neighboring women on a cul de sac who form friendships from a book club that last several decades, through their families' ups and downs.
Great book about the power of friendship. Those who love YaYa's and Mermaid Chair will love it!
Lorrie M. (A group of neighborhood women get together in the 1960's to form a book club. Each woman has a different background: one is a widow who adopts a mixed-race child, one is the victim of spousal abuse, etc.
The book follows the women through several decades and details how their lives change, as well as showing the type of books that they read (again showing the changes in them).
A good story, but a little slow for my tastes.
I got through 40 pages, but most of my friends loved this book. I found it too girly.
Fantastic story that intertwines the lives of women who start a book club. Story travels over 4 decades, fast fun great read.
I love this author. All her books are wonderful. A must read!!!
Alison J. (Both funny and wise - this is what friendship among women is all about.
Funny and touching story. Landvik writes just like women think.
Enjoyable, humourous, well-written. Easy to get caught up in the lives of the Freesia Court Book Group.
I thoroughly LOVED this book. My aunt has four girlfriends that she has met with each month for more than 50 years and this book so reminded me of them and how this must have been what their lives were like when they were young and their kids were growing up. Great read!!
Kristin (This book was far more serious than the title implies. Not a fluffy read at all. Once I got into this I couldn't put it down and felt like I knew these women intimately by the heartbreaking end.
The women of Freesia Court are convinced that there is nothing good coffee, delicious desserts and a strong shoulder can't fix. Laughter is the glue that holds them together--the foundation of a book group they call AHEB (Angry Houswives eating BonBons) an unofficial club that becomes more! It becomes a life line.
A good girli girl book. You'll enjoy this read.
Five friends live through three decades of marriages, child raising, neighborhood parties, bad husbands and good brownies-and Landvik (Patty Jane's House of Curl) doesn't miss a single cliche as she chronicles their lives in this pleasant but wholly familiar novel of female bonding. When Faith Owens's husband is transferred from Texas to the "stupid godforsaken frozen tundra" of Freesia Court, Minn., in 1968, her life looks like it's going to be one dull, snowy slog-until the power goes out one evening and a group of what appear to be madwomen start a snowball fight in her backyard. These dervishes turn out to be her neighbors: antiwar activist Slip; sexpot Audrey; painfully shy Merit; and widow Kari. They become fast friends and decide to escape their humdrum routine by starting the Freesia Court Book Club, later given the eponymous name by one of their disgruntled husbands. As the years pass, Audrey and Merit get divorced, Kari adopts her niece's illegitimate baby, all five of the women find work outside their homes and they even smoke a joint together. Their personal dramas are regularly punctuated by reflections on political milestones ("First Martin Luther King, Jr., then Bobby Kennedy. As if we didn't have enough to worry about with this stupid war..."). While some scenes are touching and genuinely funny, readers of Fannie Flagg, Rita Mae Brown, Rebecca Wells and many imitators will feel that they've seen this before.
Kikuyo C. (Neighbors come together as a reading club but become so much more. Touching and tender.
I couldn't put this book down. It's as comforting as a conversation with your own best friends.
Kathryn (Lorna Landvik has won the hearts of readers everywhere by skillfully balancing hilarity with pathos, and bittersweet insights with heartwarming truths. Now she returns to her beloved, eccentric stomping ground of small-town Minnesota where the most eclectic, and engaging group of women you’ll ever meet share love, loss, and laughter The women of Freesia Court have come together at life’s table, fully convinced that there is nothing good coffee, delectable desserts, and a strong shoulder can’t fix. Laughter is the glue that holds them together—the foundation of a book group they call AWEB—Angry Wives Eating Bon Bons—an unofficial “club” that becomes much more. It becomes a lifeline.
The five women each have a story of their own to tell. Once again Lorna Landvik leaves you laughing and crying, as she reveals perhaps the greatest truth: that there is nothing like the saving grace of best friends.
Debbie B. (A book about five friends and their lives through the years. I really enjoyed this book and it made me want to start a book club like theirs!
Tracey M. (This was a good book, kinda slow at the begining but it was really funny as I read on
Great book detailing the lives of women and their friendships through the years.
My favorite Landvik so far. If you lived during this time, or even if you didn't, you'll fall in love with these people, this place, these times.
good chick lit the story line is a little different.
I really enjoyed this book. Their deep friendships all started from starting a book club and they were really there for each other throughout life. I couldn\'t put the book down.
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