Babyville - Softcover

Green, Jane

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0767912241 ISBN 13: 9780767912242

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY), 2004

Synopsis

Meet Julia, a wildly successful television producer who appears to have the picture-perfect life. But beneath the surface, things are not as perfect as they seem. Stuck in a loveless relationship with her boyfriend, Mark, Julia thinks a baby is the answer . . . but she may want a baby more than she wants her boyfriend. Maeve, on the other hand, is allergic to commitment. A feisty, red-haired, high-power career girl, she breaks out in a rash every time she passes a stroller. But when her no-strings-attached nightlife leads to an unexpected pregnancy, her reaction may be just as unexpected . . . And then there's Samantha--happily married and eager to be the perfect June-Cleaver mother. But baby George brings only exhaustion, extra pounds, and marital strife to her once tidy life. Is having an affair with a friend's incredibly sexy husband the answer?

With Babyville, bestselling author Jane Green applies her golden touch to the next phase of a girl's life. By turns witty, rollicking, and tender, this sparkling, sexy tale about the complexities of modern motherly love isn't really a story about babies--it's about three friends whose lives are suddenly turned upside down by that life-changing event that hangs over the head of every single girl: motherhood.

About this title

Review:

To have a baby or not to have a baby, that is the question that's facing Jane Green's heroines in her fifth novel, Babyville. Julia, Maeve and Sam are pondering the pros and cons of procreation; the effect that it could have on their careers, partners and lives.

The novel opens with Julia, a successful TV producer, with her legs straight up in the air, encouraging her boyfriend Mark's sperm to reach their destination. Julia thinks she wants a baby to fill the huge gap that has suddenly appeared in her life. But Mark thinks:

We don't make love anymore. We make babies. And we're failing.

Maeve, who also works in TV, is adamant that she doesn't want a baby or a relationship; she's happy as a single, ambitious, career girl: "The togetherness. The cosiness. That coupledom that is pure anathema to me." But she finds herself pregnant after a one-night stand and finds that her preconceptions turn out to be misconceptions. And finally there is Sam; voluptuously, glowingly pregnant at the beginning of the book, but near the end screaming at her beloved partner Chris: "You haven't been stuck in all day with a screaming baby. You have absolutely no idea what it's like for me." Chris feels "neglected. Abandoned . Unwanted."

Babyville is played out in the present tense, with a staccato style delivery, with beats of humour between the emotional labour. The emotions may be powerful and universal, but the prose style may need a longer fermentation period. --Eithne Farry

Review:

"With Babyville, Jane Green confirms her position as one of the sharpest, funniest observers of modern life and romance." --Waterstone's Quarterly

"You'll be hooked--even if babies are the last thing on your mind." --Company

About this edition

• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0767912241
• ISBN 13: 9780767912242
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 464