Author Description

Product Description Richard's married to Caroline, but how long can he endure her constant chatter? When cool, calm Cynthia tempts Richard with sex, money, and peace and quiet, crazy Caroline goes on the warpath. "A brilliant comedy of errant romance" (Washington Post Book World). Harvest American Writing series From Publishers Weekly A poignant comedy of marital infidelity in which an eccentric woman scorned seeks revenge.Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Naumoff's second novel (following The Night of the Weeping Women, LJ 6/15/88) is a vibrant, though often unconvincing, look at the marital woes of a fortyish North Carolina couple, eccentric Caroline and wandering Richard. Caroline, whose unpredictable behavior makes even her husband wary, is holding tight to the marriage, even as Richard leaves home for rich, obnoxious divorcee Cynthia. Caroline is a colorful character, but Richard is less well defined, and what he sees in thoroughly unlikeable Cynthia is hard to imagine. A rousing, often funny novel, but not altogether sensible or believable. For larger popular fiction collections.- Ann H. Fisher, Radford P.L., Va.Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Rootie KazootiePART ICaroline TalksChapter 1On the way home, Caroline and Richard passed a pickup truck coming from the opposite direction, and as it passed, a pig rose up out of nowhere in the passenger seat, stuck its head out the window, looked around and then quickly disappeared."Did you see that?" Caroline asked."I saw it.""Was that Edgar in his new truck?""I think so.""I heard he was riding around with that pig," she said, "but I didn't know he was doing it in a new truck.""Just forget it.""Lucille told me he'd named the pig Lucille, and I thought, damn, he's getting worse all the time.""Just stay out of it," he said."And then she told me he was going to send her on that diet bus tour, or whatever you call it, and that really got me upset.""Let him alone.""She can't help it if she's fat. All the women in her family are fat. He knew that when he married her. He had to have known it. Didn't he?""I don't know," he said."You don't know. You do so. You're just saying that because you don't want to talk to me. You're still mad at me about yesterday, aren't you?""I haven't even thought about it," he said."Yes, you have. You're doing it right now."Caroline had lost her car keys and called Richard at work to bring her his set. This was the second time in two weeks she'd lost a set."I know you don't want me to bother you over there," she said, "but I can't help it if I lose things.""I'm not thinking about it," he said."Everybody loses things. Especially when they get older. It's just part of life. The older you get, the more things you've got on your mind, and the more things you've got on your mind, the less you can handle them. Isn't that right?""If you say so," he said."Oh, I give up. I really do," she said."It's not that bad," he said."But baby it is," she said. "I'm getting to be such a boring person you don't even want to talk to me anymore.""That's not it.""It must be, baby. I know it is. You don't even have to admit it. I'm turning into one of those crazy women approaching forty you read about all the time.""You're all right," he said."I'm not, though. I feel nervous all the time. Everything's changing and I can't keep up with it. You're changing. I'm changing. My body's changing. I've even got hair growing where I never used to.""Come on, Caroline," he said."I do. I'm turning into a man or something. I've read about that. Your hormones start drying up and the masculine ones take over. I swear, I'm just a wreck.""Just take it easy.""The other day in the bathroom, I swear to you, I was on the toilet for fifteen mi