Nice to Come Home to

I first heard about Nice to Come Home To over at Everyday I Write a Book blog and thought it sounded like a nice, light read. Since I’ve put myself on a self-imposed book diet (mostly due to the fact that there are actual books, for free, at the library – what a concept)! Plus, I really want to be able to afford to use my central air this summer! Oh, and the library is WAY closer than the bookstore, therefore I don’t have to pay a billion dollars in gas to get there! I stopped at the aforementioned library and picked up a copy of Nice to Come Home To by Rebecca Flowers.

First off, I have to say that I expected typical chick-lit – you know, girl meets boy, boy dumps girl, girl is on a quest to find her true love, blah, blah, blah. What I was surprised to find was a story of a woman, who may not have the “fairy-tale happily ever after marry the handsome prince” ending, but finds herself instead.

Prudence Whistler had a five year plan. While in college, she put together this plan, knowing that in the next five years she wanted to be happily married with kids. Of course, life had other ideas and she has now found herself, fifteen years later, recently fired from her job and dumped by her boyfriend Rudy. With the help of a group of eclectic friends and family members, Pru begins to realize that her happiness doesn’t necessarily hinge on having a husband and a whole houseful of children.

The best part of this book were the supporting characters, which include her best friend McKay and his boyfriend Bill, her new-age hipster sister Patsy, her girlfriend Kate from high school and local diner owner John Owens, who she may or may not have feelings for. Even her ex-boyfriend’s neurotic cat deserves a mention. By far thought I really loved the character of Fiona, who is a no-nonsense stressed-out mother of two and Pru’s friend. Motherhood can be grueling work, and Ms. Flowers writes the character with an honesty I just loved (and appreciated). 

I also really like humorous books and found myself laughing out loud more than once. After being dumped by Rudy, Pru begins to imagine what it would be like to sleep with random people:

Phan, at the video store, was wearing a 1980’s Journey T-shirt with the sleeves ripped off, when Pru came in later that night for a DVD to watch on her laptop. The hair was still green. He smiled at her, and Pru wondered what it would be like to sleep with him. Since the breakup, she’d begun to do that more than was normal, she felt. Anyone she looked at, she wondered what they’d be like in the sack. The driver of the 42 bus. Her neighbors. Men in the elevater. The silent woman behind the counter at the souvlaki place. Apparently, her loneliness knew no bounds, had no preferences as to gender or age or attractiveness. It was loneliness that could unhinge you quicker than anything, she was beginning to think.

Or this paragraph when her girlfriend explains how she knew her boyfriend was “the one”:

Kate tipped her head to the side, thinking. “You know how you’re at a party and you pick up the wrong beer, and you know after one sip that it’s not yours? But then, when you find the right one, you know it right away? Why? What is it? The temperature, or the taste of your own spit that you somehow recognize? Or the weight and moistness of the can? Or maybe everything, all together. But it’s all so subtle and complex you can’t explain it. If someone asked, How do you know that’s your beer? well, you wouldn’t know what to say. You just know.” And that was the great thing about Kate. There she was in her delicate party dress with her lisp, talking about how true loves was like a beer. And she’d gotten it exactly right, too.

In the end, Nice to Come Home To is a well written, pleasant read. You can find out more information about the book at the author’s website, or see what she has been up to by checking out her blog. Or, just check back here tomorrow when I post a guest post written by none other than Rebecca Flowers herself!