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Domestic Violets A Novel Matthew Norman 9780062065117 Books

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Domestic Violets A Novel Matthew Norman 9780062065117 Books

In the past couple of years, I feel as if I've read a thousand books about the emptiness of corporate life. I think the best was Then We Came to the End: A Novel. I only recently also reviewed "Russell Riley is Out to Lunch" which is amazingly similar to this book in many aspects.

The fact is, all these books seem to have a sameness about them: the hero is always a smart-Alec maverick who loves to make cynical remarks decrying the soul-deadening expanse of life among the cubicles until he can finally summon up the courage to break free. There are also always a clueless boss addicted to corporate-speak; always the sexy, young co-worker to tempt our married hero; always the slimy colleague doing everything to climb the corporate ladder etc etc.

This book has all these stereotypes and more. Our hero is Tom Violet, son of an obnoxious Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, stuck in a marriage that has suddenly turned loveless, tempted by the lovely intern Katie. Tom has also written a novel (which turns out to be brilliant) and yearns to be a writer like his father. Can he emerge from Daddy's awesome shadow? Can he do so without emulating Daddy's awful record of marital infidelity? How will the author resolve all these questions, paving the way for a happy ending for almost all concerned?

The blurb says, "Domestic Violets is the brilliant and beguiling story of a man finally taking control of his own happiness--even if it means making a complete idiot of himself along the way."

I would say this is another trot down a well-worn path that breaks no new ground. It was fairly enjoyable to read -- I guess part of its comforting charm was its sheer predictability.


Tags : Domestic Violets: A Novel [Matthew Norman] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. “Hystericaland often touching. . . . <em>Domestic Violets</em> is a fast, fun, hilariousread. —Jessica Anya Blau,Matthew Norman,Domestic Violets: A Novel,Harper Perennial,0062065114,General,Dogs,Fathers and sons;Fiction.,Humorous fiction,Men;Conduct of life;Fiction.,Midlife crisis;Fiction.,Novelists,Conduct of life,FICTION General,FICTION Mystery & Detective General,FICTION Thrillers Crime,FICTION Thrillers Political,Fathers and sons,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction-Mystery & Detective,General Adult,Men,Midlife crisis,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),MysterySuspense,United States

Domestic Violets A Novel Matthew Norman 9780062065117 Books Reviews

I enjoyed this book. I thought the characters were believable and well developed and the story was fun and kept me entertained. It’s a good “guy” book - a bit of a guilty pleasure like something from Tropper, Hornby, or Haissen. The main character was easy to identify with having been stuck in a dead end job for years.
I read another book by Norman and decided to get this one on the basis of that. Not disappointed, though I thought that We Are All Damaged, the other book, was a little better. He is genuinely talented-- comic and tender writing. The kind of novel women are better known for-- glad to discover his books and am waiting for more.
I love it when books surprise me. Quite often while reading Domestic Violets, Matthew Norman's terrific debut novel, I expected the plot to go in a certain direction and I was disappointed that the book would head in that direction, but Norman's storytelling ability surprised me nearly every time. This is one of those books that made me sad when I finished it, because in the few short days it took me to read the book, I became very invested in the characters and their lives.

Thirty-five-year-old Tom Violet is in the midst of a midlife crisis. He and his wife are having relationship issues stemming from their desire to have a second child, he hates his job except for the opportunity to flirt with his younger employee (and antagonize a colleague), and his famous novelist father, Curtis, just won the Pulitzer Prize, and is staying with Tom's family as he abandons yet another wife. Oh, and Tom has written a novel of his own, but no one will read it, mostly because they expect it will be horrible. And this is the high point of Tom's current situation.

I really enjoyed this book because while the dialogue is certainly sharper and funnier than people talk in real life (at least the people I know), I felt as if the characters were very real, experiencing realistic problems and responding in genuine ways. While I found the ending a little too pat given the rest of the book, at least it resolved (somewhat) what happened to all of the characters I had grown attached to. I expected this book to be reasonably good based on the reviews I read, but it far exceeded my expectations. It is funny, compelling, emotionally astute, and really enjoyable. (Yeah, I kinda liked it.) Read it!
The story's been told before; this time the characters are witty, famous, good looking. The locations are familiar to any east coaster. The writing is quite good; the story kept me interested and sometimes surprised. Even if you've read all the books about wise-ass guys bailing out of corporate life to write the great American novel, you still might like this version. It's a good beach read.
4 1/2 stars, actually. Writing was pretty good. Took me on a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride at times, so much so that at times I had to stop reading. Probably says more about me than anything. But, I always came back to it. Mild violence, of a fisticuffs nature. Nothing very extreme. It seems that everything these days has some sexual content but it was not gratuitous. All in all, as I read I wondered how it was all going to play out in the end. I enjoyed it a lot. Interesting how it ties into "We're All Damaged." Had to laugh at that.
Nicely written book.

Pros The characters resonate and there is a bit of a plot that keeps you turning the pages. The author, at times uses the inside voice of Tom Violet to great advantage, making great observations that turn almost to poetry. There are several plot twists which are terrific and keep it from devolving into a deadly "literary" genre novel.

Cons This same strength however is also over used at times which became annoying, I.e., a person says something to Tom and we read his thought processes annnnd three pages later. He answers back. At that point I'm flipping back three pages to find out what the original question was. This took me out of the story enough to make me put it down.

Overall a Good read, give it a go.
In the past couple of years, I feel as if I've read a thousand books about the emptiness of corporate life. I think the best was Then We Came to the End A Novel. I only recently also reviewed "Russell Riley is Out to Lunch" which is amazingly similar to this book in many aspects.

The fact is, all these books seem to have a sameness about them the hero is always a smart-Alec maverick who loves to make cynical remarks decrying the soul-deadening expanse of life among the cubicles until he can finally summon up the courage to break free. There are also always a clueless boss addicted to corporate-speak; always the sexy, young co-worker to tempt our married hero; always the slimy colleague doing everything to climb the corporate ladder etc etc.

This book has all these stereotypes and more. Our hero is Tom Violet, son of an obnoxious Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, stuck in a marriage that has suddenly turned loveless, tempted by the lovely intern Katie. Tom has also written a novel (which turns out to be brilliant) and yearns to be a writer like his father. Can he emerge from Daddy's awesome shadow? Can he do so without emulating Daddy's awful record of marital infidelity? How will the author resolve all these questions, paving the way for a happy ending for almost all concerned?

The blurb says, "Domestic Violets is the brilliant and beguiling story of a man finally taking control of his own happiness--even if it means making a complete idiot of himself along the way."

I would say this is another trot down a well-worn path that breaks no new ground. It was fairly enjoyable to read -- I guess part of its comforting charm was its sheer predictability.