Thursday, April 19, 2012

GOSSIP: A REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
GOSSIP
BY BETH GUTCHEON

ABOUT THE BOOK:
"Did you know that the origin of the word gossip in English is 'god-sibling'? It's the talk between people who are godparents to the same child, people who have a legitimate loving interest in the person they talk about. It's talk that weaves a net of support and connection beneath the people you want to protect."

Loviah "Lovie" French owns a small, high-end dress shop on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Renowned for her taste and discretion, Lovie is the one to whom certain women turn when they need "just the thing" for major life events—baptisms and balls, weddings and funerals—or when they just want to dish in the dressing room. Among the people who depend on Lovie's confidence are her two best friends since boarding school: Dinah Wainwright and Avis Metcalf.

Outspoken and brimming with confidence, Dinah made a name for herself as a columnist covering the doings of New York's wealthiest and most fabulous. Shy, proper Avis, in many ways Dinah's opposite, rose to prominence in the art world with her quiet manners, hard work, and precise judgment. Despite the deep affection they both feel for Lovie, they have been more or less allergic to each other since a minor incident decades earlier that has been remembered and resented with what will prove to be unimaginable consequences.

These uneasy acquaintances become unwillingly bound to each other when Dinah's favorite son and Avis's only daughter fall in love and marry. On the surface, Nick and Grace are the perfect match—a playful, romantic, buoyant, and beautiful pair. But their commitment will be strained by time and change: career setbacks, reckless choices, the birth of a child, jealousies, and rumor. At the center of their orbit is Lovie, who knows everyone's secrets and manages them as wisely as she can. Which is not wisely enough, as things turn out—a fact that will have a shattering effect on all their lives.

An astute chronicler of everything that makes us human, Beth Gutcheon delivers her most powerful and emotionally devastating novel to date. Gossip is a tale of intimacy and betrayal, trust and fidelity, friendship, competition, and motherhood that explores the myriad ways we use and abuse "information" about others—be it true, false, or imagined—to sustain, and occasionally destroy, one another.

PRAISE FOR GOSSIP AND BETH GUTCHEON:
“She has absolutely perfect pitch when it comes to capturing the lives of these remarkable women. This seems to be the quintessential American woman’s tale. I loved it.”— Anne Rivers Siddons
“Lively and engaging...Ms. Gutcheon knows her craft.”— New York Times Book Review“The dialogue is convincing and well-paced. The suspense is strung out for maximum effect. The images are vivid and uncluttered This [is] a book that is tough to put down.”— USA Today“A graceful and elegant novel that explores the unintended damage simmering hostility and sharing confidences can bring, Gossip builds to a stunning and devastating finish.”

— Susan Isaacs, New York Times Book Review
“A graceful and elegant novel that explores the unintended damage simmering hostility and sharing confidences can bring, Gossip builds to a stunning and devastating finish.”
— Booklist on GOSSIP

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Bestselling author Beth Gutcheon published her first novel, The New Girls, in 1979. Her second novel, Still Missing, was translated into 14 languages (if you count the pirate edition in Cantonese) and made into a major Twentieth Century Fox film called Without a Trace, starring Judd Hirsch and Kate Nelligan, for which Gutcheon wrote the screenplay.

Gutcheon's most recent novel, Good-bye and Amen, is written in the form of an oral history, and even includes a fictional family photograph album. It shares a backdrop and some characters with her penultimate novel, Leeway Cottage, which was set in a fictional village on the Maine seacoast, as was her love story/hate story/ghost story, More Than You Know. She is also the author of the novels Domestic Pleasures, Saying Grace, and Five Fortunes; all of her novels are currently in print and available from HarperCollins or HarperPerrenial.

Gutcheon lives in New York City with her husband and dog. When not reading or writing, she spends her time working for PEN, the international writer's organization that promotes literacy and defends freedom of expression in the United States and around the world. For more information please visit http://www.bethgutcheon.com and follow the author on Facebook

OTHER BOOKS BY BETH GUTCHEON:
                               

                               

                               

                               
MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW OF GOSSIP:
In Beth Gutcheon’s latest bestseller, GOSSIP, the narrator of the story is Lovie French who owns a sophisticated dress shop on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Her shop is THE place to go for many New York’s society women who need just the right outfit to wear. Lovie is there to accommodate their stylish wishes as well as share in their trials and help handle their tribulations.

Lovie’s two long time friends from school days, Dinah and Avis, are among her clients and confidants. Avis Metcalf, who through hard, honest work, has gained a fabulous reputation in the art world, seems the direct opposite of Dinah Wainwright. Dinah is a compellingly influential gossip columnist who among this trio is part of the long time secrets that will eventually come back to haunt them all. Despite their connection to Lovie, Dinah and Avis have never gotten along.

As things turn out, Dinah’s son, Nick who is also Lovie’s Godson, and Avis’ daughter, Grace, meet and it is kismet as they quickly fall in love and are married. However, when their once perfect relationship is pushed to its breaking point due to every day pressures and life changes, it is Lovie who is left to try and hold things together. This is easier said than done considering how the secrets of the past come back to haunt all their lives again.

Beth Gutcheon’s narrative runs from the 1960s to post-9/11 New York and back again. GOSSIP is easy enough to follow thanks to Lovie being the narrator and glue that holds it all together. Her strong, well written character is the part I liked the best and I think what made for a compelling story. What on the surface could be considered another light NY chick-lit book turns out to be more due to the characters that Gutcheon has created. For some reason I can’t explain, I cared about them and although I may not have liked some of them, I definitely wanted to find out what would become of them. Theirs is a world I am not accustomed to personally, but do enjoy reading about. I have to say the ending was not what I expected and that is something I like in a story.

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO CHELSEY AND THE GOOD
FOLKS AT WILLIAM MORROW, I HAVE ONE
COPY OF GOSSIP TO GIVE AWAY TO ONE
LUCKY FOLLOWER OF MY BLOG
  
 
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IN CASE YOU WIN!
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COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!


HOW TO ENTER:


+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU READ ABOVE THAT MADE YOU WANT TO WIN GOSSIP AND DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

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GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, APRIL 30

GOOD LUCK! 

131 comments:

lag123 said...

I love books about relationships and secrets.

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holdenj said...

The origin of the word gossip was very interesting! Looks like a really good read. Thanks!
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I learned that I feel like I should know her book Still Missing, it was made into I movie I know I saw!
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Pamela Keener said...

This story sounds so interesting & I would love to win a copy
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Anonymous said...

that was an interesting word origin of gossip
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petite said...

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traveler said...

I would enjoy this novel greatly. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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debbie said...

I would like to see how gossip has affected each character's lives.
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Rosita said...

I'm interested because of its setting in an Upper East Side dress shop.
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Linda Kish said...

Manhattan is like a completely different world to me. I'd like to visit it but I don't think I would feel comfortable being there for too long. So, reading the story is enough for me.

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Linda Kish said...

Back in the early 70s, she got into quiltmaking, offering classes in her SoHo loft.

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scottsgal said...

I like reading about the ritzy side of life
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she is Harvard educated
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Colleen Turner said...

Gossip can be so hurtful and dangerous to relationships and people's lives and it sounds like this book does a good job of highlighting that fact. I would love the chance to read it!
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Colleen Turner said...

I learned from the author's website that she was educated at Harvard and earned her BA in English Literature from there.
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Jolee said...

I found your response to it interesting....For me, too, it's a bit of a different world, BUT it sounds totally engaging! joleehamlin [at] comcast [dot] net

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Unknown said...

I love good, well-written captivating characters. So when you commented in your review that Beth's characters take this novel to a level beyond a light chick-lit novel. You also said that you were interested in what happened to all of the characters, even the ones you didn't like so much.

Your wonderful review sparked my interest in Gossip! Thank you!

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Unknown said...

I liked how Beth displayed and provided summaries about the other books she's written on her website. It's done in an attractive, easy to read, enticing way!

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mamabunny13 said...

I would love to hear all the gossip in this book!
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