My Latest Grievance

My Latest Grievance stars the beguiling teenager Frederica Hatch, the "Eloise of Dewing College." Born and raised in the dormitory of this small women's college and chafing under the care of "the most annoyingly evenhanded parental team in the history of civilization," Frederica is starting to feel that her life is stiflingly snug. That all changes with the arrival on campus of a new dorm mother, the glamorous Laura Lee French, the frenetic center of her own universe. From Publishers Weekly Frederica Hatch—the articulate, curious, and naïve narrator of Lipman's eighth novel—proves the perfect vehicle for this satiric yet compassionate family portrait. It's 1976, and psych professors David and Aviva Hatch are honest with their daughter to the point of anatomically correcting Frederica's Barbie dolls. In all their years as a dorm family at a small women's college outside Boston, though, no one mentioned Laura Lee French, David's first wife (and distant cousin). Frederica, now 15 and ready for rebellion, delights in Laura's arrival on campus as a new dorm mother; David and Aviva look on nervously as the two become fast friends. In contrast with Frederica's right-thinking, '60s radical parents, Laura Lee becomes the delicious embodiment of all the moral and psychological complexities of a flawed world beyond campus. Meanwhile, campus itself looks very little like an ivory tower as major scandal brews amid petty gossip. As in previous novels, Lipman addresses sensitive issues (anti-Semitism, adultery, dementia) with delicacy and acerbity. She also nails the shifts and moods of an angry teenager, a grandmother in denial, a philanderer in hiding and a campus in shock. By the end, a smart young girl learns compassion for a world that can be grotesquely, hilariously, disturbingly unfair. (Apr.) Copyright ''© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Bookmarks Magazine Elinor Lipman's eighth novel (after The Pursuit of Alice Thrift , Sept/Oct 2003) exhibits her trademark social satire, facility with dialogue, and humor. Like her other novels, it addresses themes close to the heart: the bonds between parents and children and between fiction and reality. Covering a few decades, the novel offers a smart, funny protagonist and outlandish, if highly realistic, situations. Yet while the Seattle Times called the novel Lipman's "best work so far" and the Washington Post couldn't praise the author enough, the Chicago Tribune felt that Lipman's wit masked genuine emotion. Only USA Today thought the novel descended into poorly plotted melodrama. The general consensus, however, is that My Latest Grievance is worth a reader's every second. Copyright ''© 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. From the author of The Inn at Lake Devine, a pitch-perfect novel about a young woman, too smart for her own good, and the chaos that ensues when her path crosses that of her glamorous new next-door neighbor "The timing was excellent ... Just as I was craving more attention, along came Laura Lee French, dorm mother without a day job, single, childless, and ultimately famous within our gates." So explains Frederica Hatch, the beguiling narrator of My Latest Grievance. Chafing under the care of "the most annoyingly evenhanded parental team in the history of civilization," whose passion for liberal political causes is all-consuming, Frederica is starting to feel that her life is stiflingly snug. But then, into this cozy but claustrophobic world, comes Laura Lee French, a wannabe former Rockette and the new dorm mother at the college where Frederica"s parents teach. "Like an inspired alchemist" (New York Times Book Review), Lipman turns this seemingly routine faculty hire into a catalyst for havoc and hilarity. For it happens that Miss French--in the distant past--was married to none other than Frederica"s earnest and distinctly unglamorous father. Fearing scandal, the three Hatches and Laura Lee are forced to keep the secret. The results? Vintage Elinor Lipman--delightful, memorable, and touching "Chafing under the care of "the most annoyingly evenhanded parental team in the history of civilization," Frederica is starting to feel that her life is stiflingly snug. Into this cozy world, comes Miss Laura Lee French - a wannabe former Rockette and the new dorm mother at the college where Frederica's parents teach and live. Laura Lee proves to be the enthralling and glamorous antithesis of the Hatches, whose passion for liberal political causes is all-consuming - even Frederica's Barbie dolls have been anatomically corected. Lipman turns this seemingly routine faculty hire into a catalyst for havoc and hilarity. For it happens that Miss French - in the distant past - was married to none other than Frederica's earnest and distinctly unglamorous father." Chafing Under The Claustrophobic Care Of Her Liberal Parents, Frederica Hatch Finds Her Snug World Transformed By Laura Lee French, A New College Dorm Mother Who Had Once Been Married To Frederica's Earnest And Unglamorous Father. Elinor Lipman.