There's a Word for That

There's a Word for That by Sloane Tanen, 375 pages

Marty Kessler was once a high-powered Hollywood producer, but after a string of ex-wives and a few stints in rehab, he's now 75 years old with a rapidly emptying bank account, a tenuous relationship with his two daughters (one of whom is a washed-up child actor), and a dependence on prescription drugs. Meanwhile, his first ex-wife, Bunny Small, has become a hugely successful J.K. Rowling-esque author (though I'm sure she'd prickle at that description), though one with a horrible relationship with her son and a heavy reliance on pricey gin. Urged by their families, Marty and Bunny both end up at a swanky rehab facility in Malibu, where they reconnect with each other in their attempts to sort out their family lives.

This is Tanen's first adult novel, and it's a bit uneven. Some of the characters seemed so well-written (Marty's daughter Janine, mean-drunk Bunny, and Marty's granddaughter Hailey) that I could picture the actors that would play them in a movie adaptation; others were much harder to pin down (particularly Marty's other daughter Amanda, Marty's granddaughter Jaycee). And speaking of movies, the way this book neatly wrapped up made it feel VERY like a romantic comedy. It was a good read, though not a great one.