Fourplay

Jo Miles has a nice London home, a lawyer husband, two lovely children, and a thriving part-time career as an interior decorator. In the world of contemporary women's fiction, she's clearly due for some kind of disaster. In Fourplay , disaster comes as divorce. Jo's husband leaves her for a creature Jo comes to refer to as "the Cliché," a 23-year-old blond secretary. After hubby's departure, Fourplay becomes an extended bout of frog-kissing as Jo, clearly much too saucy and adorable for a lifetime of singleness, entertains four different suitors. Sean is an irresistible cameraman, about whose sexual proclivities we hear far too much; Martin is a millionaire record exec; Conor is a steadfast old friend; and Jeff, her ex, of course comes crawling back. Throughout, Jo is supported and nurtured by her chubby, hilarious, less adorable best friend Rosie. On the whole, the book is ridden with clichés, but here's the funny thing: those very stereotypes make Fourplay a pleasant--even a compulsive--read. We know all will be right for Jo; we know Rosie will never let her down, yet never be prettier than her, either; we know true love will descend on all like a wet, inevitable London fog. Jane Moore's writing is just funny enough, just edgy enough, and just true enough to make us revel in these clichés rather than resist them. --Claire Dederer