‘Switcheroo'

Switcheroo (HarperCollins; $23) is
the unlikely tale of a wife and mis-
tress who switch places. In the deft
hands of Olivia Goldsmith, it is a
hilarious story that would make a
great movie
screenplay.
Goldsmith is
also the author
of The First
Wives Club
and, in many
ways, this
book is simi-
lar. A scorned
wife will get
her revenge.
The plot
begins when
Sylvie turns
40 and
wants to
bring romance back into her
marriage. She loves her husband,
Bob, but realizes the spark between
them is gone. As she begins to
question why, she discovers that
Bob is having an affair with Marla.
In retaliation Sylvie immediately
drives the new BMW Bob has
given her for her birthday into the
swimming pool of their Shaker
Heights, Ohio, home.
Sylvie tracks down Marla (to do
what, she's not quite sure) and
when she discovers the incredible
physical resemblance between
them, the two women concoct a
plot, each hoping to get what she
really wants. Sylvie wants romance,
and Marla wants a home and fami-
ly.
Off the two women go to a spa.
Sylvie starves while Marla eats
everything she's ever wanted to.
Sylvie gets svelte and Marla puts on
the pounds. Sylvie goes blonde and
Marla lets her hair grow out.
Sylvie luxuriously prepares for
her date with Bob (who thinks she's
Marla) and Marla struggles to pre-
pare a turkey dinner for Thanksgiv-
ing.
This humorous, creatively pre-
posterous story with a fairy-tale
ending has so many one-liners,
you'll think you're in a comedy
club.
For a fun summer read and a lot
of laughs, enjoy Switcheroo.

— Reviewed by Beverly F Mindlin
Cleveland Jewish News

6/26
1998

86

On The
Bookshelf

Jackie Mason and Raoul Felder's
Survival Guide to New York City
Avon Books; $16
Heading to the Big Apple? It can
be a jungle out there, and in this
slim volume, Tony Award-winning
actor, comedian, author and play-
wright Jackie Mason and interna-
tionally famous divorce attorney to
the stars Raoul Felder provide savvy
tips and sage advice on everything
you won't read about in Fodor's —
including the fine art of dealing
with surly, mumbling cab drivers
who don't speak English anyway.

before the Second World War) but as
a gentle father devoted to his son. She
alleges a genetic basis for David's
mental illness and informs readers
that David had a devoted first wife,
who was steadfastly helpful to him. A
professional pianist, Margaret Helfgott
lives in Israel.

I Love Gootie: My Grandmother's
Story
By Max Apple; Warner Books; $24.
In Roommates, Max Apple told the
story of his 5-foot-tall, scene-stealing,
103-year-old grandfather Rocky, who
shared a room with Max on the Uni-

'4 4 0 d

7:c.okUvarot. monet

N

Out of Tune: David
versify of Michigan campus
Helfgott and the
in the 1960s. In this mem-
Myth of Shine
oir,
he chronicles the life and
aikvD 14E.O.Q.OTT ANa
By Margaret Helf-
times of Rocky's wife, part-
gott; Warner; $24.
THE MYTH QF SONO
ner and harshest critic,
This book is the
Gootie. At her kitchen table,
pianist's older sister's
Max learns about life, cul-
effort to set the
ture and love from the per-
record straight
spective of a Jewish immi-
about her brother's
grant transported — via an
life, which she
arranged marriage — to
believes was severely
Grand Rapids, Mich. A
distorted in the
Gootie-ism: [Shakespeare]
1996 film. She por-
was a crazy man. All he
TaM (1.31ZO”.
trays David's father
thought about was murder-
Peter Helfgott not
ers and wars. ... I wouldn't
as the bitter Holocaust survivor
give you a nickel for his books."
depicted in the film (he left Europe
— Compiled by Gail Zimmerman

OUT QF TUNE

MARGARET
HELFGOTT

`A Good
Doctor's Son'

Picture a small town in Pennsylva-
nia in the 1960s and the Nachman
family — the doctor, his wife and
two sons, David and Adrian. Beaver
Cleaver country, right? Wrong.
No one is happy. The doctor
is having
<
secret affairs.
The wife
resides most-
ly in mental
institutions.
Adrian, the
older broth-
er, escapes
into books
and movies.
And David
searches for
an identity of
his own.
A Good Doctor's Son by Steven
Schwartz (William Morrow & Co.;
$24) is the story of a family in tur-
moil.
David vows to become a doctor
when he sees his father stoned for
taking care of the town's only black
family. He experiences some preju-
dice himself because being Jewish
makes him stand out among his
classmates. He feels comfortable
only among the class "greasers."
One day, on a dare, David and
his friends decide to drag race.
David's actions have dire conse-
quences that will affect the Nach-
man family and the town forever.
David's struggle to accept the
consequences of what happens to
him serves as the premise of this
beautifully told, sensitive novel.
A Good Doctor's Son moves from
David's despair and guilt to his
attempt to find a life. In attempts
to atone and find answers, he par-
ticipates in social protests, attends
Quaker retreats and returns to his
synagogue.
The Nachman faMily, which had
been on the verge of breaking up,
rallies around David. All flounder
through new, uncharted territory.
This is a tender, coming-of-age
story about how a dysfunctional
family struggles to become func-
tional. It will tug at your heart
strings.

— Reviewed by Beverly Mindlin
Cleveland Jewish News