In this collection the acuity of detail and the quirky eye for every tiny thing that makes a world unique are so finely tuned, so perfectly honed, that every page is a collection of intricate and beautifully rendered images. I love this book. I read "Midnight" over and over just to be in the world of it, and to marvel at its construction. If you read this book and love it and want more, read Licorice next. She's just as good in this novel as she is in the collection. A quietly stunning writer, no fanfare, no hype, just a solid body of excellent work.

Abby Frucht takes ordinary experiences and turns them into unique "moments" in which you catch yourself feeling as though you are a voyeur into someone else's everday life. Intense and thought-provoking, this book made me want to pick up a pen and start writing.

Wow! This is one of those books where, when you finish reading it, you spread it on your lap and savor it all. The story is intense and sad, yet filled with hope, humor and saavy wit. You know the narrator is ill right from the start, but then you almost forget that fact. As the book intensifies so does the wild ride you're on. And then there's the perfect ending, and the poignant revelation about her husband's identity and her farewell words to her friends... I cried, I laughed, I cannot recommend this book more highly. Bravo!

I love this book. It was the second one of Abby's I read after stumbling happily upon Fruit of the Month, and it DID change my life. I've given it to a dozen people and everyone agrees that the world of this lovely, evocative novel is so finely tuned that it compells you to make your world a little bit more like the book's. It's the happiest of Abby's books, filled with sun and desire and cakes and longing, and deserves to be better appreciated.

When I picked up this book from the library for my book group, I immediately cringed at the cover. It had "that look" that told me I was not going to enjoy it, and for the most part, my instincts were right on. The story is of a blissful Midwestern couple with two kids who face the troubling decision of whether or not to have a third child when the wife becomes pregnant. The idea of a woman in her 30s facing an abortion is a potentially interesting issue. Unfortunately the husband and wife are very poorly characterized: she is an annoyingly narcissistic woman, and he is annoyingly gentle and understanding man. There are many interesting and well written scenes littering the book, but none of the potential of these moments is ever realized. The ending is particularly unsatisfying. In fact, the whole book feels like a cobbled together pastiche of short stories, short story ideas, scenes and characters all poorly tied together.

Cara and Douglas are the parents of two sons, Georgie and Max. And that's enough for them. Sudenly fertile Cara realises she is pregnant again, and although she doesn't want another baby, or another pregnancy, she finds herself falling in love with the baby inside her.

So, they face the dilemna, have the baby and change their future, or terminate the baby and live with the grief. There is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, etc without going anywhere much at all.

Eventually they make their decision, but there doesn't seem to be many consequences. Life just goes on.

I believe that termination is an individual choice, but it did make me wonder, should "change of lifestyle" be a valid reason?

I read croatian edition of this book. It is big surprise for me. Wonderfull style. I hope i will read new titles of Abby Frucht on croatian. Cara and Douglas are great caracters.

Being a mother of twins and also losing my mother at a very young age, I chose this book because I thought I'd love it and could really get into the srory.........WRONG. I didn't like the way the story jumped around SO much. Also it seemed like a bit too much jibber-jabber. But it actually was a good story and written from such a different angle; maybe if the ending would have been as "different" and extreme, it would have made me feel better about reading the book. This book took me longer to read than almost any book I've read. It's definitely not a page turner in my opinion.

I liked this novel a great deal. It deals with the sweet story of a content mother of six who dies giving birth to a baby, Tip, and follows her never-seen son through the years of his life. In her attempts to make her son happy, she accidently sets out a vengeance-seeking man after her family.

The book never becomes overly sentimental or gushy. The image of Polly existing after death as a part of her enviroment is an intriguing and beautifully done one. The love that Polly feels for her son is also well-done, seeming completely natural and true to life.

Occasionally the writing becomes slightly bogged down with overdetail, but if you are not irritated by such developments, you will most probably enjoy this novel!

Imaginary conversations with imaginary friends, a heroine too stupid to recognize the signs of her own (second, no less) pregnancy (despite her husband's many attempts to tell her). The strange, underwater quality of Frucht's writing was so odd it literally made me nauseous. Yes, I understood the "deeper aspects" of the restless passing of time, life, experiences, moving on while the world seems at the same time to be standing still, etc. However, Frucht's writing in general is abhorrent. I also tried to read "A Life Before Dying" and felt the same way. Frucht is certainly no Margaret Atwood, though I sensed that she was trying desperately to adopt Atwood's fluidity and grace with words. She failed miserably.

Under the calm surface of this Temporary Letter Carrier, her heart is filled with the struggle between loss and love, sadness and lust. In a town that everyone is moving away from, she is privvy and witness to emotions and events that seem to escape everyone else