A group of parents, trapped in middle-class stability, deal with marriage, kids and their suburban life in very different ways. Todd, the handsome stay-at-home-dad - the one all the playground Moms admire in a silent look-but-do-not-touch fashion. He's trying (for his wife's sake) to pass his bar exam although he blatantly doesn't want to be a lawyer, and in a desperate attempt to reclaim his youth joins a midnight touch-football team.and starts a passionate affair with Sarah. Sarah is a lapsed feminist who isn't quite sure ...
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A group of parents, trapped in middle-class stability, deal with marriage, kids and their suburban life in very different ways. Todd, the handsome stay-at-home-dad - the one all the playground Moms admire in a silent look-but-do-not-touch fashion. He's trying (for his wife's sake) to pass his bar exam although he blatantly doesn't want to be a lawyer, and in a desperate attempt to reclaim his youth joins a midnight touch-football team.and starts a passionate affair with Sarah. Sarah is a lapsed feminist who isn't quite sure how she ended up being a traditional wife. She's the kind of mother who (shock horror) is capable of forgetting her daughter's snack, and in a moment's rebellion dares to kiss Todd in front of the mother's group.
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Add this copy of Little Children (Allison & Busby Classics) to cart. $32.56, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hialeah, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2013 by Allison & Busby.
I liked the movie. It was clever, amusing, and touching. Bought the book after I found out that the movie was made after it. I'm glad I did. As often is the case - the book is better than the movie, in all aspects - and the plot, though quite close, is not identical to that of the movie. Easy to read, clever, funny, sexy. Worth every penny of the $ 2 it costs.
Ellyb
Mar 19, 2008
Pointed absurdities
I've heard this book described in many places as a comedy, and while there are elements of the absurd at work in "Little Children," I think it would be misleading to label it this way. The comedy here is of small, human inanities. Most people's lives are a variation on a basic tragi-comedy theme, and this is what Perrotta portrays, albeit with heightened circumstances that many people will not encounter, at least not all at the same time. This novel defies "aboutness." I suppose it's "about" an affair between two married parents, and "about" a community's reaction to the presence of a pedophile in their neighborhood, but really the book is more than that. It's about the failure of many contemporary adults to actually become adults. In our "advanced" times, with our freedom to choose a spouses, academic paths, and whether or not to have kids, we've come to expect fulfillment in every area of our life. Whoops. Looks like having options or having no options has very little to do with long term happiness or fulfillment. Perrotta is gentle but absolute in highlighting the absurdity of our expectations.
Ferret
Aug 22, 2007
Satisfying
Little Children was a fun read. It was funny and sad all tied up together in one easy to read bundle. The ending seemed a little awkward to me, but with an finishing line like this book has, I'd definantly say it's worth it. The best way I can describe the book is beautiful tragedy.
greebs
May 10, 2007
We are all little children.
This book falls more into the "character-driven" category rather than "plot-driven," and folks who need a hard, tight plot might get frustrated. But it's there. The loose structure focuses on a very suburban neighborhood, and how various individuals react when a child molester moves in. To say that this is the dominant thread is incorrect, however - one mother begins an affair by jokingly kissing a strange man in a park and finding instant chemistry; another person is addicted to Internet porn, while another mother schedules sex with her husband for 9 p.m. on Tuesdays. The little children are, of course, not the three and four year olds that dominate all of their lives and thoughts (well, almost all their thoughts), but the parents themselves. They act childishly, they have hierarchies in their friendships that mimic the playground, and leave bags of burning dog poop on front porches as an act of spite.
The book is often very funny, at times acutely sad, and most importantly, it's true.
