Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Prospect Park West-Amy Sohn

Prospect Park West
Amy Sohn
Downtown, May 2010, $15.00
ISBN: 9781416577652

The gentrified yuppie population has invaded Park Slope in Brooklyn. There they file away in Co-ops that cost a fortune. Most are filled rage and boredom; at least the mommy yuppies are; who knows what the daddy yuppies are doing across the bay in Manhattan.

On the playgrounds and cafes, the mothers meet to commiserate their impotency. Abandoned Rebecca’s attempts to seduce her spouse fail because he prefers fatherhood over spousal-hood. Lonely Lizzie leans increasingly to returning to lesbianism as her roadie spouse is never home. Ennui Karen finds living in the borough too limited to a social climber ready to take Wall St. Actress Melora misses Manhattan where her myriad of mental phobias are eccentric while here in the burb they are psychotic.

This is an interesting satirical mommy lit starring four women with differing issues. Each comes across as their own person and the oft-referenced neighborhood provides strong background to their plight. Although the well written story line focuses deeply on each mommy’s psyche in a lampooning amusing way; their individual sexual and kiddy plights seem shallow when each makes it feel as if the end of days has begun. Still sub-genre fans will want to visit Prospect Park West to see how the yuppie moms cope.

Harriet Klausner

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