by Jill A. Davis
The characterization of a woman who learns a lot about herself through her relationships with others.
Reviewed by: Lynne Quido
About Lynne Quido
Jill A. Davis, the author of "Girls' Poker Night" is a television writer from New York City, where her most famous gig was as a writer for the Late Show with David Letterman. If you didn't know that, you could almost guess at it from the irreverent and cynical sense of humor used on and by Davis' heroine, Ruby Capote. Ruby's a writer who uproots herself from Boston to New York, leaving life with her compulsive boyfriend to find new experiences in the "big city". How to start feeling at home in New York? Start a Poker Night for old college friends to revive the social life. The story revolves around the Poker Night discussions, but is told in the form of short, brief spurts of whatever is on Ruby's mind at the time, much like her fictional columns on being single.
Now, I know this already sounds like "Sex in the City", but Ruby and company are far more enjoyable than the ladies on TV. Their finances are more realistic, and their conversation runs the real gamut of the mix of compassion and gossip that women use when they are together. In the mix of these women's lives are the trials and paths that we all must face and decide whether to fold or to continue to hang in there. In the mix of their personalities is the humor and self-deprecation that bonds women together over many years – this is where the group most closely resembles Carrie & Co.
Ruby needs her friends, but more than that, she needs to understand herself, and stop running away from who she really is, stop covering up her insecurities with brittle humor. The best and brightest part of the story is woven through the chapters, as Ruby comes to terms with the fact that she's found love, despite herself. And with the romance comes her ability to see herself as she really is, and to start enjoying what makes her the special person she is. This may be one of the best books ever written about the feeling of falling in love, the vulnerability and the heartache and insecurity. But in spite of all that, "Girls' Poker Night", in spots, will make you laugh out loud, because Ruby really has a way with a story! Enjoy her tale of the Cuban cabdriver, Psychic Randy, and why Doug drove her crazy, but most of all, enjoy rooting for Ruby to make that big leap of faith into believing in herself!
Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: Girls' Poker Night
Copyright © by Lynne Quido, 2002
Reviewed by Lynne Quido:
-- The Whore's Child: And Other Stories - by Richard Russo
-- The Murder Book - by Jonathan Kellerman
-- Tuesdays with Morrie - by Mitch Albom
-- Girls' Poker Night - by Jill A. Davis
-- Dead Midnight - by Marcia Muller
-- The Jesus Thief - by J. R. Lankford
-- The Prettiest Feathers - by John Philpin, Patricia Sierra
-- Wherever You Go, There You Are - by Jon Kabat-Zinn
-- Demolition Angel - by Robert Crais
-- The Eight - by Katherine Neville
-- Mystic Rivert - by Dennis Lehane
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