The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine

In The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine, the Weissmann women flee NYC for a ramshackle cottage in Westport, CT. Each is escaping a personal crisis and hope to nurse their wounds and take care of each on the coast of Connecticut. Betty Weismann, mother to Annie and Miranda, has just been unceremoniously left by her husband of forty-eight years and forced to forfeit occupancy of their Manhattan apartment as he moves his mistress into their home. Miranda had a successful literary agency but has been become embroiled in the scandal surrounding many of her authors when it is revealed that their memoirs were really more fiction than reality. She has been ostracized by the publishing community and is soon in financial trouble as her business falters. Annie has not suffered as dramatic a blow as her mother and sister but she is burdened by her own disappointments - the loss of her stepfather when he leaves her mother, the empty nest left by her two adult sons and the noticeable lack of a romantic interest.

Each woman undergoes an emotional transformation while in Westport . Betty comes to terms with the loss of her husband and the bitter realities of divorce; for the first time in almost fifty years, money is a concern and she is forced to modify her lifestyle. Modifying her lifestyle is not her greatest burden, however - her greatest burden is accepting that a man she considered the consummate gentleman and with whom she envisioned spending her golden years, has changed the locks on their home and declared his love for another woman. Miranda seems to capitalize on her time away from the responsibility of her career by exploring previously unexamined desires including that for a child. At fifty, Miranda has seemingly let motherhood pass her by but she is no longer so sure that she doesn't want a child in her life. Annie, possibly the most complicated of the three Weismanns is tightly wound and sees herself as the caretaker of both her mother and sister. There is a melancholy and even bitter side to Annie whose life is best described as "vanilla" - she seems to resent others for what she does not have in her life. While in Westport, she reflects on her losses but doesn't undergo any revelations or transformations as seen in her mother and sister.

In addition to the three well developed characters of the Weissmann women, there is a colorful cast of characters that surround the trio including a variety of gentleman love interests, and a eccentric but exceedingly generous cousin and his wacky family. The other characters provide a nice balance to the sometimes grim Weismanns. This book is very well written with complex characters and the added twist of it being a take on Austen's Sense and Sensibility adds yet another layer to the book. The Three Weissmanns of Westport is a great women's fiction pick and the excellent writing adds more than a little polish to this story.