Two couples (Lizzie and Michael) (Finn and Taylor their daughter Snow) with little in common, Finn and Liz were a couple for a week or so many years back.
They all decide to go on vacation to Italy. And everything falls apart. Including the point of the story.
Was it supposed to be funny? It barely is. In capable hands - think Neil Simon it would have worked instead it was incredibly anticlimactic.
I didn’t care about any of the characters they were all total stereotypes of where they lived or their jobs. ( )

Siracusa by Delia Ephron was a book that completely snuck up on me. I had heard about it from a few friends, the cover kept catching my eye, and then when I saw it was a Book of the Month pick, I knew I had to read it.

Siracusa is the story of 4 friends- Michael and Lizzie (M is a famous writer and L is a non working journalist) and Finn and Taylor with their daughter Snow. The five travel to Siracusa to rekindle relationships, grow their friendship, and to see Italy.

Michael has a plan though. He is cheating on Lizzie with a young 20 year old waitress. His plan is to get Lizzie to sleep with Finn, as they were once young lovers, so he can divorce Lizzie and run off with his new woman. Finn and Taylor are having problems as Taylor is a high maintenance wife who has changed dramatically since having Snow. Finn is a laid back, hands off dad who thinks Taylor just needs to lighten up a bit.

Things get very interesting when Michael's plan goes awry when something unexpected happens while the group is in Siracusa.

When I started this book, I just was not into it at all. For some reason the story and the characters just were not grabbing me. I found the pace a bit slow, the idea a bit far fetched, and it just wasn't working for me.

Boy was I wrong! About a quarter way through the book, even before the group hits Siracusa something clicked. I found myself tearing through the book and became resistant to finishing it even though I wanted to find out what happened. The ending was one that I did not see coming at all.

The whole book is told from alternating points of view immediately after another character finishes speaking. Dialog overlaps in each chapter as we get into the head of the other person. While one character may feel he/she has successfully tricked another character, we read in the very next chapter that it not only hasn't tricked, but has made the other more suspicious, for example. It was a great way to tell this story.

I really wound up loving this one as it is not only a great mystery, but also a look at what really happens within relationships. Ephron plays with the characters well, so they remain believable even as they bumble a bit. I will admit it is hard to like these four people as they are all flawed, but the story holds them together.

I gave this one 4 stars. ( )

I've had this book to read for months. I can't believe it took me so long to start. One of the most brilliant books I've read in a long time. I hope this becomes a movie ( )

Two couples and a child, all thoroughly unlikable, go on vacation, followed by the waitress one of the husbands is having an affair with. I disliked them all so much I skimmed a lot in the beginning, but then read to the end. I did like the device of chapters alternating with each of the four characters.

I only read this because I requested Left on Tenth from my library and they suggested this - I expect Left on Tenth will be better, since it is not fiction and, I imagine, not about unpleasant people! ( )

It's well-written, with a number of lines I read multiple times just to savor. But the plot is lacking and I was disappointed with the unsatisfying ending -- I read this book for *that*? I wouldn't enthusiastically recommend this one to anyone. ( )