Green Eggs and Weezie / Cathy Oliffe-Webster

Reviewed by: Pete Barber

Genre: Women’s fiction

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Availability

Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: NO Smashwords: NO Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Cathy Olliffe-Webster was born in 1960 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The daughter of a railroad engineer, she moved many times during her childhood, always seeking permanence in the books she read (her favorites being Nancy Drew, the Black Stallion and Harriet the Spy). After studying journalism, she continued her gypsy ways, working at community newspapers in Gravenhurst, Milton, Port Perry, Peterborough, Haliburton, Huntsville and Bracebridge. She also worked for a national medical newspaper, Family Practice, in downtown Toronto. After 20+ years of award-winning reporting, she decided she'd had enough of covering bowling banquets and curling bonspiels and turned to the graphic design side of the business. As outsourcing and the internet took a toll on traditional newspaper publishing, she retired and decided to do what she'd always dreamed of doing: write a novel.

Description:

Weezie is happy in her marriage to Butch Polk. He’s no oil painting, and the romance has long gone from their relationship, but he’s a good provider for their two kids. Until, that is, their humdrum existence is shattered when Butch has an affair with his secretary. The story follows Weezie as she comes to terms with life as a cuckolded wife.

Appraisal:

I must say, when I search for my next book tonight, I’m going to miss spending time with Weezie. Mid-forties and overweight, she’s neither beautiful, nor brilliant, but she sure grew on me. A caring person, her most endearing attributes are her sunny view of life and the positive opinion she forms of everyone she meets. And when life serves up lemons, she certainly does turn them into lemonade.

Because this is a story told in first person and solely focused on Weezie’s journey, pretty well anything plot-wise that I reveal would be a spoiler. So, suffice to say, I really enjoyed this tale. Ms. Oliffe-Webster is a heck of a writer. Her prose are so easy on the eye, I ended up turning one last page on many occasions.

To sum up: this is a ‘feel good’ book with plenty of wry humor splashed about for good measure.

As a special bonus, the author includes a few of Weezie’s favorite recipes at the end of the story. The tale turned out in a satisfying and believable way, and left plenty of room for a sequel. IMO, Weezie deserves one.

Format/Typo Issues:

None to mention.

The book is set in Canada and uses Canadian spelling.

Rating: ***** Five stars