52 Weeks 52 Books ~ THE VIEW FROM PENTHOUSE B ~ Week Ending September 2, 2013

Elinor Lipman is always a pleasure to read. The author always delivers witty writing and great narrative, and her characters are lovable but usually a bit down trodden and uncomfortable with life changes that have come their way--but they generally manage to adjust and thrive. While THE VIEW FROM PENTHOUSE B might not be my favorite Lipman book, it still was an entertaining read.  ~ Katherine

"Unexpectedly widowed Gwen-Laura Schmidt is still mourning her husband, Edwin, when her older sister Margot invites her to join forces as roommates in Margot's luxurious Village apartment. For Margot, divorced amid scandal (hint: her husband was a fertility doctor) and then made Ponzi-poor, it's a chance to shake Gwen out of her grief and help make ends meet. To further this effort she enlists a third boarder, the handsome, cupcake-baking Anthony.

As the three swap money-making schemes and timid Gwen ventures back out into the dating world, the arrival of Margot's paroled ex in the efficiency apartment downstairs creates not just complications but the chance for all sorts of unexpected forgiveness. A sister story about love, loneliness, and new life in middle age, this is a cracklingly witty, deeply sweet novel from one of our finest comic writers." ~ from the Publisher