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Living Section of the San Bernardino SUN August 27, 2006 
The Debutante Divorcee By Plum Sykes Miramax Books, 2006 
Happy Divorcees "I can't work," says one of the ultra-rich New Yorkers who "mislays" her husband on her honeymoon, in Plum Sykes's fleeting bestseller, "The Debutante Divorcee," "because I can't dress for day. I can only dress for evening. So obviously office life doesn't work for me." Why do we like to immerse ourselves in the unbelievable and phantasmagorical lives of the mega-rich? Is it to forget scenes like the one of the throngs of homeless in the park surrounding the library that greets me every morning as I go into work and bids me goodnight every evening as I leave? If Plum Sykes first novel, also a bestseller - "Bergdorf Blondes," was about snaring rich husbands, the new bestseller - "The Debutante Divorcee" is about dropping husbands: "Married girls in New York these days," read the opening lines of the book," put almost as much effort into losing husbands as they once did into finding them." The homeless population in the U.S may be increasing but newly minted divorcee Lauren Blount whose family "pretty much invented Chicago" is planning with her friends an extravagant divorcee shower. Lauren and Sylvie, the narrator of "The Debutante Divorcee," meet on the beach of the exclusive Careyes in Mexico and become fast friends. Lauren is on her divorce honeymoon. Sylvie is on her wedding honeymoon alone because her husband has had to rush back to New York for an emergency business meeting. "My specific goal," Lauren tells Sylvie, "and I am very clear about this, because it's insanely straightforward, is that I must make out with five men between Labor Day and Memorial Day." Sylvie's goal on the other hand, is to be the Eternity couple (the Calvin Klein advertisement). But, Lauren advises, "your goal should be keeping your husband away from the Husband Huntresses, those wicked girls who only pursue husbands. You only become aware of them once you're married." While Lauren pursues her goal of making out with five men in nine months, Sylvie follows clues of infidelity about her own husband. In the meantime there are endless parties, fashion shows, changes from one costly designer item to another at least ten times a day, trips to Paris and mafia- rich Moscow and ski chalets in Megave. But make no mistake, these girls work. They have the kind of jobs that only the rich and famous can pass amongst each other. Sylvie works for on-the-verge-of-stardom designer who hopes to have his reputation made by the celebrities Sylvie recruits to wear his designer clothing. Lauren tracks down million dollar pieces of jewelry for rich clients. It is the pursuit of a pair of Faberge cufflinks given to Tsar Nicholas by his mother for Easter 1907 that take her to Moscow and an encounter with their mysterious, "UnGoogle-able" owner. All the sleuthing leads the narrator to rediscovering her husband's loyalty and love, Lauren to a new smoldering love in the person of the mysterious and UnGoogle-able man and the wicked Husband Huntress to marrying a Sheikh with $17 billion and four other wives. Plum Sykes' writing is clever enough and occasionally even mildly sarcastic to hook the reader but not special enough to be memorable. Although I truly enjoyed reading her first novel, "Bergdorf Blondes," I have no real recollection of its content. I just remember that it had something to do with more ultra rich girls and that perhaps one of the early chapters in "The Debutante Divorcee" might be the last chapter in the first book. Nevertheless, books like "The Debutante Divorcee" are great fun to read on hot summer nights when one's brain has been totally drained by a lethal combination of heat and responsibilities. It makes one forget the daily grind, even if only momentarily. Ophelia Georgiev Roop Library Director San Bernardino Public Library |
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