The Available Man by Hilma Wolitzer

.I just finished this book last night. I was taken with the characters, a widower, his two step children, his mother-in-law and all the other characters in the book. It is a slow paced novel, but the humor definitely connected with me. Edward Schuyler has been grieving the death of his wife for over three years. He is a sixty-four year old teacher, married for over 20 years to a wonderful woman that he had felt so lucky to find after 15 years of bachelorhood. His children wanted him to date, so they had set up an ad in the newspaper. Edward's dating adventures after all these year are sad and funny, and real. After reading this book I'm sure you will want to look for some of her others, I certainly did. She has written: Hearts; Summer Reading; and The Doctor's Daughter to name a few. Here is her biography from Barnes and Nobel. Her writing reminded me of Elinor Lipman who writes domestic fiction also. Lucky for us more of Elinor Lipman's books can be found at the Tipp City Public Library. Try The Pursuit of Alice Thrift for a fun novel.