The Family Man is
another of Elinor Lipman’s superb comedies of manners. A retired gay
lawyer, Henry, seizes a chance to rebond with the adopted daughter,
Thalia, whom he didn’t fight for when her mother, Denise, divorced him.
Denise wants to mend her estranged relationship with Thalia and get
back into Henry’s life. Denise tries to fix up Henry with a friend,
Todd. Thalia agrees to pose as the girlfriend of a socially awkward
actor, Leif, to rehab his image.
These intertwined plots set up Lipman’s typically humorous interactions
of characters who have problems and flaws but are redeemable. Her sure
ear for how people speak and sure grasp of the human heart are much in
evidence. Henry and Thalia are especially endearing. Henry, gentle,
kind, and unfailingly curious, is the type of man straight women would
want as a friend and perceptive gay men would want as a partner. Thalia
is charming, frank, and unpretentious.
Elinor Lipman has been called a modern-day Jane Austen. That’s true to
an extent, but she isn’t as serious as Austen. Her people aren’t
introspective. But when you’re in the mood for a well-written comedy,
she’s hard to beat.
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