Emma's Table: A Novel
Written by Philip Galanes
Narrated by Laurie Klein
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
EMMA’S TABLE opens with Emma Sutton arriving at the esteemed FitzCoopers auction house. As always, Emma knows exactly what she wants - a beautiful Japanese table - but she doesn’t necessarily realize what she’s getting: the opportunity to set things right. For Emma happens to be fresh from a year-long stretch in prison and the media-blood-letting that accompanied her fall, and she needs a clean start. Her return to her former life – her glittering business success and her fractured family, the TV cameras and the chauffeured cars, the awkward Sunday dinners at home: none of it feels quite right. To her credit, Emma listens to the whispering realization that comes on the heels of her crisis: She needs to find a better way, though she can’t imagine what it might be. Enter Benjamin, Emma’s assistant – a terminally charming young social worker, who moonlights for her on the weekends – and one of Benjamin’s most heart-breaking wards, an obese little girl from Queens named Gracie.
Along with a handful of eclectic supporting characters – including a tiny Japanese diplomat, a bossy yoga instructor, and Emma’s prodigal ex-husband – Emma, Benjamin, and Gracie are whisked into a fleet-footed story of unforeseen circumstance and delicious opportunity, as their individual searches for their better paths bring them all, however improbably, together.
Sophisticated yet accessible, lighthearted but not insubstantial, EMMA'S TABLE is a highly entertaining and surprisingly affecting tale of second chances.
Philip Galanes
An entertainment lawyer in private practice and an award-winning interior designer, Philip Galanes is the author of the advice column Social Q's in the New York Times Sunday Styles section. He divides his time between New York City and East Hampton, New York.
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Reviews for Emma's Table
12 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Martha Stewart-like character tricks a man out of buying a table at an auction house. She's just out of jail for some stock problem. In the story she realizes she can choose: is it better to be perfect, or to be open-hearted.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This is supposed to be based on Martha Stewart, but it's soooo superficial. I mean, the best thing about Martha is that underneath the crisp, cool exterior, the woman is kooky. Seriously. I liked the side story about her part-time assistant (though found it hard to believe being even a weekend personal assistant could be a second job) but would have liked the book a lot better if Emma had Martha's "my cat's breath smells like catfood!" seven-year-old style look-at-me attitude.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When I first picked up this book, I thought it would be a chick lit book. Its not. Author Philip Galanes has written a deeply moving, sad but uplifting novel. The storyline starts off at an auction house where our main character Emma (who strangely reminds me of (....). She is determined to get a special dining room table and will go to any lengths to get it. I thought this was a very interesting opening chapter as it totally threw me off for the rest of the book. I was certain we would be heading in the direction of so much of the standard stuff these days - rich celebrity spends too much money and we get to hear all about it. Well, this book is NOT about this in the least.Once Emma gets her table, it is hardly mentioned again, but we are introduced, slowly to all the other characters who live in this novel. Benjamin is Emma's assistant, who also happens to be a social worker. Casey is Emma's daughter and she is a mess and her father seems to be a huge part of this reason - then we have Tina and Gracie. Tina is Gracie's mother and suffers from every insecurity known to man and little Gracie is a young girl who is suffering emotionally, mentally and physically from being grossly overweight. ALL of the characters in this book are deeply flawed and are not particularly likeable at times.Yet, this makes the storyline work. It gives the author and the readers a chance to get to know each of them on a very personal level. No one is one dimensional in this book. For every unkind thought Emma has, she will turn around and severely chastise herself for it, for every horrible act of self-desctruction Casey poses, she will try to redeem herself.Interestingly enough, all of the characters don't actually end up in the same room at the same time until well into the novel - this disappointed me a little. I love the small exposure we get to the blossoming relationship that could have developed between the sad, lonely, broken and older Emma and the sad,lonely, broken and younger Gracie.This book is not at all what I expected and I am grateful for that. It does not figure into the standard yarn, which makes this story one that needs telling.The author tends to use flowery descriptions at times, which I thought was appropriate for this book ot storytelling.You will thoroughly enjoy this read - even if you probably won't end up liking most of its characters.This is a good buy.