Coming Out Book Review
Summary rating: 5 stars
3 Ratings
Visits:
17
words:
300
Published: April 15, 2008
Attorney Olympia Rubinstein is the epitome of the virtuous woman praised in Proverbs. Her home is well kept, she is the perfect daughter in-law, her children want for nothing and bask in her unconditional love, she is endlessly devoted to her husband of thirteen years and her career is balanced perfectly with her home life.
A simple envelope disrupts her peaceful life one day. It is an invitation for her twin daughters from her first marriage to participate in the most exclusive debutant ball in New York City. The invitation quickly causes chaos when everyone expresses a different opinion about the necessity of the upper class tradition. Chauncey is the father of her daughters and has his own agenda that adds pressure that they don't really need. Her oldest son has a confession, a religious debate erupts in her marriage and ethical lines are drawn between the twins.
There appears to be no end to the family drama before Steel corrals everyone into a happy ending.
I admire Steel for taking on a rather difficult question; where do old fashioned ideals fit in modern society? However her story is full of ideas that feel half written. She spent a lot of time narrating without delving deeper into what was going on. Dialogue is minimal and her characters feel forced and read more like classic stereotypes than people. Danielle Steel has written many beloved novels but I can not shake the feeling that she spell checked the first draft of this book and sent it off to be published. Please take note that 'Coming out' is lacking the polish of a finished book.