Minus Me

November 1, 2020
One-half of the happiest couple on earth--or at least in the fictional Passamaquoddy, Maine--conceals her terminal diagnosis from her husband. Despite a tortuous history of pregnancy loss, Annie and Sam have been a perfect match since high school. Well-liked in their Maine hometown, they came back after college to run a sandwich shop with a sub so popular it's a tourist attraction--the totally unhealthy and impossibly delicious "Paul Bunyan," consisting of salami, American cheese, tomatoes, onions, green peppercorns, pickles, and a mysterious sauce holding it all together. Considering the success of the couple's relationship, it's odd that they've never really learned to have a conversation--but that's what sets this kooky rom-com in motion, with additional bold plot contrivances (obscure medical conditions, family secrets, sudden personality changes, magical wealth and influence) also playing their parts. When the local doctor takes a look at Annie's lungs and tells her with tears in his eyes to get her affairs in order, she knows she must break the news to her darling Sam. But when Sam cuts her off and changes the subject, she decides not to tell him at all. Instead, she'll write him a manual on how to manage his life after she's gone. Each chapter of Medwed's first novel in 12 years starts with a quote from the manual--"Women like flowers," "Don't let your underwear become tattered," "Change the answering machine to your own voice"--and longer excerpts are also included, featuring quite a bit of urging that, as a widower, Sam seek comfort from Annie's lifelong best friend, Rachel. Though the doctor continues to insist she tell both Sam and her mother (a famous actress who's been worthless as a parent and is now, after many husbands, this doctor's girlfriend) and also to please, please consult a specialist for a second opinion, Annie sees no rush. If you're gonna die, you're gonna die. Despite the utter unbelievability of every other plot element, you still end up craving one of those sandwiches.

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November 16, 2020
Medwed (Of Men and Their Mothers) returns with an underwhelming tale of a woman with marital and maternal woes. Annie Stevens-Strauss and her husband, Sam, are childless after four miscarriages and a stillbirth, and her self-involved actress mother, Ursula, can’t believe Annie married her high school sweetheart and stayed in her small Maine town to run a sandwich shop. When a scan turns up multiple masses on Annie’s lungs, Annie believes she’s doomed and puts off a biopsy. She thinks mainly of Sam and his past troubles with depression, and how helpless he’ll be without her, so she focuses on writing a how-to manual for life (covering everything from his parents’ birthdays to operating instructions for the washing machine) without telling Sam about the scan. Drama ensues over a misunderstanding involving a business loan from Ursula, and plot twists that rely on Annie’s almost pathological unwillingness to examine her life until the well-connected Ursula sweeps her off to New York to see a specialist. Medwed’s tendency to repeat key facts over and over, such as Sam’s depression and Ursula’s selfishness, gives the whole affair an unpolished feel. With a passive protagonist at the center, this is a bit of a slog.

December 1, 2020
Annie and Sam have made their life in Passamaquoddy, Maine. The owners of Annie's Samwich Shop, they've been inseparable since high school. While they've suffered the loss of many pregnancies and one beautiful stillborn baby, they're determined to maintain their happiness as long as they're together. Then Annie receives startling news--she has masses all over her lungs. As she waits to see an oncologist, Annie keeps her condition a secret from her husband, but writes him a manual to use when she's gone: Life Minus Me. Then Annie's overbearing mother, the famous actress Ursula Marichal, swoops in to complicate matters, and Annie realizes whatever is left of her life will never be the same. Medwed (Of Men and Their Mothers, 2008) returns with this bright and poignant story. Annie and Sam are far from perfect, but Medwed's witty voice, paired with the charming setting, wraps their flaws in a comforting and sweet package. For readers of Annie England Noblin and Jamie Brenner, with a dash of the small-town energy that cozy-mystery fans love.

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