After the Party

May 2, 2011
Jewell carves out a dreary universe of resentment, loneliness, and barely hidden rage for the couple she first introduced in Ralph's Party. After 11 years and two kids together (but no marriage), public relations agent Jem and artist Ralph discover they've become, not so surprisingly, different people, and are miserable together. The familiar is livened up with some engaging distractions for the needy pair. For Ralph, it's a trip to California to visit old pal Smith and his gorgeous girlfriend, Rosey, a Christian rocker. For Jem, there's secretive and somber Joel and his hot 25-year-old son, Lucas, both of whom she admires from afar and then closes in for a brush with intimacy while Ralph is busy locating his artistic mojo. While careening toward what could be certain splitsville, Jem and Ralph doggedly cling to the impossible dream of a conventional happy ending. Jewell manages a breezy traipse through some turgid terrain, thanks mostly to a solid cast who bring a freshness to a stale setup.

August 1, 2011

Twelve years after their romance inspired the chick-lit bestseller Ralph's Party, a London couple is driven apart by misunderstanding and miscommunication.

New readers won't have much difficulty catching up with Ralph and Jem's history thanks to Jewell's (Roommates Wanted, 2008, etc.) capable interweaving of older events into the contemporary narrative recording the ebbing of intimacy. So what drained the passion away from this perfectly matched pair? Nothing more exceptional than domesticity, kids and slow, silent withdrawal. Ralph still paints pictures in the attic and Jem works part-time as a celebrity agent, but, despite their enduring love, this couple doesn't talk. He's never confessed his unwillingness to have a second child, and she's filled with unspoken resentment at his lack of support. Plus, she's gone off sex. Ralph takes a surprise holiday in Santa Monica and comes home strangely different. Jem, meanwhile, has befriended a local single father whose behavior arouses Ralph's suspicions. It's a long way round the houses back to reconciliation, and the route can seem frustratingly obstacle-strewn, but Jewell's easy prose and storytelling ability make for a pleasant enough trip.

The not-so-happily-ever-after is neatly dissected in an engaging if ephemeral sequel.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 15, 2011
In the long-awaited follow-up to Ralphs Party (2000), a couple navigates both the smooth sailing and the turbulent waters of their relationship as it careens from initial attraction to intense parenting and from big dreams to mundane realities, with all the growing pains two people in love could possibly experience. Jem and Ralphs first appearance as carefree young people almost ready to launch into real life has now become that real life, complete with dirty diapers, momentous career decisions, and looming personal concerns neither particularly wants to address. Certain of their love and their entwined lives, they have ignored the impending signs of interpersonal crisis until its almost too late. With two young children, Ralph decides he needs a break. He flees to California and an old pal, while Jem stays in England with the children and the burgeoning possibility of a new direction she never imagined was possible. Flipping between their perspectives and illuminating their desires, fears, and sometimes clumsy actions, the story entertainingly marches its characters along the path to finally growing up.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)