A Perfect Arrangement

Author: Suzanne Berne
List Price: $23.95
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 1565122615
Publisher: Algonquin Books (01 May, 2001)
Sales Rank: 48,143
Average Customer Rating: 3.29 out of 5

Customer Reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5
Not what I expected
When I picked up "A Perfect Arrangement" in my local library, I (like many other readers) expected to read a cautionary tale about inviting strangers into one's home. After seeing movies like "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle", reading about that British au pair accused of shaking a baby to death in Massachusetts, and watching tv programs that promoted installing "nanny cams" to spy on caregivers, it seemed natural to find the same story in book form.

Instead, this story is about a family's struggle to live what they believe is the "perfect" life. What I found interesting in this story was that there were no "good" or "bad" characters. Although all of the characters are flawed, none of these flaws are especially bad. They simply cannot maintain their perfect, polished images that they've been trying so desperately to show the world.

The most interesting part of the story is Mirella's conflicted desires. She wants to be the perfect lawyer and seen as successful at work, but she also wants all the attention and love that a primary caregiver receives from her children. What she can't or won't accept is that no one can be perfect in every part of his or her life. We all have to pick and choose our priorities. This story is about what happens when we find ourselves unable to do that.


Rating: 1 out of 5
I Was Highly Disappointed in This Book
I wasnt expecting blood and gore or anything as dramatic as in the movie "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle", but I was expecting something that would keep me interested enough to keep turning the pages: I didnt find it.

The characters in this book are two dimensional at best. the author never really gives us enough "meat" about the characters.. nothing to grip onto.

What the author does manage to do is waste time giving us details about things that really have no relevance to the story or to the main characters in the book; I really dont care what the details are of Mirellas latest legal case.. after all, the book is not about courtroom drama. the authors time would have been better spent enriching the characters and creating a better plot with a little more depth to it.

Partway through the book, there are hints that lead you to beleive that you know where the story is going; of course, most books have the same types of hints, and usually what happens is that rather than being predictable, you begin to relish where you think the story is going to go, and more often than not, you are wrong, because the plot often takes an unexpected twist that makes the stoy even better than you thought it was going to be...

This book does just the opposite. the story does not end up going where you think it will.. it ends up leading down a dull, flat road where the scenery is about as interesting as a stretch of barren interstate.

You can pick up your local newspaper and read real-life stories that are ten times more interesting than this book. I kept hanging on, turning the pages, hoping that maybe the next chapter would finally contain the heart of the story, that maybe the main players would finally come to life, but I was left frustrated by characters and a story that were as lifeless as old paper dolls.

The only positive thing that I can say about my experience with this book is that I am grateful that I didnt spend one thin dime on it.. I borrowed it from the library. still, reading it was a pitiful waste of time.


Rating: 1 out of 5
Unsatisfying
The "ruling class parents in need of somebody to raise Binky and Muffy" concept has created a genre onto itself with films, books, movies of the week, etc, that create nightmare scenarios in which the babysitter kills and seduces. In this novel the parents are the problem and the author makes fun of them in the way only one of their peers can. And while the writing is strong, oy, the ending is just...annoying.



Book Index