This was another one of those "Well, the NYTimes liked it" reads. As a story, with plot and semi-believable occurrences (and I say this as an AVID reader of speculate fiction), I was unimpressed. Wolitzer handles the idea of a "spell" sloppily and, as silly as this sounds in a book about Lysistrata, the ending is a bit too deus ex machina.

This book shines (and I can only assume was favorably reviewed) for two reasons. The first is its talented, warm sympathetic portrayal of its characters. There are no villains in this book, only people and the silly things they do that help and hurt and heal one another. In that sense, it verges on beautiful.

The second reason is that "The Uncoupling" actually looks at what it means to be a woman and a sexual being and a bunch of different types of sexual beings without stigmatizing those who enjoy sex, who thrive on it, who are unimpressed by it - the entire gamut of female sexual experience is embraced. For all the rest of the book's faults (including the ending, which was far too pat with far too little effort), it was worth reading just for this.