Two Daughters by Marlene Fanta Shyer

By Marlene Fanta Shyer

Book Overview

The picture-perfect Ehrlich family's problems are hardly problems to the rest of the world. As Dr. Peter Ehrlich and his wife, Libby, an antiques dealer, work long hours, 16-year-old Claudia dates a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0739424432
• ISBN13: 9780739424438
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Kensington Books
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.

Customer Reviews

GOOD FAMILY STUDY

In this family saga we find the "perfect" family of Dr. Peter Ehrlich is the envy of everyone who knew them and as the unpredictable story unravels we find out that they have quite a few family secrets unknwown to outsiders.....Dr. Ehrlich is a prominent cardiologist and his wife, Libby has her own antique business in a small Connecticut town......The oldest daughter, 16 yr. old Claudia is a beautiful, bright girl, but does not always make the best choices in boyfriends. Her 13 yr. old sister, Ellery, not as pretty and not as bright, tries to grow up too fast because she envies her sister.....The secrets in this "perfect" family threatens to tear them apart and when the most outrages thing happens it throws them into turmoil....In the process of trying to correct things they lose friends, but Libby is the one, in the end, who pulls her family through, but not before the "secrets" are out in the open for everyone to know.... I belive that we are all human and do not always make the correct choices in our lives, but our families, in the end, can be great strengths to us and gives us the courage to change.......Good book.

insightful character study

In Crandall, Connecticut the Ehrlich family leads such a perfect American existence they even become featured in an issue of Southern Connecticut Life magazine. Libby owns and runs an antique business. Her spouse Peter is a highly regarded cardiac surgeon at Crandall General Hospital. They have two teenage daughters, sixteen years old Claudia and thirteen years old Ellery, who seem happy and are doing well.However, their perfect lifestyle shatters when the parents return from a trip abroad to learn that their younger daughter is carrying the baby of the boyfriend of her older sister. All four Ehrlichs are forced to look closely at the relationships with one another and as a family because if Southern Connecticut Life magazine did a feature today they would find a shattered dysfunctional family leading the perfect American nightmare.TWO DAUGHTERS is a look at how an event can destroy trust, commitment, and caring in what seemed like a devoted group. However, the problem with the story line is that Marlene Fanta Shyer tries to focus on too many major issues that could each stand on their own as the prime theme. Alcoholism or teenage pregnancy easily could have served as the key focus, but by using a shallow glance at each element, Ms. Shyer's novel fails to grip the audience. Libby's first hand account at times can be intriguing, but never quite pulls the audience into the deep emotional trench that the characters find almost impossible to escape.Harriet Klausner

Terrific book!

This book really kept me turning the pages. I took it with me on vacation and it really enriched my trip. I couldn't wait to get back to my hotel room every night to read another chapter. I love books about contemporary family life and this one was not only well written, but it was unpredictable, full of twists and turns, and the characters really came to life. I absolutely loved it!