Review: Light At The End of the Tunnel for the Stuck on Stupid
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 29, 2013
Stupid by Choice is a self-deprecating portrait of dysfunction in the upper echelons of society. The book follows Melanie, a thirty-something Texas debutante who has all the trappings of success in New York through her personal "aha" moment. The story opens with her inviting movers into her home to relocate her from a bad marriage as stealthily as they can. As the three apply their muscle to packing up her belongings, Melanie unpacks the baggage of all that has transpired to get her to that place.The story is all at once funny, dramatic, sad and everything in between as we relive Melanie's life from Texas, Monte Carlo, Manhattan, Newport, and Palm Beach, where she faces destructive love affairs, financial trouble, family issues, unplanned pregnancy, and more of the same with her sister and her friends.  Her father, Oldie, is a figure who could be compared to the Rock Hudson character in the classic movie, Giant, and her mother the Elizabeth Taylor character. Her parents raise her as they were before her, as spoiled children of entitlement who have to learn to separate reality from the trappings of privilege to which they have grown accustomed. Melanie suffers a lot of the same trials and tribulations as women of lesser means, despite having been born with the proverbial silver spoon in her mouth.With a surprising and unprecedented opportunity to have lasting love with the most unlikely person, will Melanie squander it on principal or will she experience the epiphany she needs to free herself from being "stuck on stupid," or will she remain "stupid by choice?" Find out for yourself. Make Stupid by Choice one of your summer reads.I give Stupid by Choice 3.5 Stars.