APRIL 2020 - AudioFile
Courtney Patterson’s lively delivery hits all the right tones of both humor and melancholy in this charming story of a 50-year-old woman who is trying to cope with too much change. Her marriage is failing, her teenage son is pulling away, and her best friend has cancer. She is floundering until she finds her long-discarded baby sling, and, on a whim, puts it on and places the family dog inside. Patterson’s performance of what happens after Judy decides to wear the dog full-time nicely balances the audiobook’s sly digs at aspects of contemporary society, like influencers and clickbait Web articles, and its focus on deeper issues, like isolation and dwindling finances. Listeners will feel Judy’s all too familiar pain while laughing at how she handles everything life throws her way. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
03/23/2020
Zigman (Animal Husbandry) charts a chaotic time in the life of an eccentric family in her winning and droll latest. Judy Vogel once wrote a successful kids’ book, but she followed that up with two commercial flops and a case of writer’s block. After running across her 13-year-old son Teddy’s former baby sling while cleaning, Judy decides, on a whim, to start carrying the family dog against her chest. Having a warm body close to her eases the sadness of turning 50, Teddy’s sudden drift away from her, and her recent separation from her husband, Gary. Unfortunately (and humorously), Judy and Gary can’t afford to live apart, and cohabiting helps maintain a charade of normalcy (ostensibly for Teddy). Gary, who works as a self-described “snackologist” selling snacks online, makes the situation barely tenable with his debilitating anxiety, which he eases by smoking marijuana. Financial concerns are somewhat alleviated when they agree to host a troupe of “people puppets”—adult performers who put on shows as puppets—and a young couple also moves into the house, adding to the weirdness. But when someone begins defecating in the halls of Teddy’s school and Teddy becomes a suspect, Judy wonders what effects her instability might be having on him. Snappy wit often offsets the sadness in this zany yet moving story. Zigman’s dryly funny, inventive tale shows how hope can be found in midst of crisis. (Mar.) Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly referred to this book as the author's first.
From the Publisher
"The light from Laura Zigman’s new novel, “Separation Anxiety,” is generated by a kind of literary nuclear fusion: an intense compression of grief and humor.... [Zigman] has a great humorist’s eye for the comedy we’ve seen but overlooked.... Stalked by the loneliness of middle age, you may think the last thing you need is a novel about a woman driven to wearing her dog. You’d be wrong." — Washington Post
“A quirky novel that’s as hilarious as it is touching and wise.” — People
"[Separation Anxiety] imparts a life-affirming vigor... Judy is a natural comedian and Zigman has gifted her with a fiercely singular voice.... If the book nails life’s more challenging moments, it also captures an astonishing level of empathy." — Boston Globe
“You root for Zigman’s decent and vulnerable characters even while wanting to give them a good shake…. [Judy] is a familiar, self-deprecating, likable protagonist.” — New York Times Book Review
"[A] novel about stress, release, and the unlikely places we turn to for comfort in uncertain times." — Vogue
“A triumph of friendship and storytelling . . . Separation Anxiety confronts the stark plateau of middle age with humor and grace. It’s a book that transforms fractured domesticity into a more honest sense of community and selfhood with great wit and enormous heart. The catharsis it offers is both real and satisfying.” — New York Observer
"A world where motherhood, wifely duties, and career aspirations take hard twists and turns. With plenty of snark and a dash of humor, [Zigman] shows just how real the struggle bus is, perfect for readers who like a heroine with a messy life. — Booklist
"Deeply affecting." — Real Simple
"A hilarious yet thought-provoking exploration of the middle-aged limbo.... With wit and tenderness, Zigman explores life's most important relationships as they develop and change over time." — Emma Straub on TODAY
"That’s Laura Zigman’s comic genius, that she can take the stuff of mid-life misery and make it not just relatable but downright funny." — Christian Science Monitor
“Every middle-aged woman who has ever felt invisible, lost or depressed will connect with some aspect of Judy’s life….Unpredictable and delightfully original. For those seeking a good laugh and a good cry, look no further than Separation Anxiety.” — BookPage
“I love Separation Anxiety.... Laura Zigman is an emotional sharp-shooter—she is able to home in on the most tender, revealing, exquisitely painful aspects of our relationships with others and with ourselves. And somehow she manages to come out the other end with hope, having found what was most meaningful after all. And by the way, I can totally relate to the desire to wear one’s dog. If I could, I would.” — Chelsea Handler
“Separation Anxiety is a hilarious, heart-breaking and thought-provoking portrait of a difficult marriage, as fierce as it is funny....[Zigman’s] sharp eye for contemporary life is a revelation....My advice: Start reading and don’t stop until you get to the last page of this wise and wonderful novel.” — Alice Hoffman
"What a gem of a novel. Separation Anxiety is wickedly funny, heartrending, poignantly wise, and hopeful. It's laced with moments of self-doubt and marital mayhem, but also the many small daily acts of mercy and heroism that love inspires, though we too often overlook them. The main character, Judy, is hilariously offbeat, yet very easy to identify with, honest and thoughtful, and I loved spending time with her." — Diane Ackerman, author of The Zookeeper's Wife
“Sometimes a book finds its way to you and you just know instantly that this is the book you need now. That’s how I feel about Separation Anxiety. I think it’s the book everyone needs right now. It is compassionate and funny, articulating with gentle humor the terrible things that we’re all grappling with. To steal a phrase from my daughter, it made me happy-cry.” — Laura Lippman
“Separation Anxiety is as hilarious and painful as life itself. Laura Zigman’s latest novel takes on the (sometimes surreal) trials of middle age with wit and compassion—pitch-perfect, it’s a joy to read.” — Claire Messud, bestselling author of The Burning Girl and The Emperor’s Children
"In Separation Anxiety, Laura Zigman has given voice to the exquisite nuances of the struggles we all face in the course of our lives and at the same time leaves us feeling less alone and more hopeful. With striking humor, tender vulnerability, and pitch-perfect portraits of the complexities of our relationships, she's captured the human condition in a way I often don't see outside of the therapy room." — Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk To Someone
New York Times Book Review
You root for Zigman’s decent and vulnerable characters even while wanting to give them a good shake…. [Judy] is a familiar, self-deprecating, likable protagonist.
Christian Science Monitor
"That’s Laura Zigman’s comic genius, that she can take the stuff of mid-life misery and make it not just relatable but downright funny."
New York Observer
A triumph of friendship and storytelling . . . Separation Anxiety confronts the stark plateau of middle age with humor and grace. It’s a book that transforms fractured domesticity into a more honest sense of community and selfhood with great wit and enormous heart. The catharsis it offers is both real and satisfying.
Boston Globe
"[Separation Anxiety] imparts a life-affirming vigor... Judy is a natural comedian and Zigman has gifted her with a fiercely singular voice.... If the book nails life’s more challenging moments, it also captures an astonishing level of empathy."
Booklist
"A world where motherhood, wifely duties, and career aspirations take hard twists and turns. With plenty of snark and a dash of humor, [Zigman] shows just how real the struggle bus is, perfect for readers who like a heroine with a messy life.
Vogue
"[A] novel about stress, release, and the unlikely places we turn to for comfort in uncertain times."
People
A quirky novel that’s as hilarious as it is touching and wise.
Emma Straub on TODAY
"A hilarious yet thought-provoking exploration of the middle-aged limbo.... With wit and tenderness, Zigman explores life's most important relationships as they develop and change over time."
Washington Post
"The light from Laura Zigman’s new novel, “Separation Anxiety,” is generated by a kind of literary nuclear fusion: an intense compression of grief and humor.... [Zigman] has a great humorist’s eye for the comedy we’ve seen but overlooked.... Stalked by the loneliness of middle age, you may think the last thing you need is a novel about a woman driven to wearing her dog. You’d be wrong."
Real Simple
"Deeply affecting."
BookPage
Every middle-aged woman who has ever felt invisible, lost or depressed will connect with some aspect of Judy’s life….Unpredictable and delightfully original. For those seeking a good laugh and a good cry, look no further than Separation Anxiety.
Alice Hoffman
Separation Anxiety is a hilarious, heart-breaking and thought-provoking portrait of a difficult marriage, as fierce as it is funny....[Zigman’s] sharp eye for contemporary life is a revelation....My advice: Start reading and don’t stop until you get to the last page of this wise and wonderful novel.
Chelsea Handler
I love Separation Anxiety.... Laura Zigman is an emotional sharp-shooter—she is able to home in on the most tender, revealing, exquisitely painful aspects of our relationships with others and with ourselves. And somehow she manages to come out the other end with hope, having found what was most meaningful after all. And by the way, I can totally relate to the desire to wear one’s dog. If I could, I would.
Lori Gottlieb
"In Separation Anxiety, Laura Zigman has given voice to the exquisite nuances of the struggles we all face in the course of our lives and at the same time leaves us feeling less alone and more hopeful. With striking humor, tender vulnerability, and pitch-perfect portraits of the complexities of our relationships, she's captured the human condition in a way I often don't see outside of the therapy room."
Diane Ackerman
"What a gem of a novel. Separation Anxiety is wickedly funny, heartrending, poignantly wise, and hopeful. It's laced with moments of self-doubt and marital mayhem, but also the many small daily acts of mercy and heroism that love inspires, though we too often overlook them. The main character, Judy, is hilariously offbeat, yet very easy to identify with, honest and thoughtful, and I loved spending time with her."
Laura Lippman
Sometimes a book finds its way to you and you just know instantly that this is the book you need now. That’s how I feel about Separation Anxiety. I think it’s the book everyone needs right now. It is compassionate and funny, articulating with gentle humor the terrible things that we’re all grappling with. To steal a phrase from my daughter, it made me happy-cry.
Claire Messud
Separation Anxiety is as hilarious and painful as life itself. Laura Zigman’s latest novel takes on the (sometimes surreal) trials of middle age with wit and compassion—pitch-perfect, it’s a joy to read.
Washington Post
"The light from Laura Zigman’s new novel, “Separation Anxiety,” is generated by a kind of literary nuclear fusion: an intense compression of grief and humor.... [Zigman] has a great humorist’s eye for the comedy we’ve seen but overlooked.... Stalked by the loneliness of middle age, you may think the last thing you need is a novel about a woman driven to wearing her dog. You’d be wrong."
Booklist
"A world where motherhood, wifely duties, and career aspirations take hard twists and turns. With plenty of snark and a dash of humor, [Zigman] shows just how real the struggle bus is, perfect for readers who like a heroine with a messy life.
Library Journal
03/01/2020
Zigman's latest (Animal Husbandry; Her) features Judy, a 50-year-old mother going through some serious changes. Her career as a successful children's book writer has tanked; now she's writing clickbait for a self-help website. Her parents have recently died, her best friend has terminal cancer, her 13-year-old son is growing up and away from her, and her anxiety-ridden husband has turned to cannabis to an extreme, all of which is debilitating to the marriage. Judy has a twofold approach to her problems; she tucks her Sheltie dog into an old baby carrier and wears the dog everywhere, all while wallowing in self-pity. Anxiety is a serious issue, but here it is treated as comedic fodder, while the dog in the sling will have readers pondering whether it is animal abuse or if they should just accept it as farce. VERDICT Readers who enjoyed Maria Semple's far superior Where'd You Go, Bernadette or Linda Holmes's Evvie Drake Starts Over may enjoy this, but it is not Zigman's best effort. She is a popular writer, though, so buy for demand only. [See Prepub Alert, 9/16/19.]—Stacy Alesi, Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Lib., Lynn Univ., Boca Raton, FL
APRIL 2020 - AudioFile
Courtney Patterson’s lively delivery hits all the right tones of both humor and melancholy in this charming story of a 50-year-old woman who is trying to cope with too much change. Her marriage is failing, her teenage son is pulling away, and her best friend has cancer. She is floundering until she finds her long-discarded baby sling, and, on a whim, puts it on and places the family dog inside. Patterson’s performance of what happens after Judy decides to wear the dog full-time nicely balances the audiobook’s sly digs at aspects of contemporary society, like influencers and clickbait Web articles, and its focus on deeper issues, like isolation and dwindling finances. Listeners will feel Judy’s all too familiar pain while laughing at how she handles everything life throws her way. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
