When New York attorney Claire St. John discovers that her
husband is having
an affair, she hightails it out of the Big Apple and returns
to her home town of
Austin, Texas. Eschewing her life as a successful lawyer,
Claire does a
complete 180 and decides to take up writing. Her vehicle of
choice: a self-
help novel for men that will help them navigate the perils
of the women's
bathroom. As Claire sees it, women find sanctuary in the
women's restroom
while men are left to ponder the goings-on. Her book,
written in a
conversational, advice column format, will help them
understand what's really
going on and answer the many questions men may have
including, "Why do
women go to the bathroom in packs?", "What takes so long in
there?", and
"Are they talking about me?" (the answer to which is always
yes).
As Claire tries to write her novel, she's also involved with
an organic food
distributor named Jake Armstrong. Jake is everything that
Claire is looking for
in a man: fit, attractive, and treats her like a queen. The
only problem is that
Claire doesn't know if she's ready for a real relationship,
and feels that she
might be falling to fast. Rounding out the cast are Claire's
gay best friend and
fashion coordinator, Aaron; her closest friend who currently
lives in Frankfurt,
Germany, and has to deal with international relationship
problems, Laura; and
her Samantha from Sex and the City, confident girlfriend,
Leslie.
THE MEN'S GUIDE TO THE WOMEN'S BATHROOM was entertaining and
fun to
read. I read it in less than a day because it was such a
lighthearted and
amusing story. Jo Barrett has her finger on the pulse of
women's voices and
her book doesn't read like classic chick lit, but instead
actually sounds the
way women think and speak. Claire is a likeable heroine who
is flawed and
easy to relate to. I was rooting for her to get her act
together and hoping that
she could make things work with Jake. THE MEN'S GUIDE TO THE
WOMEN'S
BATHROOM will be a great beach read this spring, or the
perfect book to curl
up with and have some "me time."
The Men's Guide to the Women's Bathroom strives
to answer life's most imponderable question: What Do Women
Really Do in the Bathroom?
When the witty and
urbane Claire St. John leaves New York City and returns to
Austin, Texas, she realizes that all of the good advice she
has ever received has been from strangers in the women's
bathroom. If only she'd listened before she'd married the
wrong man and wound up on the losing end of a divorce.
Swearing off men, Claire decides to take a big
chance—she will quit her life as a lawyer and write the
ultimate self-help book-a book detailing exactly what goes
on in that most sacred feminine temple: the women's
bathroom.
But will the new how-to guru ever learn
to take her own advice? While she's discovering the truth
behind the bathroom door, re-assimilating to Texas culture
by eating "nuclear" jalapeño carrots, speeding down highways
through the famed Texas hill country, and even joining an
ill-fated booze cruise, Claire St. John is fighting her
feelings for Jake Armstrong, a dashing organic food
entrepreneur who threatens to throw off the balance of her
new life. Will she be able to handle the pressure or will
she watch her love life get flushed away?