A review by judyward
The Family Man by Elinor Lipman

4.0

Henry Archer is retired, lonely, gay, wealthy, and living in a fabulous townhouse on the Upper West Side of New York City. His ex-wife, that's right ex-wife, calls him hysterical after the funeral of her husband. Apparently her behavior at the funeral is the talk of the town. Henry has had a complicated relationship with Denise over the years. When they married, he adopted her young daughter, Thalia, and adored the little girl. But, thinking of Thalia's long-term emotional health, he allowed Denise's third husband, to adopt Thalia, after Denise remarried following their divorce. Denise wants to be back in Henry's life and he isn't so sure and he certainly finds the daily phone calls to be disturbing as well as draining. Then Henry is reconnected with Thalia, now 29, and he is anxious to reestablish a relationship. The problem is neither of them want Denise to know that they are back in touch and Thalia has agreed, to Henry's horror, to pose as the girlfriend of an aging horror-film actor as an attempt to revive his career. In this wonderfully slapstick adventure, Henry tries to maintain control in an increasingly out of control situation, and ultimately finds out that families and love come in all different combinations.