She Is Me
By Cathleen Schine 

      She is me is the story of three women. Lotte Frank was a vaudeville dancer in her youth. She had always had flawless white skin, not even a pimple. Now she was going to see a surgeon about the cancer that marred her still-lovely face.

      While Lotte is ill from the chemotherapy and radiation, her daughter, Greta Bernard, cares for her. Greta is then diagnosed with colon cancer. While she is ill from the chemotherapy, her daughter, Elizabeth, cares for both Greta and Lotte.

     Elizabeth had been teaching a college course about adultery in literature. She published an article on the subject, concerning Madame Bovary. She is hired by a movie producer to write a screenplay about a modern-day Madame Bovary. She moves to California to care for her mother and grandmother, as well as to write.

     Elizabeth lives with her boyfriend, Brett, and son, Harry. Brett wants to get married, but Elizabeth hesitates to make the commitment. She also considers a fling with the producer. After all, it isn't adultery if you aren't married, is it?

      While Elizabeth toys with nonadultery, her mother--happily married for thirty-five years--falls in love with Daisy, with whom Elizabeth is working. Lotte's cancer spreads and she urges Elizabeth to marry Brett.

     If you love soap operas, you will love this book. It is well-written and beautifully performed by actress Patricia Kalember. It has been described as "witty," "amusing," and "funny." However, it is this reviewer's opinion that there are many books far more deserving of publication than this one. The language, sex and religious put-downs are offensive. But as always, I shall let you read or listen and decide for yourselves.