The Interruption of Everything

I started with this novel by Terry McMillan because I had been waiting a very long time to read it. It wasn't the best one she's written, but I still enjoyed it. I have been a fan of Terry McMillan since Mama and Breaking the Ice. I remain committed to her works because I remember what reading Mama did for me; For the first time ever, I read a book and really recognized the characters. I read the whole novel in one day - a real accomplishment when you're 12 or so and it's 2 or 3 hundred pages long. It probably wasn't the first book by a black woman that I had ever read, but it's the first one I remember reading.

The Interruption of Everything is about a woman (Marilyn) entering perimenopause (thanks for talking about it) and her relationships with her family members, including her husband, children, mother and mother-in-law. She is intensely creative and has earned a creative degree, but had been mostly a stay at home mother and wife. The main plot has to do with belonging to the sandwich generation. She's just getting her kids off to college, but also taking care of her own parents. Her mother is sick, but is living with Marilyn's sister. Her mother-in-law is living with Marilyn and her husband, who is also going through a mid-life crisis. And, of course, what would a Terry McMillan novel be without girlfriends. She has two girlfriends that help her get through everything. And there's other drama that I won't get into so that I don't spoil it. The best thing about the book is the menopausal discussion.

It was entertaining enough to read in one day, but at the same time, I thought "I waited 4 years for a novel from McMillan...and this is it?"