Widow Waltz (Koslow)

The Widow Waltz
Sally Koslow, 2013
Penguin Group USA
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780670025640


Summary
Georgia Waltz has much of what most people only dream of—two healthy and bright daughters and a husband with whom she”s madly in love, even after decades of marriage; a plush Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park; a Hamptons beach house; a driver; club memberships; fine art. It”s only when Ben suddenly drops dead from a massive coronary while training for the New York City Marathon that Georgia discovers that her husband—a lawyer who always provided well for his family—has left them exactly nothing. Their idyllic life together, it turns out, was built on lies.

As the family attorney attempts to trace the missing money and explain the mortgaged property, and worthless insurance policies, Georgia has to come to grips with her new reality. Not only must she learn how to manage her household finances with what little income she has left, she needs to face the revelation that Ben was not the perfect husband he appeared to be. Between her efforts to protect his legacy for the sake of their daughters and coping with her critical brother and dementia–afflicted mother, Georgia is fighting to keep her spirits intact.

Meanwhile, her two daughters, now living at home, must also reevaluate their plans in the wake of their father's death—Nicola's globetrotting search for a career and Luey's education at Stanford are now untenable. With no trust funds to fall back on, both young women confront the challenges of adult responsibility even as they come of age and navigate complicated romantic relationships.

When Georgia's suspicions about Ben's secrets start to produce leads, through her own detective work she ultimately uncovers truths she would rather not have known. This sudden midlife shift forces Georgia to consider who she is and what she values. The results, including a tender new friendship with romantic potential, surprise everyone—most of all, her.

Told through the alternating perspectives of her female leads, Sally Koslow's fourth novel offers a droll but heartfelt look at how to summon resilience in a time of crisis and explores the challenges of redefining one's life in the face of devastating loss. The Widow Waltz is a warm, honest, and contemporary story that will appeal to readers of Elizabeth Berg, Anna Quindlen, and J. Courtney Sullivan. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—Fargo, North Dakota, USA
• Education—University of Wisconsin
• Currently—lives in New York City, New York


Sally was born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota. While editing her high school newspaper and interning on her hometown newspaper, she dreamed of someday landing a job in publishing. The dream came true. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, she moved to New York and was hired by Mademoiselle magazine....

Rising in the ranks at Mademoiselle and other magazines, she became the editor-in-chief of McCall’s in 1994. At the time, MaCall's was the country’s oldest women’s magazine. Eight years later, Sally became "corporate editor" when the magazine was transformed into the short-lived Rosie, edited by the celebrity Rosie O’Donnell. Later that year Sally went on to create a magazine prototype for Lifetime Television for Women, owned by Disney and Hearst Magazines, and became the first editor-in-chief of the magazine, which was called Lifetime.

Writing
After the job at Lifetime ended, Sally signed up for a workshop in the hopes of learning to write a book. Her first submimssion to the workshop became her first chapter in her first book, Lirtle Pink Slips, in 2007. Her second novel, The Late, Lamented Molly Marx, followed in 2009 and With Frinds Like These in 2010.

Slouching Toward Adulthood: Observations to the Not-So-Empty Nest, published in 2012, is her first non-fiction book.  It grew out of observations of her two sons and their friends as they moved into adulthood. Her novel, The Widow Waltz, published in 2013, is Sally's fifth book.

In addition to her books, Sally has contributed essays and articles to O the Oprah Magazine, More, Real Simple, Ladies’ Home Journal, Health, Reader’s Digest, and Good Housekeeping. She has also contributed to two anthologies, Dirt: The Quirks, Habits and Passions of Keeping House and Wedding Cake for Breakfast, where writers recount their first year of marriage.

On TV she has been featured on Today, Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, Fox & Friends, Good Day New York, and news programs affiliated with MSNBC, CNN, and CNBC. Sally has lectured at Yale University, Columbia University, New York University, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin, and other colleges, professional associations, community and synagogue groups.

Sally has taught at The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College and is on the faculty of the New York Writer’s Workshop. She is married to Robert Koslow, her college boyfriend. They are the parents of Jed Koslow, an attorney, and Rory Koslow, who works in the film industry. (Adapted from the author's website.)

Book Reviews
Witty and insightful.
People


Lovers of breezy beach read...will enjoy the journey.
Real Simple


Koslow (Little Pink Slips) illustrates how a family upheaval can prompt personal change in this entertaining but ultimately uninspired novel. Fifty-year-old Georgia Waltz’s husband Ben Silveer...dies during a marathon training run, [and] Georgia discovers that their life of luxury has been built on lies.... Koslow’s novel is diverting, and the three different viewpoints add interest, but Georgia’s romance is tepid and unconvincing, and the resolution is abrupt and overly tidy.
Publishers Weekly


Well-written, page-turning domestic fiction about a family’s reinvention and healing that will attract fans of Elizabeth Berg.
Library Journal


Former McCall's editor-in-chief Koslow (Slouching toward Adulthood, 2012, etc.) choreographs an entertaining but lightweight story.... Thanks to [husband] Ben's lucrative law practice, Georgia's lived a pampered life, and the couple has always indulged their two daughters.... But when mother and daughters find themselves virtually penniless...they come together, not always harmoniously, and do what they have to do to survive... [A]lthough there are a few missteps, particularly toward the end when the resolution seems hard to swallow, the perfectly frothy, romantic story will appeal to readers who want a few hours to engage in a different world.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. When Georgia's husband dies suddenly, she learns that he's left their family nothing. How does she respond to this news? How would you have responded?

2. Georgia was oblivious to her husband”s secret life. What prevented her from seeing the truth? Do you think this happens to many wives?

3. The "Silver-Waltz” daughters, Nicola and Luey, are as unlike as honey and sardines. How are they different from each other and how does Georgia relate to each of them? Do you think she prefers one daughter to the other? How does the novel comment on nature versus nurture in addressing having an adopted child as well as a biological one?

4. Sally Koslow alternates perspectives throughout the novel. How does this stylistic choice affect the telling of the story? How do you imagine The Widow Waltz would be different if it was told entirely in the third person?

5. Georgia's relationship with her brother Stephan has always been troubled. How do her newfound circumstances change their dynamic and attitude toward one another? Do you know siblings who have grown much closer in middle age?

6. How do Georgia's feelings about Ben evolve and shift over the course of the book?

7, How do Georgia's feelings about her mother evolve and shift over the course of the book?

8. Georgia must eventually accept her revised reality and attempt to rebuild her life. Do you feel Georgia made the right process in this process? If faced with this challenge, how do you imagine you would move forward?

9. After Ben's death, Nicola and Luey must also make hard decisions about their futures, including career choices and relationships. What factors come into play that affect their choices? Do you like one sister better than the other and if so, why?

10. Not all readers may agree with the big choices Luey had to make. What advice would you have given her?

11. Georgia ultimately discovers what happened to her fortune. How would you have reacted in the same situation?

12. Consider the meaning of true forgiveness. What allows people to move on from betrayals such as the one Georgia experiences?

13. Although The Widow Waltz is in many ways a tale of loss and desperation, it is told with witty barbs. What is the role of humor in this book? Imagine how The Widow Waltz might be different without this element.
(Questions issued by publisher.)

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