Babyville

To have a baby or not to have a baby, that is the question that's facing Jane Green's heroines in her fifth novel, Babyville. Julia, Maeve and Sam are pondering the pros and cons of procreation; the effect that it could have on their careers, partners and lives.

The novel opens with Julia, a successful TV producer, with her legs straight up in the air, encouraging her boyfriend Mark's sperm to reach their destination. Julia thinks she wants a baby to fill the huge gap that has suddenly appeared in her life. But Mark thinks:

We don't make love anymore. We make babies. And we're failing.

Babyville is played out in the present tense, with a staccato style delivery, with beats of humour between the emotional labour. The emotions may be powerful and universal, but the prose style may need a longer fermentation period. --Eithne Farry

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a superb read! - Rated
I have just finished this book as I bought all the jane Green books after reading Mr maybe and this book yet again did not disappoint! Its about 3 separate women and their thoughts and feelings on babies etc but no1 seems to get what they want and these women are all bought together in a way and its a nice ending a must read definitely recommended! Well Done Jane Green!

Couldn't put it down - Rated
This is the first Jane Green book I have read and I loved it. I agree with the previous comment about the stories not being finished before you move onto the next person, but all the loose ends do get tied up and all your questions get answered, as you fill in some of the blanks of Julia's story whilst reading about Maeve and then you learn more about Maeve and Julia whilst reading about Sam. Loved each of the separate stories and think they could have worked as books in their own right.
Read this if you're a new mum, thinking of starting a family, pregnant or have no desire to start a family right now! Whatever your situation you will love it.

Hillarious! - Rated
This novel by Jane Green is one of her funniest! It will have you laughing from start to finish! A real gem to any woman who is thinking about having a baby, pregnant or had a baby in her life time! A great insight to a womans mind when she is going through the stages of starting a family with that witty Jane Green twist! A must read!!

Better than her previous effort - Rated
I read this book shortly after reading bookends, and thankfully it was much better.

The story is about three women, who's lives are interlinked, but the story is split into three sections.

The first section is about Julia, who is living with her boyfriend of 4 years mark. They are unhappy together, and are trying for a baby to patch up the holes in their relationship (not a good idea). Julia is unable to get pregnant though, and ends up getting stressed and being given time off work to sort herself out. She then proceeds to go to new york to see her best friend who lives there, and ends up back to her normal self, so doesn't go back to the UK.

The second part of the story is about Mauve, who takes over julias job whilst she is taking time off, and finds herself pregnant with julias boyfriends baby, before julia has even left the country! she decides to have an abortion but is talked out of it by mark, and they eventually end up together.

The third part of the story is about Sam, who is julias best friend, and is suffering from post-natal depression after the birth of her baby george. This part of the story deals witht he isolation and marriage problems caused by the baby, but eventually sam ends up befriending mauve and everything turns out okay.

This story is enjoyable, but the book was slightly weird in that the first part is written in the third person - (julia said), the second part is written in the first person - (i said (maeve)), and the third part is again written int he third person - (sam said). It is also slightly irritating, in that julias story is not really finished when the book moves onto maeves story, and maeves story is not really finished when it moves onto sam's story. justa s you begin to care about what happens to a character, its all over!

overall though a fairly good read.

Babyville - Rated
A reviewer from HELLO! Magazine describes `BABYVILLE' as unputdownable and Jane Green's fourth novel to be released in the US is just that indeed...unputdownable!
`BABYVILLE' focuses on three main characters, Julia who is trying to have a baby to no avail, Maeve, a career woman who never wanted children and now faces the most important decision of her life, and Sam a new mother of seven month old George, who never realized exactly how much a baby can turn ones life upside down. Each story gives you a different perspective of pregnancy and motherhood, one of which I am sure everyone can relate to.
In this novel Jane Green takes a look at a subject rarely touched on in this type of chick lit and makes it light and funny (all the while giving all us non-mothers something to think about =).