Don’t Make a Scene

by: Valerie Block

Published by: Ballantine Books

Reviewed by Linda Lee

Diane Kurasik is closing in on forty. A good job as the manager of the Bedford Street Cinema (a film revival house), and a rent-controlled apartment, make life enjoyable–even without the ring on her finger her family has expected before now. She’s dated plenty of men, just not the right one.

The cinema is undergoing renovations requiring extensive work, and a wonderful design firm is hired to take care of it. Vladimir, the sexy architect on the job, is a Cuban defector who left not only parents and siblings in Cuba, but also a wife and child he hasn’t seen in over a decade. The problem is he can’t convince her to divorce him. For years he has used this situation to protect himself from any woman wanting to get too involved. Aware of the circumstances, Diane still falls for him.

Knee deep in renovations, trying to keep the cinema running profitably, and growing more preoccupied with a complicated man, she isn’t prepared for eviction from her rent- controlled apartment. Initially Vladimir seems content to have her spend time at his place, but he quickly goes from tense to apathetic about their relationship. Diane tries living with her relatives and friends while she looks for another apartment with her real estate agent/friend. Her search for a place to call her own is both realistic and comedic, as she is set up on blind dates by her hosts.

When she employs Vladimir’s son, who has been able to get a visa for a visit with his long estranged father, things get stickier.

This is an entertaining read with side stories everyone should enjoy. Lots of film references (maybe too many for the non-cinemaeste) compare Diane’s life to the old movies she books for public viewing. A laughable look at the life of a single woman approaching middle age, and a political look at an abandoned life in Cuba, this book should make its way to an armchair near you.

Armchair Interviews says: Fun read for those important down times.

Author’s Web site: http://www.ValerieBlock.com