The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax
Summary:
When Emily Pollifax answers the phone that Sunday morning, she quickly forgets all about her Garden Club tea that afternoon. For the voice on the other end belonged to a man she had never seen, a man from the CIA who asked her if she could leave immediately on a mission that would take her halfway across the world! What could Mrs. Pollifax say but yes? (retrieved from Fantastic Fiction >> )
Group Reviews/Comments:
Opinions were mixed about this book:
4 thumbs up.
2 thumbs down.
1 thumb hovering in the middle.
My favorite comment, especially since I agree, was, “I want to be Mrs. Pollifax when I grow up!”
Those who liked Mrs. Pollifax tended be more lenient to the utter absurdity of the plot. Another spot on comment was how you had to decide if you were going to “laugh with it or laugh at it.” If you were prepared to sit back and enjoy the “romp” and laugh with it, it was a thoroughly enjoyable beach read cozy. If you were going to laugh at it, it was a dated, “massively improbable” novel.
There was even some dissent as to whether or not the characters and scenes were appropriate for their time or not (remember, the book was published in 1970). One member commented on how ladies of a “certain age” did dress and act just like Mrs. Pollifax, with the hair and the hats and gloves, etc. Others felt that even the “love in” felt out of time and place.
One final note: the two men in our group couldn’t even finish it. The women were more likely to enjoy it as a sweet cozy or at least tolerate it for what it was.