Five Women

The five women in Five Women are all New Yorkers in their 40s or 50s — a successful psychologist who's afraid of love; a self-obsessed actress; a lawyer locked in a terrible marriage; a faded rock star; and a resilient divorcee — who meet weekly at a restaurant to gab about their lives. Using this roundtable talk-fest, with flashbacks to the women's pasts (abusive husbands and parents abound), Rona Jaffe delves into the midlife, middle-class feminine psyche, making the book about as deep — and as enjoyable — as a really good Oprah. B