JUNE 2012 - AudioFile
Tracee, Lana, and Rita are on the run, each escaping from a messy situation. When their car runs off the road in the middle of the night, they break into a country bar and are astonished to find it's home to a caged full-grown lion. Narrator Natasha Lyonne gives the women distinct voices that project a delightful mix of spunk and sass. Lyonne's skill at conveying a broad range of emotions is showcased in this amusing story of mixed-signals, deep friendship, and personal growth. From sweet-talking the bar owner into giving them jobs to deep soul-searching and letting go of destructive secrets, Tracee, Lana, and Rita find courage and redemption, thanks to their special bond with Marcel the lion. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
Ephron's newest (after The Girl with the Mermaid Hair) follows a trio of women looking to escape their pasts and build a new life in an unlikely place and with an even stranger companion—a former circus lion named Marcel. Lana is a tough recovering alcoholic who has always served as protector of her best friend, Tracee, a kleptomaniac abandoned by her parents when she was young, and currently on the run from dashed hopes that her bum ex would propose. While fixing a flat on their getaway Mustang, Lana and Tracee—still in her immaculate stolen gown—meet Rita, a middle-aged wife and mother wandering down the road, seeking a life apart from her controlling and unloving pastor husband. When an accident leaves them stranded outside a haphazardly built diner called The Lion—complete with a big cat in a big cage—the women's journeys stall, but their lives intertwine and grow together. Taking up as waitresses at the restaurant, they find comfort in their differences, and the strange allure of Marcel—once the center of attention in the big-top—impels the women to reclaim their lives. Ephron fans and newcomers alike will find plenty to enjoy in this fun, refreshing, and incredibly touching read. (May)
From the Publisher
Praise for THE LION IS IN by Delia Ephron:
"One of the sharpest observers of human behavior around, Ephron, with her trademark mastery of smart, snappy dialogue, delivers a read-in-one-sitting, feel-good celebration of resiliency and hope."
Booklist
"Three women embark on a journey of self-discovery, facilitated by a giant feline, in Ephron's whimsical but winsome third novel."
Kirkus Reviews
"Imagine if Siegfried & Roy had written Water for Elephants … The Lion Is In is off to the races from the first sentence. [A] fun ride."
Tampa Bay Times
"The best kind of chick lit - an engaging feminist romance from which the reader emerges with a welcome mood boost. Twinkling with wit and warmth, it also packs a moral punch: We need to forgive not just each other, but ourselves, make amends wherever we can and just ease the heck up already."-Newark Star Ledger
"Ephron fans and newcomers alike will find plenty to enjoy in this fun, refreshing, and incredibly touching read."-Publisher's Weekly
"This wistfully wacky story features a stolen wedding dress, AA meetings, a driving instructor as romantic hero, a cranky nightclub owner and a God-fearing villain. As Marcel roars his wisdom, each woman becomes brave enough to free herself from her own cage."-More
"Readers seeking a heartfelt, offbeat adventure will adore Ephron's fragile but feisty heroines…The perfect getaway for readers who long to reconnect with their inner selves, this quirky comedy's sense of wonder will delight and inspire."-Shelf Awareness
"Sweet, satisfying, and worth the wait."-New York Times Book Review
JUNE 2012 - AudioFile
Tracee, Lana, and Rita are on the run, each escaping from a messy situation. When their car runs off the road in the middle of the night, they break into a country bar and are astonished to find it's home to a caged full-grown lion. Narrator Natasha Lyonne gives the women distinct voices that project a delightful mix of spunk and sass. Lyonne's skill at conveying a broad range of emotions is showcased in this amusing story of mixed-signals, deep friendship, and personal growth. From sweet-talking the bar owner into giving them jobs to deep soul-searching and letting go of destructive secrets, Tracee, Lana, and Rita find courage and redemption, thanks to their special bond with Marcel the lion. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
Three women embark on a journey of self-discovery, facilitated by a giant feline, in Ephron's whimsical but winsome third novel. Twenty-somethings Tracee and Lana, best friends since childhood, have left Baltimore on the run from an unnamed crisis, but Tracee's escape attire--a designer wedding dress--provides a clue to the zaniness to follow. Lana, a recovering alcoholic who dropped out of college, is fixing a flat when drab, middle-aged Rita, who's been walking the highway for several hours, offers a hand. Rita accepts a ride in Lana's Mustang, destination unknown. Outside the rural village of Fairville, N.C., Tracee falls asleep at the wheel and totals the car. Seeking shelter, the women happen upon a ramshackle roadhouse called The Lion. Breaking in, they are shocked to discover an actual lion caged in a corner. The Lion's slovenly owner, Clayton, hires all three women as waitresses, although he at first consigns Rita to menial chores for insufficient hotness. Tim, a gangly but kind young man who works at the local dollar store as well as for Clayton, finds lodging for the women, who are stuck in Fairville until they can earn enough to fix the Mustang. Since the furniture industry outsourced all the jobs, everyone in Fairville is scrabbling for a living, and business is slow at the Lion. This changes when Rita and the lion, whose name is Marcel, form a special bond. Soon, she's taking Marcel for early-morning walks and performing lion-taming stunts in the bar at night. The characters undergo transformations as The Lion draws crowds. Clayton spruces up and tries to court Rita, who's newly confident and adventurous after decades in the stifling marriage she fled. Lana, whose confession in a town AA meeting is used against her by the local police, begins to rebuild the bridges she's burned, and Tracee, a kleptomaniac, finds a refuge from past bad boyfriend woes. Although the life-affirming message is hardly subtle, Ephron delivers it with finesse.
