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COPYRIGHT 2003 All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of The Condé Nast Publications Inc.
John Updike reviews "My Life as a Fake," by Peter Carey
The notion that dating, mating, and marriage take place within a marketplace is a conceit universally observed by writers of comedic-dramatic television shows, directors of romantic comedies in Hollywood, and authors of "chick lit" novels loosely based on plots from Jane Austen or Edith Wharton. Objective measures of eligibility--appearance, earning power, age--are understood to determine whether individuals will be perceived as desirable commodities (the six-foot-two investment banker; the communications director with a good decade of childbearing years still ahead of her) or relegated to the remainder bin, shopworn by blind dates and disappointments.
Rachel Greenwald's new book, "Find a Husband After 35 Using What I Learned at Harvard Business School" (Ballantine; $22.95), takes the notion of the marketplace literally, and addresses those single women who worry that their comparative value is dwindling with each passing year. "You, the reader, are the 'product,' " Greenwald, H.B.S. Class of 1993, writes. "And The Program"--her fifteen-step course to matrimonial satisfaction, which she also provides in workshops that she conducts around the country--"is a 'strategic plan' to help you 'market' yourself to find your future husband." There are twenty-eight million single women in America, Greenwald writes, and a dedicated husband-hunter should be no less zealous than General Mills in distinguishing her product from the competition. Greenwald urges women to embrace the business practices they know from the workplace and apply them to private life. "When you've finished this book, you will be able to devise and advertise your personal brand, know how to get out of your rut, be able to create a winning plan to increase the volume of men you meet, conduct...
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