The Book: Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, by Rhoda Janzen
The Story: (From Goodreads) Not long after Rhoda Janzen turned forty, her world turned upside down. It was bad enough that her brilliant husband of fifteen years left her for Bob, a guy he met on Gay.com, but that same week a car accident left her with serious injuries. What was a gal to do? Rhoda packed her bags and went home. This wasn’t just any home, though. This was a Mennonite home. While Rhoda had long ventured out on her own spiritual path, the conservative community welcomed her back with open arms and offbeat advice. (Rhoda’s good-natured mother suggested she date her first cousin—he owned a tractor, see.) It is in this safe place that Rhoda can come to terms with her failed marriage; her desire, as a young woman, to leave her sheltered world behind; and the choices that both freed and entrapped her.
What I Thought: So most of you guys know that I live in Ohio. We have a lot of Amish and Mennonite up in this piece. I went to school with quite a few Mennonite kids and while I was slightly familiar with their rules and customs I never really understood where it all came from. I knew that the believed the Bible but also knew that there were a lot of “extra” rules too… so anyway, when I saw this, I was instantly intrigued. The idea that she had grown up Mennonite, got seriously into the world of academia and then ended up BACK with her parents? Totally fascinating because it provides these really different perspectives from really different times in her life.
Right?
Wrong.
The kiddie pool had more depth than this book. The first little chunk (her life after leaving the Mennonite culture) was really interesting and funny. Her talking about her then-husband dealing with her pee bag when she got sick? Hilarious. Her commentary about him turning out to be gay? Still somewhat hilarious. She even made getting hit by a car seem kind of comical… then she went to live with her parents and…. well… the whole book took a dive.
I don’t know if she was afraid to explore actual issues, if she truly didn’t have many, or if she just didn’t want to air any dirty laundry but it all dried up quick, fast and in a hurry. It seemed like her (very few) issues with her parents had nothing really to do with the fact that they were Mennonite- in fact, they seemed really liberal and educated in comparison to most people around them- and more to do with just normal adult kid/parent issues, ya know? Her childhood stories and embarrassments that she chalks up to being “Mennonite Stories” really weren’t- they are just universal growing-up things and somewhere along the way, the author has gotten that all mixed up.
A large part of the book was just about her quest for dates… which of course is always a little silly, especially when it’s coming from someone as witty as the author… but I guess I thought that I was going to be getting something more than a little dating memoir… because generally I can’t stand dating memoirs. I love someone that can laugh at themselves and Rhoda Janzen can do that for sure, but I was left wanting something more.
I guess what it comes down to is that Rhoda Janzen is probably pretty fun to talk to- her brand of humor and snark are pretty close to mine, but I don’t need to read 250 pages of it. I ESPECIALLY don’t need to read 250 pages of it in a growing up/dating memoir that is cloaked as a look at a certain religion. It just seems cheap.
Conclusion: While I can’t be positive or recommend anything specific, there HAS to be something better out there on the Mennonite culture… if you are just looking for light, frothy chic lit though- this is all you.