If you asked me to list my favorite movies, the majority would be John Carpenter and James Cameron titles. And right next to Aliens is the superior aka the original film adaptation of Clare Boothe Luce’s The Women. There’s a 2008 remake? No there is NOT!
And the best scenes in The Women aren’t the beauty salon or the climax at the nightclub. Norma Shearer is a dull eyed automaton taking up space while Rosalind Russell buzzes around and Joan Crawford oozes bad girl from every pore. The very best scenes are set on a dude ranch where mostly rich ladies wait for their six weeks of Nevada residency to kick in order to get Reno-vated (aka divorced). Paulette Goddard’s Miriam Aarons is so luminous and leaps off the scene. She’s modern and not quite like the other cast. Beyond glorious especially when Rosalind Russell appears and things happen. I love me some Paulette Goddard.
Between The Women and trying to tracking down a copy of Guestward Ho! a comic tale of a New Mexico dude ranch with Patrick Dennis as a co-author which has become a victim of the Deaccession Squad, of course I’m interested in a historical novel set in a 1930s dude ranch. A book with glowing reviews that might not be sappier than a New England maple syrup factory. I even made a special trip to the library to grab Julia Claiborne Johnson’s Better Luck Next Time from the New Fiction section after work.
And now for the basic plot. An retired doctor, Ward, is shown a picture by a young visitor and remembers his time working at a dude ranch, The Flying Leap. It’s a quirky little place, engineered to be the picture perfect dude ranch with lovely horses and ranch hands chosen as much for their resemblances to Hollywood leading men as their wrangling skills. Ward favors a young Clark Gable and Sam could give Gary Cooper a run for his money. Hubba hubba. Honestly the main reason for The Flying Leap is to be a soft place to land for wealthy women seeking quick divorces. Horses and riding are just a nice distraction.
Pity places like The Flying Leap don’t still exist, particularly when the spouse decides to be extremely chatty while I’m writing.
Back to Better Luck Next Time. The Flying Leap is welcoming new ladies for their six weeks in Nevada. We have the Zeppelin, an older woman of the world who still considers herself to be vibrant and attractive to the men folk. There’s a showgirl type who doesn’t seem very deep intellectually even though she is well traveled. And then we have our two heroines. The Mouse and the Doomed One. These are not their names but the moment they appeared on the page Emily (The Mouse) a meek San Francisco housewife and Nina (The Doomed One) a glamorous heiress with a pilot’s license and a string of husbands obtain brand spanking new names in my head.
And this is where my experience with Better Luck Next Time doesn’t match up with the vast majority of reviews I’ve seen. To my odd self, Better Luck Next Time is a nice read to crawl into bed with on a chilly night, something I can read in a few hours. A book that captures the imagination but doesn’t tax my brain and can be easily picked up and started again after the spouse comes into the bedroom. The fates of Emily and Nina aren’t a huge surprise. If would have been more surprising if Emily and Nina ran off with the dishy younger Ward and set up a triad. But that would be an entirely different novel indeed.
Better Luck Next Time is a perfectly fine book. If the book club at work was revived and I was allowed to suggest a title (which is another story to be told at another time), Better Luck Next Time would be a great choice. There’s something for everyone even cranky me. Learning Julia Claiborne Johnson’s own father worked at a dude ranch like The Flying Leap was interesting and the little tidbit one dude ranch did have a stagecoach to pick up their clients. The Zeppelin is delightful and I would love an entire book about her adventures in amour right up to her visit to The Flying Leap.
If you’re in the mood for a nice read? Grab Better Luck Next Time or better yet? Recommend it to your book club.
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