Belly Dancing for Beginners by Liz Byrski

This is definitely chick lit for the over 50's. You might say lots of sexy stuff then? No just women finding themselves after years of being repressed, with a hint of romance.

Bellydancing is the answer to all. ( I don't remember the belly dancing class I did in Deni a few years ago i being nearly as liberating as this book implies.)

The characters fit a pretty standard mould. Gayle is meek and mild with a brutal husband, living in an austenacious house that isn't of her choosing. She is a librarian ( of course) and generally appears to allow her husband to treat her like dirt. However the belly dancing reveals another side....

Brian is the brutal philandering obnoxious husband. No one can understand why Gayle would even have married him let alone live with him for 30 odd years. ( There is a dark secret here)

Angie, their newly married daughter appears to be repeating her mother's mistakes.

Marissa is the 60 year old dope growing, hippie, bellydancer with a traumatised past, advoiding love at all costs. ( She provides the entertainment at Angie's hens night)

Frank is the uptight Vietnam vet and copper looking for luurv particularly in Marissa's direction.

Sonya is the public servant boss invited to Angies wedding. She seems to make friends very easily. ( That is why she quickly becomes bosom buddies with the other belly dancers even though they only met last week.) She is everyone's friend and adviser except for family. They still treat her like a 12 yearold (so what's new). She has a few family skeletons she needs to sort out.

Oliver is a friend of Gayle and than Sonya. He thinks he is a feminist, following in his mother's footsteps but in actual fact all he can really think about is himself. He turns to the tango ( rather than bellydancing)and therapy to find his answers. I can't really see where he fits into the story except that the girls leaving on a belly dancing trip give him the opportunity to have coffee on his own ( and have even more deep and meaningful thoughts.)

Some how these characters mesh to make a story where each one tries to confront their dreams, their fears, their long lost relatives , friends and enemies. Somehow the key to all is bellydancing and a little therapy and lots of coffee and wine. I am surpised at how quickly these people clicked when individually they had been isolated ( and often hiding from each other) for so long. The story line is predictable and comfortable as all great chick lit should be. You feel slightly sick after reading it, like you have just eaten too much chocolate, but you still go back for more.There will probably be a sequal, or if not, a novel that has very similar characters and story lines that you can pig out on.