Love with Noodles: An Amorous Widower's Tale

Freund's debut novel, set amongst the Park Avenue Jewish social set, skates by on a breeze of light social comedy. Two years after his beloved wife's death, 60-year-old Upper East Side stockbroker Dan Gelder finds himself "back in the saddle," pursued by eligible women of a certain age, each looking for love and comfort in their rapidly approaching golden years. An unexpected Romeo, Dan juggles the demands of his numerous suitors while still preoccupied with the memory of his wife and burdened with concern for his ne'er-do-well son, Eric (who's marrying a shiksa ). Soon, Dan is caught between two polar-opposite women: Violet Finkel, a filthy-rich dynamo who takes over his life, and Tatiana, a struggling Russian immigrant with a piano-prodigy son. A male version of a Judith Krantz novel, Freund's book makes for New York–centric pornography, being as much about the joy of real estate and money as sex. Dan, though, is an engaging presence, whose ambivalent romping as he recovers from grief renders him multidimensional. For those with a yen for a kosher-style romance, this dish might hit the spot. (Sept.)