Liza is a would-be poet who spends miserable days as a legal secretary, while her sister, Bette, is teaching at a prestigious university and writing her dissertation on Toast in the English Novel. Bette has even taken to eating only that which the characters she is writing about would eat: nice cups of tea, boiled egg on toast, mincemeat.... Liza is a bit concerned. She is also concerned about the status of her relationship with her actor boyfriend Gregor. They are not living together, and that is a problem.

Then there is the issue of Liza's career, or the lack thereof. Can dog walking be considered a career? Liza is beginning to think so. Mercifully, Bette is merely a local phone call away.

By the end of this charming novel, the sisters have dealt with unemployment, infidelity, interfering parents, Hollywood, lemmings, a pregnancy, and a wedding. Smart, poignant, and very funny, The Perfect Elizabeth will strike a chord with anyone who has a sister who is nothing like them, anyone who has a sister who is just like them, and anyone who ever wanted a sister.

"Do not open this book. It's so good. You'll start, and you won't be able to stop. It has the addictive power of a bag of Oreos or a bowl of chocolate pudding; a modest amount will not satisfy you. Just one more delicious page...