In Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, Rhoda Janzen has all the elements of woe necessary for some serious whining. And she deserves to whine! She suffers and then beats cancer only to have her husband leave her for another man which is followed (by a mere few days) of being hit head on in her car by a young driver. But don't worry, this is no plot giveaway. Janzen tells you all this by page 14 — now the memoir can get going. Janzen is going home to the Mennonites for a little rest and recovery. We watch as Janzen reacquaints herself with parents, siblings, friends, and even meets (and dates) some new people along the way. Much of this is humor waiting to happen, but Janzen's take makes it hilarious.
The valuable blurb on the cover from Elizabeth Gilbert (of Eat, Pray, Love fame) claims she rarely laughs aloud, but Janzen's voice "slays" her. Gilbert gets my backing on this one. Rare is the book which is laugh-out-loud funny, but Janzen has that gift. Her humor is dry, self-deprecating, and honest. Her scene of mom's dating advice in the Christmas checkout lane at Best Buy raises the bar in humor.
Janzen's mom is the real hero of the book as she goes throughout life with a faith which makes her see the positive in all situations, finds discussing "poop" while eating normal, and by the end of the book is farting loudly in Kohl's due to some medical issues. Farting is okay, figures mom, since that is what the body is supposed to do. This woman is real!
Janzen is aiming for "realness" herself. She is critically honest about her shortcomings and has no hesitation holding herself up as exhibit one in how to mess up your life. Perhaps she has inherited her mother's positive outlook, but so far she is using it to put a gloss on the past instead of the future.
She knows she has the sympathy angle sewn up with the cancer, the husband leaving her for "Bob on Gay.com" (which becomes Bob's name throughout the book), and the car accident. Plus, just for kicks, her husband's leaving places her in a financially tenuous position because of an expensive house he wanted to buy and she now owns, but can no longer afford alone. But she does not want your sympathy and seems to avoid people who would give it. The cancer causes her to wear a "pee bag" which provides Janzen with no end of amusement, and she passes on a support group because she is not really all that upset about having her uterus removed. Heck, she is not planning on kids anyway!
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