Tag Archives: marriage

Early Review: When It Happens to You

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When It Happens to You by Molly Ringwald (pub date 8/14/12)

Molly Ringwald was one of the ticketed authors at this year’s BEA, and I was one of the lucky ones who got to meet her and pick up a copy of her new book.  The line of fans waiting to meet her was certainly booming; I couldn’t believe I even got a ticket!  But though I have long admired Molly’s film career, the little voice in the back of my mind was wondering if she could write a novel.  In 2010 she wrote the nonfiction book Getting the Pretty Back, so obviously she can write.  But writing fiction is, as one of my professors loves to say, “a completely different animal.”

So can Molly Ringwald write fiction?  Yes, yes, and more yes!  I was immediately sucked into this story, and was drawn to the nuanced and realistic characters.

When It Happens to You is a novel written in the format of connected short stories.  Each story is told from the perspective of a different character, but they all revolve around a central plot.  The book tells the story of Greta and Phillip, a couple whose marriage is falling apart.  As the stories progress, all the subtleties of their twenty-year relationship are revealed.  Then we see how their marital troubles have rippled the pond around them: how they affect their friends, family and their six-year-old daughter Charlotte.

Some stories focus very little on Greta and Phillip, but still manage to circle back to the main plot.  For example, the story “Olivia” is about a friend of Phillip’s who is struggling to raise a transgendered child.  And “The Little One” is about an elderly woman whose unlikely kinship with Charlotte helps her rekindle her relationship with her estranged daughter.

The stories in When It Happens to You are good on their own, quite but beautiful when bound together in this collection.  What I enjoyed most about this book were the characters.  Ringwald’s characters are dynamic and life-like, and her stories are touching and relatable.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys literary fiction, and would love to read another novel by Molly Ringwald if she ever writes one!

Book Review: Tigers in Red Weather

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Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann (pub date 7/17/12)

“Houses, husbands, and midnight gin parties. . . Nothing’s going to change.  Not in any way that really matters.  It will be like always.”

I love novels about dysfunctional families, probably because it’s nice to think that there are families more messed up than my own.  I kid, I kid.  But for me there’s something so satisfying about a book in which family secrets are slowly revealed, and the characters show their true selves.

Tigers in Red Weather is just such a book.  Set in post-World War II America, Tigers tells the story of cousins Nick and Helena and twenty years of their family drama.  At the beginning of the novel, Nick and Helena are having one last drink together before they separate for the first time in their lives.  The cousins are moving away to join their respective husbands: Helena is moving to Hollywood to marry the enterprising Avery, while Nick is moving to Florida to live with her Navy veteran husband Hughes.

Little do they know that that night might be the last time they were truly happy.  After years of disenchantment with marriage and motherhood, Nick and Helena find themselves changed, and find their once close relationship strained beyond recognition.  The rest of the novel takes place in the family’s cherished summer home on Martha’s Vineyard, known as Tiger House.  Things change for Nick and Helena when their twelve-year-old children, Daisy and Ed, discover the body of a murder victim on the island.  That one event shakes the family to its core, uncovering years of resentment, secrets, and infidelities.

The book tells the story from the separate viewpoints of the five main characters and jumps around in the timeline, going back and forth between the 1940s, 1959, and 1967.  The changing perspectives and non-linear storytelling help build the drama and give the reader a more complete understanding of the book’s events.

While I enjoyed Tigers in Red Weather very much, it wasn’t quite what I expected it to be.  The plot description would have you believe that kids finding the dead body was the main plot point, but it was really just a catalyst that leads to this family’s undoing.  But with its great writing and well thought out characters, I was far from disappointed.  This is another example in which the characters make the story, and that story is definitely intense and at times disturbing.

With an air of mystery and a touch of faded glamour, Tigers is a great dramatic story.  A perfect summer read for those looking for an alternative to the usual “beach reads.”

Book Review: How To Be a Woman

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How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran (pub date 7/17/12)

“What is feminism? Simply the belief that women should be as free as men, however nuts, dim, deluded, badly dressed, fat, receding, lazy, and smug they might be.  Are you a feminist?  Hahaha.  Of course you are.”

Caitlin Moran is my new personal hero, and I only just heard of her four days ago.  She’s a British journalist, broadcaster, and TV critic with one hell of a personality.  And she worked for “Melody Maker” magazine in the 90s during the height of the Britrock era, which was my absolute hands-down dream job all throughout eight grade and most of high school.  But I digress…

Aside from living the life I wanted during my pubescent years, Moran is the author of this part memoir, part feminist manifesto How To Be a Woman.  First published in the UK last year, this hit title made its way across the pond this week.

In her book, Moran shares her most memorable personal experiences from age thirteen to adulthood, experiences that shaped the woman she became.  From discovering the joys of masturbation, to body image issues, sex, marriage, pregnancy, and her first encounters with sexism, Moran relates her life to the bigger issues women face every day.  She ponders the things that are supposed to make us “womanly,” like Brazilian waxes, big weddings, and an interest in fashion.  She also argues the pros and cons of strip clubs, and lists the best and worst words to call your vagina.

What I loved most about this book was its perfect mixture of humor and seriousness.  While Moran’s hilarious observations had me cracking up, her chapter on abortion was reverent and thought-provoking.  And while she is a mother of two, I still want to give a big thumbs-up and thank you for her chapter defending the childfree lifestyle.

So what is the book’s overall message?  Every woman is a feminist!  Moran asserts that if you have a vagina and want to be in control of it, you are a feminist.  It’s not about maintaining a certain image or about hating men (this is NOT an anti-man book, just in case you were wondering), it’s about freedom and equality.

I don’t read many memoirs, but I loved How To Be a Woman.  If you’re a woman, you should read it.  There will definitely be something in it that you can identify with.  Fans of ‘The Bloggess’ Jenny Lawson will be able to appreciate this book’s sense of humor.  Some people may find the British slang a bit tricky, but it won’t affect your understanding of the book.  And if you’re thinking that you’re not a feminist, you need to read this book even more, because you’re the ones it was written for.

Early Review: Gone Girl

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Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (pub date 6/5/12)

“Can you imagine, finally showing your true self to your spouse, your soul mate, and having him not like you?  So that’s how the hating first began.”

I’ve always believed that great characters are what make a great story.  Making a fictional character seem human is a lot more difficult than it seems.  I’ve read plenty of books in which the author spent way too much time on “what happens next” and no time developing the characters.  But here is a book with incredibly realistic characters. . . in fact they’re frighteningly real.

It’s a story we’re all familiar with: a beautiful and much-loved woman goes missing, the story goes national, the public begins suspecting the husband.  However, Gone Girl takes this storyline and turns it upside down.  When Amy Elliott Dunne goes missing on her fifth wedding anniversary, her husband Nick is shocked and terrified.  Despite the fact that their marriage had been rocky in recent years, Nick cooperates fully with the police investigation.  Amy is controlling and often manipulative, but Nick still wants her back.  But then the police discover Amy’s secret diaries, revealing secrets that Nick would rather have kept hidden.  Suddenly the “golden couple” doesn’t seem so perfect.

The story twists and turns all throughout the book, keeping you guessing until the very end.  Was Amy kidnapped, or did she run away to escape an unhappy marriage?  Is the whole thing a hoax?  Is Nick capable of murder?  Filled with nonstop suspense, Gone Girl is both a thriller and a portrait of a marriage in trouble.

I want to go on but I don’t want to risk giving anything away.  I simply loved this book.  I can’t say enough how amazingly real the characters are.  Nick and Amy are two incredibly dark, screwed-up people.  They remind me so much of the couple from House on Haunted Hill (the Vincent Price one, not that remake garbage).  The lies, the manipulation, the deviousness on both their parts, it all makes for an enthralling (and at times disturbing) read.  And the ending is delightfully subtle, sure to inspire debate in book clubs everywhere.  I personally couldn’t stop thinking about it for hours after I had finished the book.

When I say that characters make the story, this is what I mean!  Gone Girl has fascinating characters and a tightly woven plot, and is a must-read for fans of suspenseful stories.

Early Review: The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D

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The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D. by Nichole Bernier (pub date 6/5/12)

“That’s the funny thing about people who don’t fit into a box.  They grow to infiltrate everything, and when they suddenly go missing, they are missing everywhere.”

Who knows you the most?  Is there anyone in your life who knows all of your secrets, your past, your craziest thoughts?  Think about the people in your life closest to you: your spouse/partner, parents, friends.  Is there a part of you that none of them knows?  For some people, the one who knows them the most is not a person but a journal. 

The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D is about a thirty-something wife and mother named Kate whose best friend Elizabeth died in a plane crash.  Several months after Elizabeth’s death, Kate finds out that Elizabeth had willed her a trunk full of old journals, along with explicit instructions that Kate be the one to read them.  Though she is at first reluctant to read her friend’s private journals, Kate accepts her new duty out of loyalty to Elizabeth.

Kate takes the journals along on her vacation, and quickly discovers an Elizabeth completely unlike the one she thought she knew.  The cheerful, capable Elizabeth was a mere shell, hiding a painful past and crippling depression.  Kate struggles to reconcile her own guilt over not recognizing her friend’s suffering, and also deals with constant inquiries from Elizabeth’s widowed husband Dave about what is in the journals.  Resentful that the journals were given to Kate and not him, Dave has doubts about what his wife was really doing on the day she died.

I really enjoyed this bittersweet debut novel.  Bernier captures all of the joy, angst, and uncertainty that comes with the best friend relationship.  And though Elizabeth’s character is dead all throughout the story, she came alive through the journal entries.  It takes a great writer to make a dead character seem alive, and Elizabeth is a rich and dynamic character, as is Kate.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories about women’s relationships, and also to anyone who enjoys real-life human drama.  It’s an absorbing and very enjoyable story, and it might make you think about the secrets we all keep, even from our best friend.

Early Review: The Ruins of Us

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The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen (pub date 1/17/12)

What would you be willing to do to marry someone from another culture?  Imagine changing your religion, learning a new language, and moving to another continent to be with the person you love.

The Ruins of Us is about a woman who has done just that.  Rosalie is a beautiful American, born in Texas, who is married to a sheik named Abdullah.  Rosalie left her life behind to live with Abdullah in Saudi Arabia, and quickly adapted to Saudi culture.  She converted to Islam, learned Arabic, and dressed and acted as was expected of the women in Abdullah’s country.  Together they raised two children, and enjoy the life of luxury that Abdullah’s wealth has provided.  But Rosalie’s illusions of a happy life are quickly shattered when she inadvertently learns that Abdullah has taken a second wife, and had been keeping his other marriage a secret for two years.

Shaken and angry, Rosalie starts to reconsider her life with Abdullah and her place in Saudi culture.  What is interesting about the book is that it also considers Abdullah’s perspective on the marriage.  He is shown as a man who cares deeply for his wife, yet finds himself yearning for the person she was before they were married.  It is an interesting paradox to think that he fell in love with Rosalie because she was not like Saudi women, while knowing deep down that she would have to adapt to Saudi culture in order to be accepted by his family, and later resenting her for it.

The turmoil in Rosalie and Abdullah’s marriage makes them too preoccupied to see its effects on their teenage children.  Their daughter Mariam years to be a more modern woman, and begins pushing the boundaries of acceptable behavior for girls at her school.  Their son Faisal takes the opposite approach; he falls in with a group of radical Muslim fundamentalists, and comes to hate his own American heritage.

This is a powerful debut novel.  The characters are bold and dynamic.  It is interesting to contemplate Rosalie’s character, a woman who prides herself on her independence and spirit, yet who chose to live in a country where she is not legally permitted to drive a car.  Abdullah is not entirely unsympathetic; he loves his wife but is conflicted by what is acceptable in his culture and how it affects his marriage.  This is a story about love and loyalty that is both well written and engaging.  It’s a relevant and entertaining read from a great new author!

Book Review: The Lantern

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The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson (pub date 8/9/11)
 

 
The Lantern is a modern-day retelling of the classic novel Rebecca.  It isn’t shy about telling us this, either, since at one point in the story the female protagonist Eve describes how she just happens to be reading Rebecca and is surprised to see how much it resembles her own life.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to an homage or a retelling of a classic story.  But a note to the author: we get it.  We don’t need the not-so-subtle hint that this story is based on Rebecca.  That’s like in the Twilight series when Bella spends an entire freaking chapter reading “Romeo and Juliet” and commenting on how she and Edward come from different worlds.  Stephanie Meyer may feel the need to beat her readers over the head with literary references, but Deborah Lawrenson is a better writer than that.
 
Moving on, The Lantern contains all the basic plot elements that Rebecca does: girl meets boy, falls in love, runs away to be with boy, boy can’t get over his missing ex-wife, girl feels overshadowed by ex-wife’s memory and wonders if boy really loves her.  Just substitute Les Genevriers for Manderley and Rachel for Rebecca and you have this book.  The novel also contains a subplot involving the former owners of the Les Genevriers estate, with each chapter switching back and forth between Eve’s story in the present day and Benedicte’s story decades in the past.  While this subplot is interesting to read, it makes it hard to get into the book.  The introduction of Benedicte’s story seemed clumsy at first, and it wasn’t until I was several chapters in that I realized what kind of structure the story was trying to take.  Also included is an unsatisfying second subplot about missing village girls that need not have been included in the book at all.
 
Surprisingly enough, I did not think this was a bad book.  Despite the structural issues, it actually is well written.  Unfortunately it seemed as though it didn’t know what kind of a book it wanted to be.  The author likely included the subplot about Benedicte so as not to make this book too similar to Rebecca, but this left me confused as to whether the book was supposed to be mainly about Eve’s relationship with Dom, or about the history of the estate.  If it is meant to be more about the estate, the plot descriptions on Amazon and NetGalley are rather misleading.  All in all, The Lantern is a decent story with nice imagery, just not thoroughly satisfying.

Early Review: Domestic Violets

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Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman (Pub date September 2011)

Domestic Violets

Anyone who’s ever wanted to do something creative for a living will likely have a ‘dreams v. responsibility’ crisis at some point in their life.  Is it better to stay with the job you hate because it’s safe, or should you give it up for a chance to live your life the way you’ve always wanted?  It’s a feeling I can certainly relate to, as I am currently lingering in corporate hell waiting to finish my degree.

Domestic Violets is a novel about choosing the road less travelled.  Our protagonist, Tom Violet, is a man living in his famous father’s shadow, working at a mindless job while secretly working on his Great American Novel.  At the same time he’s plagued by the suspicion that his wife is having an affair, while also dealing with his womanizing father showing up at his house for an extended stay.  Things come to a head when the subversive Tom decides to make a daring move that shocks those around him and sets his life on a different course.

The best thing about Domestic Violets is the writing style.  With a biting wit, Matthew Norman expresses Tom’s feelings of frustration and resentment as he goes through his near-midlife crisis.  And Norman’s descriptions of corporate absurdity are downright hysterical:

“The team of mouthbreathing goons in IT couldn’t monitor the broad side of a barn.  I could be buying plutonium from the Libyans on http://www.jihad.org right now and no one would know the difference as long as I kept staring straight ahead like a good hardworking employee.”

This book captures perfectly the sense of despair and bitterness that often affect creative people stuck in the hamster wheel of corporate America.  It reminds me slightly of Fight Club, although not quite as bold.

This is an enjoyable book.  It’s not the most original story I’ve ever read, and a little predictable, but the humor and snappy dialog make it worth reading.  Anyone with a weird family, a boring job, or a desire to change their life will find it relatable.