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When forty-four-year-old Amy O'Connell's husband Hugh tells her that he's leaving Dublin to backpack through Southeast Asia for six months without her and their three daughters, she doesn't know what to say. Sure, Hugh's been shutting her out since his father and best friend died one after the other, and she's worried. But will experimenting with a -- gulp -- open marriage for half a year really solve their problems? Or just create new ones?
That's the question in Marian Keyes's latest, The Break. Things would be easier if Hugh had a history as a cad. A wandering eye, a terrible temper, or even just a parsimonious spirit. But he's the kind, dependable man who made her believe in love after her awful first marriage -- and enrolled her in the cheese of the month club. Despite her daughters, her job as a celebrity publicist, and her suddenly Internet-famous mother, life without Hugh is still a slog, and Amy can barely get out of bed. So when her sister suggests that she reconnect with the crush she quashed a year ago, she doesn't dismiss it. What ensues is sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, but always complicated and real.
Much more than an introspective Irish Hall Pass, The Break has all of the sparkly somethings that make Keyes's fiction addictive: snarky humor, madcap shopping sprees, and big, crazy, blended families. It also examines the conundrum of being both the woman scorned and the other woman, of wanting to even the score but also forfeit. In this way, it reminds me of some of her earlier novels, particularly Sushi for Beginners and The Other Side of the Story. It's an absorbing read for anyone, married or not, but will ring truest with wives.
The Break clocks in at six-hundred-and-sixty pages, but from the very first chapter, time flies. You won't care about the (time) commitment, but instead be caught up in that old Ladies' Home Journal column of a question: Can this marriage be saved?
5 comments:
Oh, she is one of my favorite women's fiction authors! Such a delightful review. I can see Ewing McGregor starring as the husband. I wish I could read as fast as you do. And it's great that you remember what you read too! Thanks so much for that! I dunno, there are people I know on library staff and old friends (who aren't that old) who read so much but can never tell me anything about the book they just read. Thanks so much!
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Hope you are having a lovely Easter Weekend. Somehow I got rooked into going to a yoga relaxation thing today. We will see how that goes. We thought we would check out a Fish Fry (we have never gone to one). But we didn't want to chance the crowd or no crowd for that matter so we went to Culver's (a midwest family fast-food chain) I think everyone else had this in mind too.
***************** Thanks so much for your comments. Granted you won't hear anything about Easter. On the other hand more from my very offbeat side characters who are possibly the main characters this month.
Aw..THE BREAK. A read I have been intending to read! This looks like the perfect weekend read! Awesome review! Still on the chilly side here. Unfortunately, smoke in the air. Planned burns from the south and actually grass fires from the north west that have been burning all week. Definitely, a time for a getaway..but I'm right here.
Thanks so much for your comments. Naturally, I was just playing around with pictures for a collage and a story came to me that I didn't even intend for my FACE IN THE CROWD..but I used it anyway...=). It was good to finally finish the K-Drama. I guess what I loved about this slow moving story was how quotable it was. Also how much we go through life never talking about what we should talk about with family. Naturally, Korean stories have a way of putting off the necessary stuff and yet some tender moments can arrive.
Such a fun and intriguing story to visit. And it has that universal appeal too..especially on the commitment balance. True we all have our own thing to keep us in the 'joy' of life..or we try. Yet, relationships evolve too. And unfortunately, the mid-life crisis can really play a whammy on what one had thought would be tried and true. Such an endearing and delightful review! Such a wonderful Saturday post!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Of course, hopefully, it doesn't feel I am going in a strange direction with some of the characters I write about. That too has been quite a tightrope, but I still want to write about these characters and know their outcome too. Although, along the way.. let's add one more character here and there. Thanks so much for being here! You are always inspiring!
Oh, I should be reading this! Thanks for the review! I so enjoyed it. This author does have a way of drawing you into her characters. I hope you guys have some fun this weekend. Nothing too big here. Brunch..hopefully.
Thanks so much for your comments and for reading my wayward story that may or may not get even more wayward. I appreciate you being here. It's funny for the most part I don't think I'm that judgemental when I'm reading about characters in books. Well, not like some who read my own characters who seem to be the police telling me "THEY SHOULD NOT BE DRINKING". It's always interesting the fine line between human nature and THIS IS WRONG. Although, its funny when I come across characters I'm reading I'm feeling..well, that's ciche. I am sure we are all in the same boat of either wondering what was that author thinking or..what is up with that character..oh the mysteries of stories.
Wow, what a storyline!! And what a heavy thing to deal with, if one's husband wanted an open marriage and a solo backpacking trip on the other side of the globe. That sounds devastating, but I like how she turns things around by reconnecting with her old crush! And I'm sure, she ends up reconnecting with herself, too. That is a BIG book but sounds like it goes by quick with such a captivating storyline. :)
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