"...I would take out his letters to me, our honeymoon scrapbook, and stare into the faces of those smug, slim, utterly sensual young people and think, Where was the clue? ... His pinch of arrogance? His touch of impatience? I was a dozen times more arrogant and impatient any day of the week, even back then. But I never, not ever, would have slipped through my wedding band and fled." p297
Julie's husband, Leo, unexpectedly leaves her alone and reeling, trying simultaneously to care for their three children and deal with a very scary health diagnosis. Told alternatively through the voice of Julie and that of her son, Gabe, Jacqueline Mitchard explores the families reaction to their difficult circumstances.
I picked up this novel because it was written by Jacquelyn Mitchard who wrote The Deep End of the Ocean. The Deep End of the Ocean is a terrific book. This book is so-so. It took quite a while to get into it and just as it seemed to be gathering steam, it came to a close. Even though Julie's situation in the novel should have invoked my sympathy, I found myself feeling a bit removed from everything that was happening in her life, and my empathy for the characters was disappointingly superficial. Mitchard is a talented writer, but she failed to endear me to her story this time around.
(There is a great poem on pg. 332 of this novel- the most redeeming part of this book, I think! Worth checking out.)
Julie's husband, Leo, unexpectedly leaves her alone and reeling, trying simultaneously to care for their three children and deal with a very scary health diagnosis. Told alternatively through the voice of Julie and that of her son, Gabe, Jacqueline Mitchard explores the families reaction to their difficult circumstances.
I picked up this novel because it was written by Jacquelyn Mitchard who wrote The Deep End of the Ocean. The Deep End of the Ocean is a terrific book. This book is so-so. It took quite a while to get into it and just as it seemed to be gathering steam, it came to a close. Even though Julie's situation in the novel should have invoked my sympathy, I found myself feeling a bit removed from everything that was happening in her life, and my empathy for the characters was disappointingly superficial. Mitchard is a talented writer, but she failed to endear me to her story this time around.
(There is a great poem on pg. 332 of this novel- the most redeeming part of this book, I think! Worth checking out.)
