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3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
This was enjoyable. I wasn't sure what to make of the blurb that compared it to Where'd you go, Bernadatte and Beautiful Ruins, since it didn't seem like that at all but it was very good anyway. On its own. It was a tale of a marriage gone off track and the perp, Richard Haddon trying to make it right. Told through his eyes we get to feel the anguish of making a bad choice and also struggle with his life as an artist trying to remain true to his art but also make some money. He has an affair and his wife finds out and he struggles with his truth about it and then when he realizes he does want his wife back...well, he's the dumbass who left the letters in his suitcase.
I loved the touch of humor throughout. The guy's an idiot for sure but he's somewhat likeable. It wasn't a comedy where the story would be over the top and "beach read" quality but showed that even when going through some shit in your life you can still be a snob and still have things on your mind other than the problem.
I look forward to more from this author. she sure is talented.
I loved the touch of humor throughout. The guy's an idiot for sure but he's somewhat likeable. It wasn't a comedy where the story would be over the top and "beach read" quality but showed that even when going through some shit in your life you can still be a snob and still have things on your mind other than the problem.
I look forward to more from this author. she sure is talented.
Well-written, but it stayed on the surface, somehow, for me. And why tell the story from the guy's perspective? The woman character was so much more interesting... And maybe I totally missed it, but the title refers to...? Never came up in the book, as far as I can tell.
Richard sold out creatively and his mistress was the person who validated his selling out. She made him feel good when he felt so badly about himself. When she left him, he realized how far he has fallen as a husband and as an artist.
It’s a lot for him to process and he doesn't recover gracefully. He doesn't act admirably while trying to win back his wife and his artistic vision. In fact, he whines a lot. He’s weak and pretty pathetic when he’s left alone. It’s amusing watching him flounder. He’s such an underdog, I found myself rooting for him despite how much I despised him for cheating on his wife.
The book is part love story, part finding-yourself story. I think anyone who has been married awhile will understand (but not condone) how he could do what he did and why he tries so hard to get back to his old life. And I think anyone with a creative mind will appreciate Richard’s journey to finding his creative vision.
It’s a lot for him to process and he doesn't recover gracefully. He doesn't act admirably while trying to win back his wife and his artistic vision. In fact, he whines a lot. He’s weak and pretty pathetic when he’s left alone. It’s amusing watching him flounder. He’s such an underdog, I found myself rooting for him despite how much I despised him for cheating on his wife.
The book is part love story, part finding-yourself story. I think anyone who has been married awhile will understand (but not condone) how he could do what he did and why he tries so hard to get back to his old life. And I think anyone with a creative mind will appreciate Richard’s journey to finding his creative vision.
I admit the plot sounded interesting, but wow, did it disappoint. The main character is so unlikeable that he ruins the entire story. It's a waste of time - unless you like to read about a cheater, how he doesn't quite apologize or feel sorry for what he's done (and manages to sound quite self-righteous about it all, for the most part), and how he still somehow expects to "win" his wife back.
The tie-in with Iraq and France seemed awkward and forced.
However, it was an easy read, content aside.
The tie-in with Iraq and France seemed awkward and forced.
However, it was an easy read, content aside.
I had high hopes after the description of this book said it was Where'd You Go Bernadette? (which I liked)meets Beautiful Ruins (which I LOVED). This book was just okay.
Richard is an artist with a wife and young daughter. He went and mucked up his life by having an affair with an American woman who then left him. This story is about Richard trying to put his life back together, rediscovering his passion for art and his wife, all while being daft, shallow and selfish.
Richard is an artist with a wife and young daughter. He went and mucked up his life by having an affair with an American woman who then left him. This story is about Richard trying to put his life back together, rediscovering his passion for art and his wife, all while being daft, shallow and selfish.
I’m hesitant to post a review here because I read this for book club and I don’t want my book club friends to see it. But...is there anything worse (at least, anything book-club-related) than disliking the book YOU chose for your book club to read?
I couldn’t stand any of the characters, except for peripheral ones (love you, guy from the train!). Also, I have a habit of folding up the bottom corners of pages whenever I find editing errors in books. Guess how many pages I folded in this one? Let’s see...
p.75 - well, now that I’ve googled it, I stand corrected. Lisa comments on the difficulty of obtaining cranberries in France and that “French women are too ladylike to get yeast infections.” Here I always thought cranberries helped UTIs, but apparently they can combat yeast infections, too.
p.79 - “She had cinched the dress with a brown leather belt, underneath which was a camisole of soft pink silk.” So, wait. The camisole is under the belt, but not under the dress?
p.82 - “All of the sudden I knew that this was it.” No!! Not all of the sudden. All of A sudden. A. Sudden. There is nothing even remotely erotic about a sex scene with bad grammar in it. (Also, side note: sorry, book club friends! I think I might be the first person in our book club to choose a book with such a racy scene in it.)
p.121 - “Kinder-Surprises were famous across Europe, but in America, they’d been overtaken by the Cadbury egg...” Nope. Listen, lady. You are implying that American children are too busy stuffing their faces with Cadbury eggs to give any attention to Kinder Surprise eggs. Give me a break. She obviously has never spent any time with a child who has seen YouTube videos of kids and their kinder eggs. I searched far and wide for kinder eggs, only to learn that the real reason they were “overtaken by the [gross] Cadbury egg” is that our FDA won’t allow tiny toys to be hidden in chocolate eggs because we Americans are too idiotic not to choke on those toys when they are so close to our food (ahem. Not really. But we will sue the hell out of any company that makes candy with choking hazard toys hidden inside). Does anyone even eat Cadbury eggs? I sure don’t, and I like some ridiculous candy.
p.210 - [paraphrasing]: “Are you a Luxembourger, then?” He nodded...”I’m from Antwerp.”
Last time I checked, Antwerp was in Belgium, not Luxembourg, so why did he nod? One doesn’t nod unless in agreement, generally.
p.308-9 - he gets to spend time with his five year old daughter after some sleepovers are cancelled. Dude, do kids have sleepovers at 5? Because maybe my boys are just too mama’s-boyish, but at 5 and 7, I feel like we are a long way off from that. Are French kids just that much more detached from their parents?
p.311 - he’s watching the first video interview of his parents again, and after one story is told, there’s a period of silence. His mother drums her fingers on the table, and his father watches her hand. But how? Back on page 148, he sets his parents up for the interview in the kitchen so that they are back to back. The mom even comments that she can’t even see him and the dad reaches “out for her thigh, hitting her in the elbow instead.” (Now that I think of it, how does Richard even know Dad was intending to hit the thigh and not the elbow, unless Dad said, “I shall tap you on your thigh to reassure you I am here.”?) I’m obviously over-thinking this. I guess maybe it’s not that outlandish to imagine him being able to see her drumming her fingers on the table. Short of rearranging the chairs in my kitchen and making my husband reenact this with me...I dunno. I’ll report back.
Anyway, this was a quick read, and it lends itself to one of my favorite literary questions: what makes a book good? Because I sure did write a lot about a book I didn’t even like, and I feel like I will probably talk a lot about it when our book club meets later this month (and not just about editing mistakes).
Also, until I checked it, I didn’t realize the word “catalogued” could also be spelled “cataloged,” so at least I learned something from this book.
I couldn’t stand any of the characters, except for peripheral ones (love you, guy from the train!). Also, I have a habit of folding up the bottom corners of pages whenever I find editing errors in books. Guess how many pages I folded in this one? Let’s see...
p.75 - well, now that I’ve googled it, I stand corrected. Lisa comments on the difficulty of obtaining cranberries in France and that “French women are too ladylike to get yeast infections.” Here I always thought cranberries helped UTIs, but apparently they can combat yeast infections, too.
p.79 - “She had cinched the dress with a brown leather belt, underneath which was a camisole of soft pink silk.” So, wait. The camisole is under the belt, but not under the dress?
p.82 - “All of the sudden I knew that this was it.” No!! Not all of the sudden. All of A sudden. A. Sudden. There is nothing even remotely erotic about a sex scene with bad grammar in it. (Also, side note: sorry, book club friends! I think I might be the first person in our book club to choose a book with such a racy scene in it.)
p.121 - “Kinder-Surprises were famous across Europe, but in America, they’d been overtaken by the Cadbury egg...” Nope. Listen, lady. You are implying that American children are too busy stuffing their faces with Cadbury eggs to give any attention to Kinder Surprise eggs. Give me a break. She obviously has never spent any time with a child who has seen YouTube videos of kids and their kinder eggs. I searched far and wide for kinder eggs, only to learn that the real reason they were “overtaken by the [gross] Cadbury egg” is that our FDA won’t allow tiny toys to be hidden in chocolate eggs because we Americans are too idiotic not to choke on those toys when they are so close to our food (ahem. Not really. But we will sue the hell out of any company that makes candy with choking hazard toys hidden inside). Does anyone even eat Cadbury eggs? I sure don’t, and I like some ridiculous candy.
p.210 - [paraphrasing]: “Are you a Luxembourger, then?” He nodded...”I’m from Antwerp.”
Last time I checked, Antwerp was in Belgium, not Luxembourg, so why did he nod? One doesn’t nod unless in agreement, generally.
p.308-9 - he gets to spend time with his five year old daughter after some sleepovers are cancelled. Dude, do kids have sleepovers at 5? Because maybe my boys are just too mama’s-boyish, but at 5 and 7, I feel like we are a long way off from that. Are French kids just that much more detached from their parents?
p.311 - he’s watching the first video interview of his parents again, and after one story is told, there’s a period of silence. His mother drums her fingers on the table, and his father watches her hand. But how? Back on page 148, he sets his parents up for the interview in the kitchen so that they are back to back. The mom even comments that she can’t even see him and the dad reaches “out for her thigh, hitting her in the elbow instead.” (Now that I think of it, how does Richard even know Dad was intending to hit the thigh and not the elbow, unless Dad said, “I shall tap you on your thigh to reassure you I am here.”?) I’m obviously over-thinking this. I guess maybe it’s not that outlandish to imagine him being able to see her drumming her fingers on the table. Short of rearranging the chairs in my kitchen and making my husband reenact this with me...I dunno. I’ll report back.
Anyway, this was a quick read, and it lends itself to one of my favorite literary questions: what makes a book good? Because I sure did write a lot about a book I didn’t even like, and I feel like I will probably talk a lot about it when our book club meets later this month (and not just about editing mistakes).
Also, until I checked it, I didn’t realize the word “catalogued” could also be spelled “cataloged,” so at least I learned something from this book.
I did not finish this. Perhaps this is a book where the main character will be redeemed, but he was so awful that I could not wait around to find out. It is the story of and English man married to a French woman who cheats on her with an American. The wife finds out, and the husband resolves to "fall in love" with her again, but he is still besotted with his mistress, whiny and self absorbed. Could not put up with it.