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A review by jacki_f
The Pursuit Of Happiness by Douglas Kennedy
3.0
Sara Smythe and Jack Malone meet at a party in New York, 1945. It's what the French call a "coup de foudre" - an instant attraction. For both, the other will be the love of their life. However the course of true love will not run smoothly, and circumstances will keep them apart for a large part of their lives.
Their story is bookmarked by the story of Jack's daughter Kate. Aged only 18 months when her father died, she barely knew him and had no awareness of the impact that Sara had on his - and her - lives.
Douglas Kennedy specialises in writing books from the female perspective. Usually his heroines are prickly and difficult people and Sara and Kate are not exceptions to this rule. Both are judgemental and righteous and hard to like. They are both lumbered with self-destructive brothers to boot. Set against the backdrop of post-WW2 and the McCarthy era US, this is an interesting story that moves at a good pace and keeps your interest, but ultimately it fails to make you care about any of the characters nor to sympathise with the choices that they make.
Their story is bookmarked by the story of Jack's daughter Kate. Aged only 18 months when her father died, she barely knew him and had no awareness of the impact that Sara had on his - and her - lives.
Douglas Kennedy specialises in writing books from the female perspective. Usually his heroines are prickly and difficult people and Sara and Kate are not exceptions to this rule. Both are judgemental and righteous and hard to like. They are both lumbered with self-destructive brothers to boot. Set against the backdrop of post-WW2 and the McCarthy era US, this is an interesting story that moves at a good pace and keeps your interest, but ultimately it fails to make you care about any of the characters nor to sympathise with the choices that they make.