jo_lafaith 's review for:

Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie Yee

3.0

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“His admission made me feel like we were in the earlier days of our dating life somehow. Brought forth wife and partner instead of mother. The family fell away for just a second. We weren’t one unit any longer. Something about him having an affair made I between me and him in a way things hadn’t been for a while.” 

 

💌 Thank you so much to @summit for sending me a copy of this terrific debut! 

 

This reflective novel takes it’s time musing on day-to day mundanity but also on the “big things”. Through a flawed but likable and empathetic main character we unpack class disparity in life, but specifically in marriage, dueling perceptions, predispositions and personalities. She has always had an *idea* of her life and through her husband having an affair and a cancer diagnosis she relearns herself and her role in the world. She has a wonderful friendship that I loved watching unfurl. I was rooting for her, at every turn, and love that this isn’t an angry, rage-filled tale of infidelity, but one of self-discovery and initiative to move forward.