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A review by carolpk
Sandrine's Case by Thomas H. Cook
5.0
Satisfied! That's the feeling I had as I read the last page of Sandrine's Case. Quiet applause to Thomas H. Cook as tears welled in my eyes for this emotional story of a marriage. There have been several books dissecting the state of holy matrimony this past year. In some the characters have been so unreliable you don't know who to believe. Not the case here. Cook's marital partners are all too real and honest though it takes patience and thought to see each for who they are.
The Madison's, Sandrine and Samuel seemingly have a good marriage. Both professors, Sandrine proposed to Samuel on a vacation in a little French town called Albi. They married, took teaching posts at the same college, settled into what is pictured as a Hallmark life at 237 Crescent Rd, Coburn, NY. and soon a daughter, Alexandria joined them. Many years pass and Sandrine is diagnosed with ALS. In itself this is tragic but more than this death sentence you become aware the marriage is or has died too. Why? One evening Samuel enters their bedroom to find Sandrine not breathing, clearly gone. He calls the police to tell them his wife has committed suicide. After some investigation and facts that don't quite add up Samuel is charged with her murder. He has cause but it must be proven. The trial forms the bulk of the book with chapters laid out in a call of witnesses. As each testifies layers and layers of this marriage are peeled back for our contemplation. As the trial proceeds Samuel thinks about just what brought him to this courtroom, the last days of Sandrine's life, her increasing distance and undeniable fury at him It is like she is shaking him from the grave. Slowly we begin to see how love's loss developed and how Samuel on this realization begins to fall in love with his departed wife once more.
Cook descriptions of each character, from the main to the minor are perfect. You can truly see each in your mind's eye. Many passages give me pause. It is difficult to quote out of context some that I really loved. This one about Samuel's thoughts on just one fear Sandrine has in the progression of her ALS.
"One thing was certain. Sandrine had loved language the way others love food, and so, understandably, no doubt it had been the loss of that command of language she'd most dreaded in the end, the terrible fact that eventually she begin to slue, not to mention drool and blubber."
The next quote is hidden in case it would spoil though I think not. Samuel and Alexandria are speaking of the last night of Sandrine's life. Alexandria describes how her mother talked about her marriage.
Thomas H. Cook is frequently pigeon-holed as a mystery writer. If you're a mystery fan in the truest sense I think you'd be disappointed. Thriller, no. His stories, including Sandrine's Case are just too slow to capture fans of that genre. Perhaps in the end it does not matter what you call Sandrine's Case but just know that you are getting the finest of fiction by a master story-teller, an oft underrated author.
The Madison's, Sandrine and Samuel seemingly have a good marriage. Both professors, Sandrine proposed to Samuel on a vacation in a little French town called Albi. They married, took teaching posts at the same college, settled into what is pictured as a Hallmark life at 237 Crescent Rd, Coburn, NY. and soon a daughter, Alexandria joined them. Many years pass and Sandrine is diagnosed with ALS. In itself this is tragic but more than this death sentence you become aware the marriage is or has died too. Why? One evening Samuel enters their bedroom to find Sandrine not breathing, clearly gone. He calls the police to tell them his wife has committed suicide. After some investigation and facts that don't quite add up Samuel is charged with her murder. He has cause but it must be proven. The trial forms the bulk of the book with chapters laid out in a call of witnesses. As each testifies layers and layers of this marriage are peeled back for our contemplation. As the trial proceeds Samuel thinks about just what brought him to this courtroom, the last days of Sandrine's life, her increasing distance and undeniable fury at him It is like she is shaking him from the grave. Slowly we begin to see how love's loss developed and how Samuel on this realization begins to fall in love with his departed wife once more.
Cook descriptions of each character, from the main to the minor are perfect. You can truly see each in your mind's eye. Many passages give me pause. It is difficult to quote out of context some that I really loved. This one about Samuel's thoughts on just one fear Sandrine has in the progression of her ALS.
"One thing was certain. Sandrine had loved language the way others love food, and so, understandably, no doubt it had been the loss of that command of language she'd most dreaded in the end, the terrible fact that eventually she begin to slue, not to mention drool and blubber."
The next quote is hidden in case it would spoil though I think not. Samuel and Alexandria are speaking of the last night of Sandrine's life. Alexandria describes how her mother talked about her marriage.
Spoiler
"She said it was like a boxing match," Alexandria answered. "Between round one and round ten, you swing at each other a lot. But you both have this hope that at some point the bell will ring, and there'll be peace, and the struggle will have been worth it. And so you stay in the ring because you want to make it to that wound-ten bell."Thomas H. Cook is frequently pigeon-holed as a mystery writer. If you're a mystery fan in the truest sense I think you'd be disappointed. Thriller, no. His stories, including Sandrine's Case are just too slow to capture fans of that genre. Perhaps in the end it does not matter what you call Sandrine's Case but just know that you are getting the finest of fiction by a master story-teller, an oft underrated author.