Tag: marriage

Coming Home

kim.harwanko

Colm Tóibín’s Long Island is a sequel to his acclaimed novel Brooklyn, reuniting readers with Eilis Lacey two decades after her initial journey from Ireland to America. Set in 1976, Eilis is now settled in Lindenhurst, Long Island, with her husband, Tony Fiorello, and their two teenage children. Her seemingly tranquil life is disrupted when a stranger arrives, revealing that his wife is pregnant with Tony’s child, a revelation that propels Eilis to return to her hometown of Enniscorthy, Ireland, for the first time in twenty years.

Eilis returns to Ireland to reassess the life she built in America. She falls back in with her old friends and her former lover, stirring up long-buried emotions and forcing her to confront not only her past but also the person she has become. Torn between the familiarity of her roots and the life she has carefully constructed across the ocean, Eilis’s journey becomes one of profound self-reflection and reckoning.

Our book club was torn on this book. Some absolutely fell in love with the language and the way the story rolled along, appreciating how Tóibín delicately portrays Eilis’s struggles and the complexities of life. The novel’s exploration of the choices that define us struck a chord with many of us, offering a poignant look at the intersections of identity, loyalty, and belonging.

Others in the group, however, found the pacing slower than expected and wished for more resolution in certain plotlines. The tension between Eilis’s old and new lives, while beautifully written, left some readers craving a clearer sense of closure.

Rating: 7

Threads of Hope

kim.harwanko

Barbara Davis’s The Keeper of Happy Endings is a beautifully woven tale of love, resilience, and second chances that spans decades. The novel intertwines the stories of Soline Roussel, a Parisian seamstress with a gift for crafting wedding gowns said to ensure happy marriages, and Rory Grant, a young woman in Boston grappling with her own heartbreak and loss.

Soline’s life is marked by tragedy, including the loss of her fiancé during World War II and the destruction of her Parisian shop. Years later, Rory stumbles upon Soline’s story while seeking her own path after a failed engagement and the disappearance of her mother. Their lives intersect in unexpected ways, revealing secrets, healing wounds, and celebrating the power of hope.

Our book club found the characters multidimensional with deeply felt struggles and triumphs. Davis moves through dual timelines very well blending historical and contemporary settings with emotional depth. Themes of grief, love, and destiny are explored with a touch of mysticism, adding a magical quality to the narrative.

The novel’s pace is gentle but engaging and the story is heartfelt and memorable. Our book club talked about how she rebuilt her life after such a tragic lost. We talked about the importance we place on some treasures that we hold on to for years. Some of us didn’t like the fact that Rory is drawn to the burned up building. They found it too convenient. But for me it added a bit of mysticism and what’s wrong with that.

Rating 7.5

Suburban Chic and Scandal: A Look at When Life Gives You Lululemons

kim.harwanko

Lauren Weisberger’s When Life Gives You Lululemons is a sparkling, witty sequel to The Devil Wears Prada, shifting the focus to the glamorous yet tumultuous life of Emily Charlton, Miranda Priestly’s sharp-tongued former assistant. Now a high-profile image consultant, Emily faces a career crisis when her A-list clientele begins to dwindle.

The story unfolds in the affluent suburbs of Greenwich, Connecticut, where Emily joins forces with her old friend Miriam, a former high-powered attorney turned stay-at-home mom, and their mutual friend Karolina, a supermodel navigating a messy public scandal. Together, they tackle Karolina’s personal and professional dilemmas, exposing the absurdities and pressures of suburban life.

Weisberger’s satirical take on wealth, privilege, and the cutthroat world of image-making is both biting and hilarious. The characters are vividly drawn, with Emily’s sardonic wit and no-nonsense attitude providing the perfect counterbalance to the novel’s more heartfelt moments. Themes of friendship, reinvention, and resilience shine throughout the narrative, making it as empowering as it is entertaining.

Our book club loved this book – it was so much fun. It was light, funny, and full of drama. We talked about how Emily and her friends navigated all the crazy society challenges with humor and grace. It certainly shows how friends can help you get through anything. Enjoy the fun.

Rating: 8.5

Love Unscripted

kim.harwanko

Alice Hoffman’s The Marriage of Opposites is an evocative novel inspired by the life of Rachel Pizzarro, the mother of the renowned Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro. Set on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas in the early 19th century, the book weaves themes of love, rebellion, and art into a tapestry of cultural and historical intrigue.

Rachel, a strong-willed and passionate woman, defies societal expectations through her forbidden romance with her late husband’s nephew, Frédérick. Their love story is both a source of scandal and a testament to resilience, mirroring the novel’s broader exploration of identity, family, and creativity. Hoffman’s prose is richly descriptive, bringing the island’s landscapes and the complexities of its diverse communities vividly to life.

Through Rachel’s story, Hoffman examines the sacrifices and freedoms of defying convention while tracing the roots of artistic inspiration. The novel is a compelling blend of history and magical realism, offering a portrait of a woman whose indomitable spirit paved the way for her son’s artistic legacy.

Our book club was mixed on this novel. Some thought it was an enchanting tale with a dynamic female character and others didn’t care for Rachel. We discussed how societal expectations weigh heavy on people who live their life their way and damn with the consequences.

Rating: 7.0

Lying, cheating, private jets and tons of money – what more could you ask for!

kim.harwanko

The Last Mrs. Parrish

As winter begins its climb up north it never seems to leave quietly for its summer home. Instead it kicks and moans leaving snow and rain and wind in its wake. We in New Jersey are weary of winter and want nothing more than warm temperatures and sunny skies. So, we tend to pick saucier reads in March – anything for a little warmth.

This month we picked The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine.

The novel opens in Amber Patterson point of view. As the reader you want to empathize with the protagonist and reading through the first half of the book you simply can’t with this awful person. You continue to read because you know something must be coming.  Well, welcome to this psychological suspense novel, where all is not what it seems.

Amber manipulates her way into Daphne Parrish’s life with the guise of grieving for a dead sister. Daphne lost her sister to a devastating disease and is a board member of a charitable organization tasked to raising money to find a cure.  Amber joins the organization claiming she also lost her sister to the same illness.  Daphne takes her under her wing and the two bond over their shared grief.

Designer clothes, private jets and loads of money attract all sorts of types. Amber’s a long way from her impoverished roots in Missouri but she has learned from her previous mistakes and greedily takes on the privileged class of Long Island Sound.  As Amber gets closer and closer inside the Parrish family, she seems unstoppable.

The second half of the book is in Daphne’s point of view. I was so disgusted with Amber’s character by the time I got to the second half of the book that I almost put the book down. Don’t keep reading. Daphne’s character will keep you vested in the book.  There is another central character that I’ll let the reader discover for themselves.  Note: he made my skin crawl. This is one of those books that you can’t divulge too much without giving away the story.

For the most part, our book club liked this book. Amber got no sympathy from us. We were all rooting for Daphne.  We talked about how women can help other women.  We had a long discussion about about psychological abuse and how it evolves over time and what can be done about it.  

This saucy read certainly warmed up our March.

Last word: Without giving anything away, I would never taunt a sociopath – just sayin.

Rating: 7.5

Photo by Ross Sneddon on Unsplash

The Illusion of Certainty

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Steven Stosny, Ph.D. wrote an article titled “Love, Marriage, and the Illusion of Certainty https://bit.ly/2wxgid9. “Strong feelings and sensations of any kind carry an illusion of certainty.” When love becomes marriage a certain comfort and belief are held by the couple that they will be together through all of life’s struggles, both good and bad.  Even though we all know going into marriage what the divorce rate is.

In the throes of romantic love, we look at our significant other through rose colored glasses.  That illusion starts to fade when we start arguing about who is going to clean the toilets and the million other tasks that couples do every day. Some marriages thrive others fall apart.  

In Tayari Jones’s novel, “An American Marriage,” she takes on this illusion of certainty with an African American couple.  After only 18 months of marriage, Roy is charged, tried and convicted of raping a woman and sentenced to 12 years in prison. His wife, Celestial, knows that he didn’t commit the crime because she was with him that night, but how does any marriage survive a separation that long.  Hollywood actors and actresses are always divorcing, and the common cause is separation.  However, they’re only separated for a few months at a time, but twelve years? 

The author gives us a clear understanding of the two protagonists, Roy and Celestial by their interactions between themselves and with both families. A great deal of that insight comes from letters that Roy and Celestial write to each other during Roy’s term in prison.

Roy, as a middle-class, college-educated African American is not immune to the racism his poorer brethren encounter. The author skillfully weaved discrimination into the into the story and it was quite powerful in its subtly.

Our book club loved this book.  We talked about marriage and the way Roy fell totally apart at the end. We talked about the couple and what they should and shouldn’t have done. We talked a little about racism both overt and covert. We talked about parenting and the protagonists’ parents. We talked about love and the illusion of certainty that marriage holds for us.

This is a good book for book clubs.

 Rating: 8.0

Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash 

Life in a Fishbowl

kim.harwanko

Imagine being so adored that you can’t go anywhere, think Princess Diana times two.  Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight in 1927 across the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis made him a hero, forever changing his life. But the world’s idolization had a cost to him and his family.  Scrutinized at every level, the Lindberghs were revered at times and maligned at others. Melanie Benjamin’s novel “The Aviator’s Wife,” offers a chance to look inside the fishbowl of Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s life.

The novel begins with Charles Lindbergh’s last flight home to Maui.  He is dying and wants to be buried at their Hawaiian home. Anne, his wife of 45 years, looks back over their relationship trying to find some comfort and understanding. Why Charles? Why?

Anne grieves, loves, shoulders the weight of her family and navigates the best she can in a male-dominated world.  Lindbergh was a total control freak!  Anne did everything she could to appease him.  Almost sounds like an old country western song, and in a way maybe it was. The oddness of the relationship began from the first date with his coolness and calculation and her utter amazement that someone like him would even look at her. Throughout the story, Ann struggled with her self-esteem never thinking much of herself.  Her initial detachment from their first-born child, Charley, in his first few months of his life was painful to read knowing that he would be kidnapped and die so young. Anne’s guilt was palpable, and she refocused her attention away from Lindbergh and to her children as her family grew. (more…)

Mayhem in Surburbia

kim.harwanko

Wedded Bliss. Growing up in the 1960’s I viewed marriage as something easy and gentle, like what I saw on The Donna Reed Show or Father Knows Best.  Although my parents certainly didn’t have that vibe going on. As a young child I kept trying to get them to watch the TV show and learn from it. Silly me.

Fast forward forty years. Marriage is neither easy nor gentle and a great place to find all the tension any author could ever need to keep readers reading. Lianne Moriarty gives her readers these telescopic views into her characters’ lives fleshing out all their quirks and traits. Some of them you instantly relate to, some of them hit you between the eyes shocking you, and some are elusive and you can’t quite pin them down. All of her characters have a solid realism to them, like you’ve met these people before.

Truly, Madly Guilty involves three married couples: Clementine and Sam, Erica and Oliver, and Tiffany and Vid. The story revolves around Clementine and Erica who have been friends since Clementine’s mother insisted she befriend Erica in grammar school. The relationship is lopsided at best, with Clementine grudgingly going along with her mother’s request. Even into adulthood their relationship is marred by that request and never blooms, remaining stagnant.

Moriarty loves her mayhem in suburbia and teases her reader about an incident at a barbecue through the first half of the book. She unwinds the story slowly, but with an eye on character development. By the time the incident reveals itself, the characters are well formed. Will the characters behave the way you think? Or act differently?

Tiffany and Vid are neighbors of Erica and Oliver and host the barbecue. Vid invited his neighbors over and asked them to bring that fun couple they’re friends with. While the fun people Tiffany, Vid, Sam and Clementine are having a great time together, Erica and Oliver feel left out. As the four fun people are enjoying each other, Tiffany looks at the younger couple thinking:

“Tiffany watched Sam and Clementine look at each other, their faces flushed, their pupils dilated. It would be a kindness. A public service. She could see exactly where their sex life was at.  They were tired parents of young kids.  They thought it was all over, and it wasn’t, they were still attracted to each other, they just needed a little electric shock to the system, a little stimulus, maybe some sex toys, some good-quality soft porn. She could be their good-quality soft porn.”

Well, that should have you thinking.

After the incident at the barbecue, Sam and Clementine look deeply at their lives and Erica and Oliver make some important decisions. The chaos that spins out of the barbecue will become live-altering for the two couples.

We really enjoyed this book at our meeting. We all loved Oliver. He’s the best husband out of all of them. We talked about marriage, life-trials, hoarding and other mental illnesses, and about the outcome.  We were all happy for Erica in the end. Book clubs will enjoy the discussions guaranteed to come out of this book.

Rating: 8.5

August Book Club, 2013

kim.harwanko

BFBC house treeWe had a small book club this month, most members were on vacation.  Our book was “The Beginner’s Goodbye,” by Anne Tyler (see my review under Reviews on right-side of website under author).

I had read “The Beginner’s Goodbye,” and “A Year of Magical Thinking,” by Joan Didion within a few weeks of each other.  Both books dealt with death.  Didion’s book is nonfiction, and chronicles her life after her husband unexpectedly died, and her daughter was gravely ill.  Tyler’s book is a work of fiction (although Tyler also lost her husband).

There’s a subtly to Tyler’s writing, and we as readers need to slow down and breathe when reading her work.  There is no wave after wave of unbelievable tension in her stories, just normal lives under normal circumstances.

Didion’s book is raw and you see the love she had for her husband in every paragraph and every word.  I don’t feel that Tyler’s protagonist had that kind of passion for his wife.

I do think that “The Beginner’s Goodbye,” is a good book for book clubs because it allows you to discuss death without the immense heaviness that some other books have.  It will also lead to discussions on marriage.

Enjoy the rest of summer.

1920’s Paris – Ooh la la

kim.harwanko

BFBC Hemingway marriage
www.jfklibrary.org

Our June book club met for a lively dinner on June 7th.  This month’s book was “The Paris Wife,” by Paula McLain.

We were introduced to Hadley Richardson, Ernest Hemingway’s first wife as the newlyweds made their way to Paris from their first home in Chicago.  Paris was the cultural crossroads for new emerging artists, who were stripping away the old confines and creating their own art. Paris was almost a requirement for these artists.

McLain walks us around Paris and around the Hemingway marriage.  Both are intriguing.  We know Hemingway will become a renowned writer, but we see his insecurities and his bravado.  We watch as Hadley makes a home on a shoe-string allowance, and offers Hemingway comfort and serenity when he needs it.  Hadley respected Hemingway and believed in his abilities as a writer and as a person.  Her love for him almost transfers to the readers and we tolerate some of Hemingway’s not so shinning moments, until, of course, he goes too far.  Read my review under the author’s name on the right side of my website.

A must read for book clubs!

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http://bit.ly/14bgC84