Eve's husband leaves her the morning of their garage sale--just goes on an errand and within one sentence he is gone. Now she's got to carry on as if everything's just fine while she cares for all the other people who crop up in her life. I have mixed emotions about this book: the plot feels forced and characters are on the cardboard side. However, I liked the chapters of this book about Eve with her ailing mother; her character is much more real in those spots. Perhaps one would enjoy it more if one's personal history more closely matched that of the protagonist.
p 180: "Eve finished her book of stories, then went right back to the first story and read it straight through again, amazed at how much she had already forgotten. The author, on the back cover, looked happy and beautiful, her blond hair swept back from her forehead. She lived in Ohio with her husband and three pet beagles. Eve devoured every word, the author's bio, even the dedication page. The book was like a giant pacifier she clung to, holding it in her lap or keeping it on the table beside her. Its voice kept her company during the endless night."
Sorry for the long silence. There have been a lot of serious goings-on. It's during serious situations like this that I'm so grateful I was born into my family. We're so scattered across the country, but as soon as someone is in danger, we all pull together. My parents drop everything when a child is in trouble, all the sibs gather across the phone lines, calling each other every few days, and the ones who can visit in person do.
It feels like we're all rattling around in a gigantic drawstring bag most of the time, but when the situation calls for it--zzipp! the drawstring gets pulled taut and this big bag suddenly seems a lot smaller and we're all just as close as we were growing up. Thankfully, everyone in my family is safe and on the road to recovery.
In lighter fare, Giffin has such a lovely voice and a light touch, I really enjoy anything she writes. This one in particular was less chick-lit-y and more "real." A happy bride of ten months has her world turned upside-down when she passes her ex (the one everyone has--the one you can't forget, the love-of-your-life and the one who utterly tore apart your world) on the street one day. Two minutes after their eyes meet while crossing the street, he texts her and asks her to meet up with him. And thus it begins...
Eve's husband leaves her the morning of their garage sale--just goes on an errand and within one sentence he is gone. Now she's got to carry on as if everything's just fine while she cares for all the other people who crop up in her life. I have mixed emotions about this book: the plot feels forced and characters are on the cardboard side. However, I liked the chapters of this book about Eve with her ailing mother; her character is much more real in those spots. Perhaps one would enjoy it more if one's personal history more closely matched that of the protagonist.