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It was an accident. It was dark, it was raining, Alison had only had two drinks. And the other car ran the stop sign. But Alison finds herself trapped under the crushing weight of grief and guilt, feeling increasingly estranged from her husband Charlies, who has his own burdens.
1.5 stars. Ugh. There was not one deeply likeable character in this book. When a grandmother who had survived cancer gave the advice to just seek your happiness, and her examples were smoking marijuana, sleeping with someone she didn't know, and spending the night on a mountaintop, I should have known to just stop reading. ( )
Two middle-aged couples, friends since college. Wife of one, husband of the other embarked on an affair. Disclosure comes after each starts thinking about what happiness is, is it true nature to want or how deeply do we allow our desires to consume us. ( )
Wow! This book gripped me from the start and wouldn't let me go. It's heart-wrenching yet not overly emotional. The multiple viewpoints worked well, and the disintegrating marriages were portrayed realistically. The background information, fed to the reader through independent flashbacks in a different size and style of font, provided the clarity necessary to understand the protagonists' motivations. I felt for these characters and identified with them. A must read for lovers of contemporary fiction. ( )
rabck from spoiledrotten; The story of two couples, the foursome met in college and Ben paired with Claire and Charlie with Alison, but now 12 years later, Charlie and Claire have an affair, blowing both marriages apart. From the dive backs into their college history, I don't think Charlie and Claire will make it at all, while Ben and Alison are moving on well ( )
This book was ok. I enjoyed the other novels by this author more than this one. This story was sad all the broken relationship struggles. People willing to stab their friends in the back for selfish reasons. I found it a little depressing. ( )
It is a queer and fantastic world. Why can’t people have what they want? The things were all there to content everybody; yet everybody has the wrong thing. -- Ford Madox Ford, The Good Soldier
Dedication
To David
First words
For Alison, these things will always be connected: the moment that cleaved her life into two sections and the dawning realization that even before the accident her life was not what it seemed.
Quotations
When the unimaginable happens, and your life changes irrevocably, you may find along with the pain a kind of grace. And in the place of certainty and fear - the fear of losing what you had - you are left with something startling: a depth of empathy, a quivering sensitivity to the world around you, and the unexpected blessing of gratitude for what remains.
Last words
She stands up, closes the folder, and makes her way down the hall to the conference room.
It was an accident. It was dark, it was raining, Alison had only had two drinks. And the other car ran the stop sign. But Alison finds herself trapped under the crushing weight of grief and guilt, feeling increasingly estranged from her husband Charlies, who has his own burdens.
▾Library descriptions
No library descriptions found.
▾LibraryThing members' description
Book description
Two couples, Alison and Charlie, and Claire and Ben, struggle to find their way as Alison struggles with grief and guilt over a car accident, Charlie works at an unfulfilling job to provide for his family, Claire begins an affair with Charlie, and Ben longs for the life he believes his friends Charlie and Alison have.
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(3.3)
Wikipedia in English
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