Charles Dubow

I might have thought better of this book if the author hadn't been so fond of the superlative--Harry is the best athlete, the best looking, the best writer--THE BEST!! Maddy's beauty is unsurpassed, she's the smartest, the greatest--everyone loves her. Together EVERYONE loves them. They are incredible. Claire is.. Well you get the idea. And I suspect the author is so monied he wrote the book out of boredom. Thought he'd give writing a whirl.

It's an idyllic summer in the Hamptons when Claire meets the Winslow family: Harry, Maddy, and their young son, Johnny. Harry is a National Book Award-winning author whose story-telling prowess makes him a favorite in their social circle. His wife, Maddy, is a beautiful woman from a rich family who has a generous soul despite her family's harshness. In their cottage near the beach, the family throws parties, plays tennis, and is nearly universally loved by everyone, especially Claire.

Claire show more met a man in the city who invited her out to his house in the Hamptons for the weekend, where she discovers that the two aren't having a weekend to themselves, but a weekend with a few of Clive's irritating clients. When the group attends a party at the Winslows' house, Claire quickly becomes enamored of the family and the life that they live. When things go bad with Clive, Harry and Maddy adopt Claire into their circle of friends for the summer. The summer passes in a perfect series of cook-outs and tennis matches and parties, but when it ends, and Claire learns that Harry, Maddy, and Johnny will be leaving for Rome for a year, things begin to unravel. What follows is a slow unfolding of deception and tragedy that will change all of their lives forever.

The first thing I noticed about Indiscretion is that it has tons of great, believable dialogue. I don't remember that I love good dialogue, and I rarely think to miss it in books that are a little quieter, but when it shows up, I always appreciate how it breathes life into a story and seems to move it along at a quicker pace. Even better is when dialogue brings out aspects of characters so that readers don't have to be told that Harry tells great stories that draw people into his orbit or that Maddy's innate decency is put into practice as she welcomes Claire into her life. Dubow's novel is filled with just such excellent dialogue, but just the same it doesn't rely on it too heavily. Rather, it provides just another window into the house where Walter's narration has opened the door.

Walter is Maddy's best friend from childhood who has only grown closer to Maddy and her family with time. As such, Walter makes for a great narrator. Certainly, he might be a little biased, but as the stalwart family friend and perennial bachelor, he has a unique perspective on the events at hand. He tells the story of his friends' downfall with unique insight and the wisdom of an observer that is both a part of the story, yet not so involved as to lose all perspective. Drawing together the things he experiences first-hand with the things he learns over time, Walter collects a complete picture of events, and his recollection is vivid and lightly seasoned with, at times, philosophical reflection on the tragic events that come to pass in his friends' lives.

Indiscretion is a dark and unnerving story of a seemingly perfect family falling from grace, told with such flare that it's impossible to look away until the last page is turned. show less

Why do we always want more? What makes people willing to risk everything good they have in their lives for something new and forbidden? The themes that run through this novel are timeless and the story is not really different than many other stories we know (and often love). But with all its familiarity, this is a specific story with specific detail and it feels real and it feels important and it screams with all those feelings of betrayal and tragedy and mistakes and sadness that make every show more life on earth individual to its owner.

Walter Gervaise, the narrator of this story, is much like Nick Carraway of The Great Gatsby. He is an intimate part of the story, but it is less his story than some else's. He is a trustworthy storyteller whose intimate involvement allows us to see each of the characters a little more clearly than we would if they were telling us about themselves. Each of them is so perfect and so flawed, and most of the them realize too late that the things they have are precious and the things they want are poison.

I loved this book so much. Nothing is better to me than becoming so immersed in the story that I begin to feel I know who the people are, what they are thinking and feeling, so that their pain sends physical shockwaves through my own soul. It is not so much the destination that this book arrives at that matters, it is more the journey the characters take to get there. Like Scarlett O'Hara, who keeps pushing her happiness away with both hands, I found in the pages of Indiscretion people whose self-destructive behaviors I could recognize. Lines crossed can never be uncrossed and no matter how much you pray or wish, you can never call back a hurt or a lie.

Indiscretion is not a timid book. It goes to the heart of passion and betrayal. I recommend it for anyone over 21 who finds the heart and human motivation sometimes hard to fathom. I am unsure what else Dubow might have written, but I am ready to read anything else he offers up. show less

“We live in an age when we are no longer surprised that people let us down the only surprise is that we are so constantly willing to allow ourselves to be deceived.”
― Charles Dubow, Indiscretion

This is one of the best.

I so enjoyed "Indescretion". I am not going to go through what the book is about as there are so many who have done that, but will share, with spoilers, what I loved about it and why I only gave it 4 stars even though I think it is extraordinary and worthy of 5.

First off. show more the book takes a subject that has been done, done and done again..and turns it on itself. In most books about infidelity, there is some underlying cause, some reason why a person cheats. Here there is none. Harry and Mads have a great relationship. They share everything with each other. They are best friends. This book is brutal in showing why Harry cheats..there is no reason except for perhaps his own vanity.

And the book is narrated by Walter the forever friend of Madeline. He has been in love with her for most of his life. Walter was a sad soul. I liked him and felt he sold himself short in almost every way imaginable. Clearly he did not have a high opinion of himself. The format of this book has been compared to "The Great Gatsby" and I can understand those comparisons.

And then there is Claire. Claire is the seductress, the one who shatters the happy bubble of the Winslow's life together. I had much antipathy toward Claire. I had to fight with myself through the book because my reaction to her was so visceral.

SPOILERS:

Perhaps it would not have been if she had not tired of Harry so quickly. If she actually loved him or had any idea what love is I would have understood her way more. We see her gradually become tired of Harry, his jokes, even their tooth brushes.

At the end, when Walter and Claire meet one last time my feelings did not change even with her big reveal. I still could not stand her. Go figure..

OK..So I obviously adored this book. Why no 5? Well it is the twist..or the "bait and switch" ending. I loathed that. It brought the power of the book down so much for me. Why do great books..really great books..think they need a twist to be great? I just do not get it.

It is worth noting that I knew exactly where that ending was going as soon as Walter cursed the plane. And so I am sure, did other readers.

So..4.5 from me. I did so enjoy this. Grim, horrible ending but still a great book that makes you question. Outstanding. show less