Charles Dubow

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 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.… (more)

“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. 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.… (more)