I stopped after 430 pages, because the author kept making Hannah's life more and more difficult. She didn't deserve it, and I didn't want to watch. Into the garbage with this. I certainly won't inflict it on anybody else. ( )

Douglas Keendy is an author that I like. His woman characters are strong, interesting and real people, and this book was a good read too. It is the story of Hannah Buchan over a long period of time. It is the story of her marriage to Dan. Hannah to the disappointment of her mother marries Dan, a doctor, at a young age and settles in a small American town. While there she receives a visit from one of her father's protegees radical Tobias Judson. At this point in time her husband is out of town visiting his dying father. Hannah becomes sexually involved with him over those few days, and when it turns out that the law is after him and he must flee to Canada Tobias coerces Hannah into driving him there. Hannah regrets her infidelity and from then on works hard at her marriage and is faithful to her husband who becomes a prominent surgeon in Portland. But when her daughter Lizzie goes missing, and the now born again Christian Tobias decides to write a book of his life including a chapter about his time with Hannah her whole world implodes. It is a case then of his word against hers and Hannah has a fight on her hands while at the same time desperatley trying ti find out what has happened to her daughter. We have the intrusion of the press into her life and the conflict between Hannah and her son and his wife, both conservative Christians and pro lifers who take exception to some of Hannah's comments and her behaviour. And then there is the reaction of her husband when he finds out about Hannah and Tobias and the trip to Canada. It is an absorbing story, well worth a read. ( )

Hannah's parents are in the midst of life in the sixties - her father a radical university professor and her mother an artist. Conventional Hannah is something of a disappointment to them, and soon finds herself married and living in small town America.

The first part of this novel is narrated by Hannah during this part of her life, and culminates in an incident where, against all her better judgement she is forced to break the law.

The second part of the novel jumps the reader forwards by 30 years to a point in time where, when her family finds themselves under scrutiny, Hannah's past catches up with her.

This novel, as the titles suggests, reflects on the state of a marriage, and the state of the USA in two very different eras. ( )

An interesting and not too challenging read. I preferred the earlier part of the story. ( )

Entertaining, unchallenging, quite enjoyable. ( )