There wasn't one character in the book that I liked and more disappointingly I guessed the ending ( )

A bit like junk food, want to finish, but don't feel that satisfied. The second time I have read the same anonymous diary plot device and find it even more annoying this time round, since I can see no realistic connection between diary and person. ( )

Never take sides. Stay neutral. Stay friends.

This is what Hannah and Josh vow when they learn their best friends, Sasha and Dan, are splitting up. Never mind that Dan has abruptly decided to ditch Sasha and four year old daughter September to romance a 24 year old model. Never mind that Sasha has vowed he ‘won’t get away with it’. Hannah, Josh and their four year daughter, Lily, want to support their friends without getting involved in a messy break-up, but as the grievances pile up and lawyers are called, they find their own family unit splintering under the pressure…

-- What’s it about? --

The impact divorce has on the people involved, including friends and children. The way disagreements can escalate and lies can dissolve trust. The quicksand lurking under many a seemingly happy relationship. Finally, and perhaps most chillingly, the effect that abusive parenting can have.

-- What’s it like? --

Tense. Wonderfully real. Frighteningly plausible.

It would be easy to dismiss parts of this story as cliché: Dan’s attitudes towards his (soon to be ex-) wife and the reasons behind their relationship breakdown are the ultimate in shallow cliché, and Josh is understandably stunned by his friend’s casual dismissal of harm caused. Similarly, Sasha’s behaviour as the scorned wife moves predictably from disbelief to outrage to a frankly frightening desire for vengeance. But. The way this story is told makes it incredibly powerful. Sasha’s disintegration is appalling, and this sense of abrupt downfall is heightened by being perceived from Hannah’s viewpoint; Hannah struggles to connect this fragile creature with the funny, strong woman she knew before.

Of course, it’s not only Sasha and Dan who are struggling. Hannah is clearly traumatised by an incident from her late teens, which is only gradually revealed to the reader, and Josh only reaches a third of the way through the story before being granted his own terrible secret that he cannot bring himself to share with Hannah. The gradual splintering of their relationship is in contrast to the violent collapse of their friends’, but both stories are powerful cautionary tales.

-- Then there’s Lucie --

If collapsing loyalties and escalating feuds weren’t sufficient to hook you in (and they really are) then Lucie would do it all by herself. Just a handful of very short chapters give us Lucie’s first-person account of her development in life. We meet her aged four, hiding in her ‘special place’. She’s frightened that Mummy will find her. This is a disturbing opening insight into her life and the power of abusive parenting as presented in the story as a whole. (We learn that Sasha and Hannah have also been badly harmed by their parents and soon September is in a very vulnerable position.)

As Lucie grows up, we receive hints of her true nature, but it’s not until the stunning climax of the book that we fully comprehend the threat she poses. The final chapter of ‘The Broken’ is the most chilling conclusion to a book I’ve read in years. Gobble, gobble.

-- Final thoughts --

My one criticism would be of Hannah: she should have helped her friend more. Of course, if she had, there might have been a very different ending, but she never directly addresses Sasha about one deeply concerning development in her life and I consider it was absolutely her duty as a friend to do so. That said, by this point, Sasha is more an inconvenience to Hannah’s neatly scheduled life than a cherished friend, so perhaps her neglect is understandable. And, of course, people can be deeply selfish in fiction, just as in life!

Ultimately this was a fascinating portrayal of five people’s shifting relationships and loyalties, complete with psychological conflict and, ultimately, genuine danger. I love a gritty ending, and this ending is just horrifying in its implications.

Recommended. ( )

The Fallout by Tamar Cohen is a highly recommended psychological thriller about divorce, discord, and friendship.

Josh and Hannah's best friends are Dan and Sasha; even their 4 year old daughters, Lily and September, are best friends. They have all become accustom to spending time together, so when Dan announces to Josh that he is planning to leave Sasha for a much younger 24 year-old model, all allegiances are strained to the breaking point. Sasha is suddenly relying on Hannah and taking it for granted that she will support her and stand by her - no matter how disconcerting her behavior becomes. And Dan expects Josh to support his choice too.

Sasha becomes more bitter and retaliatory, pulling Hannah's loyalties along in her wake, while Dan complains to Josh about Sasha's actions. Soon the divorce is affecting Josh and Hannah's relationship, as well as their daughters. Josh also has some personal problems going on at work that he is reluctant to share with Hannah. To add even more stress, they are experiencing financial strains that aren't helped by Sasha's smothering, ultra-needy dependence on Hannah. Soon, it starts to look like their friend's divorce is going to destroy their marriage.

Previously published in the U.K. as The Broken, this is a tension filled dark novel. Cohen ratchet's up the tension by interspersing between chapter's italicized commentary from a young girl who is clearly disturbed and exhibiting signs of a multiple personality. You don't know which female character she could be and won't know until a twist at the very end. The only issue for me is that I had to suspend disbelief that Hannah wouldn't have set up some boundaries as Sasha became increasingly parasitical, out-of-control, and malicious. Oh, and Dan's initial thought that the divorce would all be amicable was laughable.

Cohen handles the details of the narrative in this well-traveled subject matter deftly and adds the extra jolt at the end, which elevates the novel above an ordinary family drama about divorce. The plot moves along quickly as more and more details are added and you will find yourself compulsively reading to see what happens next. While the characters are developed, there are no truly likeable characters in this novel - they are all broken people - but Cohen adds little hints and details in the plot that pull you along to keep reading, if only to find out who the girl is in the italicized sections.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Mira for review purposes.

http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-fallout.html ( )