Sandra C. (sandybees) reviewed on 8/3/2010 + 109 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 10

This novel by Jennifer Weiner is a "straight from the headlines" story involving a married politician's wife named Sylvie who finds out that her husband has been having an affair with his much younger assistant. The story becomes a scandal and Sylvie is forced to re-examine her life and the years she's dedicated to her husband and his career. The scandal also impacts their grown daughters, Lizzie and Diana. Diana is a married doctor in an unhappy marriage. She also is embroiled in an affair with a much younger man. Lizzie has a troubled past as an addict with an arrest record. For most of her life Lizzie has been a screw up. Finally, she gets a chance to redeem herself and forge a new life. Honestly, I don't think this is Weiner's best effort. The story is interesting, but at times it is slow reading and the characters are somewhat dull. The character of Richard (the politician husbandd) is merely backdrop and it is somewhat startling that his motives, feelings are not explored. The story suffered with it's ending. It was all too predictable. Honestly, I wouldn't rush to read this book. It's average. There was a lot of name dropping in this book about all the various political scandals of the past decade or so...the author would have been better served to have delved into the pain and humiliation aspects of the characters.

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details