2010 Reading List #3: Happenstance by Carol Shields

[xenologue]

This was a book club selection, and a good one. It is actually two novels in one. Each book is the story of one week in the life of a couple from Chicago, but one novel is from the woman's perspective, and the other from the man's. This is not a simple He Said She Said; the woman is away from home for most of it at a crafts convention (she is a

Comments

[claireleo]

Now, if you are anything like me, I'm certain you already have a stack of books waiting to be read! But I highly, highly, highly recommend The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver. She has several novels, but this one in particular deals with choices in a relationship. The main character is deciding whether to stay with her partner of many years (who refuses to marry her), or to embark on an affair.

Each chapter deals with the "what if?" scenario -- moving forward with her partner, or moving forward with a new love. Did you ever see the movie "Sliding Doors" with Gwyneth Paltrow? The novel is similar, but written with astounding intricacy and depth.

Lionel Shriver is, frankly, brilliant with words. Her turns of phrase are so deliberate -- when reading, I felt like another part of my brain had been activated. I don't know how else to explain it. I often had to take a break between chapters due to fatigue from deciphering all the layers.

But even though it exhausted me, it was still a stunning book! xoxo.