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Rating: 
Summary: A Portrait of Vulnerability
Review: Anyone who has suffered a painful breakup will probably glimpse their own feelings in Texier's memior of her breakup. This book brought me to tears in several places, and I ran right out and bought a copy for a friend struggling with her divorce.Texier shows, in my opinion, amazing courage in voicing the thoughts that many of us have in this situation: insecurity, rage, regret, confusion, and,ultimately, a quiet acceptance of the end of the relationship. While I agree with the reviewer who stated that Texier occassionally failed to turn the critical lens on her own behavior, I'm not sure that was the point of the book. This book reads more like a journal, full of painful admissions and raw emotion. And, in a way, she did have the ultimate revenge on her husband in publishing it. She had her side of the story told in a way he probably never expected. He should be ashamed of his behavior. (She probably should, too, except that I sympahtized with her so much that I didn't care...)
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Summary: A MUST READ FOR DIVORCED WOMEN WITH A (?) 3RD PARTY INVOLVED
Review: I know it sounds cynical, but any abandoned woman with chidren, espcially, who feels there may have been a third party involved needs to read this book. it is so close to the bone that some may find it uncomfortable, but for me it was like finding out I am not the 0nly one who--despite better judgement but becasue of leftover passion and abiding love for one who is not worthy -- slept with my soon to be ex, tried to fight for my marriage/ and also, for anyone who has had a long term passionate relationship which hid the skids. I equate it with inexpensive (and comeplling, page-turning and entertaining) therapy for the (admittedly damaged) soul who blames themselves for trying to keep the family together despite insurmountable odds and for joel? a midlife crisis of a vain (aren't they all) creative man. do read it and cry when you emphasize with this valient woman's baring of her soul. brava to ms texier.....
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Summary: Too Much of a Bad Emotion
Review: I read this book within a few years of my own divorce. I could easily relate to the extreme emotion and angst, but by the end I was jaded, frustrated, and ready to slap the author and yell "Get over it!" If it was meant to smear her husband's reputation, she may have acheived it, but to what end? I wouldn't think that this book did her reputation much good either. The writing quality is excellent, but the enjoyment to the reader (this reader anyway) was negligible.
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Summary: Achingly beautiful
Review: It's heart-breakingly honest. It is a glimpse into something I hope to never witness myself, but I never once felt that the author over-shared or that I was eavesdropping. Anyone who has been in love can understand this book just as much as anyone who's been crushed. She loves her cheating husband even though she does NOT want to. This book takes you through every imaginable emotion based on that premise.
It's written from the heart, and once you pick up this book you won't be able to put it down. You may not love it, but you WILL understand...
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Summary: He said, She said.
Review: Many of the reviews comment on Ms. Texier's histrionic extremes. Hey, she's French. The bottom line is she was dumped, after two children and 20 years. And her husband still came home to her, right after servicing his mistress. Who wouldn't go a little crazy? Being in the middle of a divorce/mistress/dumping/betrayal/20+ scene myself, I found Ms. Texier's work at least brutally honest. It reassured me that divorce is, indeed, CRAZY TIME. If you attempt to sugar coat it, or gentle it with dumb social responses ("Well, it just didn't work for a long time and we both decided to move on with our lives..." and other socially acceptable platitudes), you lose the disorienting reality that divorce is. Nobody wins. French, sexy, cosmopolitan? Suburban, overweight, buried in PTA issues? It makes no difference. The men walk when they want to. The women are left to figure it out. Thank you, Catherine, for your passion and determination to NOT be proper and censored.
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Summary: Here's Why It Is Interesting
Review: Okay, so Catherine and Joel's breakup was bitter, vitriolic, venomous, and dragged on for far too long. Texier's description of the push-and-pull is by turns harrowing and sensationally honest. HOWEVER! The real reason for reading this book isn't for wallowing in all the sordid details, which are not uncommon in any breakup after an extended relationship. What I found fascinating was what Catherine left out because she could not see it: * How indecisive she was; allowing Joel to continue to live with her (and share her bed) long after his affair was in the open * How insecure, self-centered and manipulative she was * How abominably they both used their daughters as pawns in their power-plays (with apparently no concern for what it was doing to them) * How all of Joel's complaints about her -- relayed secondhand by her own text -- played out as really accurate in the end Not that Joel was guilt-free either. He shamelessly used his wife and their apartment as a "safe haven" while he was schtupping his editor, waiting for a payday big enough to move out in comfort. Neither party escapes a Pyrrhic resolution. As in many divorces, everybody loses -- but you still gotta do it. A fascinating, unusually-honest book which proves the maxim, "never sleep with a writer."
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Summary: POIGNANT!
Review: The author did an excellent job of making you feel every emotion that she went through during the breakup of her marriage. It was a haunting depiction of raw human emotion. She took you from the beginning of the breakup, through therapy and finally acceptance. Gut wrenching!
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Summary: The Subject
Review: This is a story known to everyone. How Catherine Texier dealt with it is more interesting than the subject. In one way, it's a difficult book to read. All that stuff about killing the other woman. In other ways it's about true feelings. It tends to be emotional and multi-dimensional. It is not free of contradictions. It is not being easy on the self, and giving in to the completion of revenge fantasies. I think that people have trouble with the self-portrayal, because they want to see a strong woman somewhere in these pages. Instead Texier makes herself more exposed and more vulnerable. You can either not like it, or admire her for taking the risk. Pat endings all always dull anyway. Stories of failure are great stories. Stories of success of really a lie.
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Summary: A raw yet polished account of turmoil
Review: While this written in progress diary may be too raw for most readers to handle, I find so much in Texier's explicit account of her breakup - beyond the dynamics of the relationship she had with her ex-husband. I can't help but admire Texier for her wit, cockiness, viciousness, and vulernability in the face of adversity. Undoubtedly, this book is quite an emotional roller coaster as the author explores all of her mixed emotions, but the exploration is done effectively, without muddling her tone or intent. For once, I feel as if this is a novel where a woman's identity is fully represented, in as much as a novel can represent a person's identity. Although the novel greatly revolves around Texier's role as a mother and wife, she still is foremost an artist, thinker, and writer. While she may be overcoming the ultimate betrayal, Texier seems to be able to balance all facets of her life with great fluency, while still remaining true to herself in needs and desires. All people should strive to be so strong during life rocking changes!
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