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Rating: 
Summary: A HE-SAID,SHE-SAID NOVEL ABOUT MARRIAGE
Review: A husband,a wife,a marriage...two stories. The first book reveals the wife's goings on and her marital reflections. The second book ditto for the husband.All in the same time frame. Not one of Carol Shields best efforts. Kind of unmemorable. The same dissatisfaction I felt from reading The Box Garden.
Rating: 
Summary: Portrait of a Marriage
Review: A story about a short period in a long marriage, Carol Shield's tackles the interior monologues of both husband and wife with a unique style - half the story is the wife's take and the other half the husband's.It's all those things you think about your partner, but don't say because you truly want to stay together. The "oh, he's doing that again, how embarrassing" sort of interior monologue, but with some nice introspection on the part of each character. Some slightly funny bits, but more in line with the absurd things that happen in a real life. All in all, an absorbing read.
Rating:
Summary: Should be a classic in the "relationship novel" genre
Review: I'm surprised at the way the Kirkus review above mischaracterizes this wonderful novel. I read the husband's half of the story first, since Shields wrote that one first. The author does a masterful job of not repeating herself at all, amazing considering she's covering the same basic period of time as experienced by two halves of a single marriage (though the wife is away for several days at a conference -- an event that is a delight to read about if you've ever been to a conference yourself). Shields handles the everyday, tiny moments of a family's life with such searing poignancy that I had to stop reading every so often and reflect -- and that is, to me, the sign of a very good piece of literature. I love the way she uses the wife's quilting to explore the creative process (and her writer's block segment, when the husband fiddles away his 'free' day, is priceless and oh-so-true). The marriage feels real, the feelings of the mother for her teen children are absolutely genuine in their crushing intensity and occasional ambivalence, and the resolution of the book is the kind I like best: not neat, not melodramatic, not resolved once and for all, yet leaving you with a sense that you've shared a life and gained something permanent from the experience. Subtle, funny, and though it was first published in the early 80s, this unusual double novel is universal in its themes. Susan K. Perry, Ph.D., author of WRITING IN FLOW
Rating:
Summary: Should be a classic in the "relationship novel" genre
Review: I'm surprised at the way the Kirkus review above mischaracterizes this wonderful novel. I read the husband's half of the story first, since Shields wrote that one first. The author does a masterful job of not repeating herself at all, amazing considering she's covering the same basic period of time as experienced by two halves of a single marriage (though the wife is away for several days at a conference -- an event that is a delight to read about if you've ever been to a conference yourself). Shields handles the everyday, tiny moments of a family's life with such searing poignancy that I had to stop reading every so often and reflect -- and that is, to me, the sign of a very good piece of literature. I love the way she uses the wife's quilting to explore the creative process (and her writer's block segment, when the husband fiddles away his 'free' day, is priceless and oh-so-true). The marriage feels real, the feelings of the mother for her teen children are absolutely genuine in their crushing intensity and occasional ambivalence, and the resolution of the book is the kind I like best: not neat, not melodramatic, not resolved once and for all, yet leaving you with a sense that you've shared a life and gained something permanent from the experience. Subtle, funny, and though it was first published in the early 80s, this unusual double novel is universal in its themes. Susan K. Perry, Ph.D., author of WRITING IN FLOW
Rating: 
Summary: The two sides of each story
Review: In a court of law, the judge and/or the jury listens to the plaintiff and the defendant before making a decision. It is important to listen to both sides of a story to get the real picture of what is going on. Nowhere is this more true that when it comes to man-woman relations. I love books that have unusual formats. This one immediately caught my eye. I read Brenda's story first, then Jack's. Amazingly enough, after 20 years living together, they are still somewhat strangers to each other, yet they have a fine marriage, with harmony, peace, fulfilling sex, the works. Brenda goes away for one week to a quilters' convention and both she and Jack are presented with itchy temptation. The most entertaining point of the novel for me is their feelings towards the other's creativity. In her absence, Jack meditates about Brenda's quilts and her determination, and feels rather jealous about it. In his absence, Brenda thinks about Jack's book and his writer's block, and feels rather irritated about his sloth. The array of miscellaneous characters are interesting, although some are extremely annoying (the convention organizers, for example). Not a bad novel by an excellent author, who nevertheless has created better works.
Rating:
Summary: The two sides of each story
Review: In a court of law, the judge and/or the jury listens to the plaintiff and the defendant before making a decision. It is important to listen to both sides of a story to get the real picture of what is going on. Nowhere is this more true that when it comes to man-woman relations. I love books that have unusual formats. This one immediately caught my eye. I read Brenda's story first, then Jack's. Amazingly enough, after 20 years living together, they are still somewhat strangers to each other, yet they have a fine marriage, with harmony, peace, fulfilling sex, the works. Brenda goes away for one week to a quilters' convention and both she and Jack are presented with itchy temptation. The most entertaining point of the novel for me is their feelings towards the other's creativity. In her absence, Jack meditates about Brenda's quilts and her determination, and feels rather jealous about it. In his absence, Brenda thinks about Jack's book and his writer's block, and feels rather irritated about his sloth. The array of miscellaneous characters are interesting, although some are extremely annoying (the convention organizers, for example). Not a bad novel by an excellent author, who nevertheless has created better works.
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