ceeceerose's review
4.0
Faith Smith appears, at the beginning of the novel, to have it all…she has a job she likes (not loves, but it doesn’t matter much to her anyway), well-adjusted children (maybe even a little too well-adjusted), and loving dog, and a happy marriage. When her marriage begins to crumble, Faith’s world starts spiraling out of control. I enjoyed this book because, unlike a lot of stories about relationship difficulties, this one is not overly predictable. Faith tries her best to be a tough lady, but really is a person who needs the security that a stable marriage provided for her for seventeen years. The outcome here comes as both an unexpected and welcome surprise, as Faith gradually realizes what is best for her. This can be attributed to Wolff’s writing—the characters all develop easily and naturally. As Faith begins to set out on a new phase of her life, her past becomes more and more “ideal” to her. Wolff doesn’t seem to “force” Faith to be too harsh or to severe. Faith’s story and persona seemed realistic, something that cannot be said all that often about contemporary fiction.
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