Scan barcode
A review by jhscolloquium
Nobody's Wife by Laura Pearson
4.0
Laura Pearson's second novel, Nobody's Wife, focuses on two sisters, Emily and Josephine, who have always shared everything. They're not just sisters. They're also roommates and best friends. It's always been the two of them against the world.
But change is inevitable. As the story opens, Emily has a perfect wedding to Michael. He's older than Emily, but adores and is committed to her. He's solid and safe, if not exciting. His first novel was a success, but he's been struggling to complete his second book, writing travel articles and book reviews in the interim.
Josephine finds the perfect man. Jack works in the local bookstore and writes short stories, He lives in a shabby apartment. His feelings for Josephine are genuine, but not as strong as her feelings for him.
Emily and Josephine are utterly unprepared for what happens after Josephine brings Jack to dinner at Emily and Michael's home. Jack realizes that Michael is the writer whose work he admires, and the two men strike up a friendship. Michael agrees to read Jack's work.
But something else happens on that fateful night. Something is set in motion that will change all of their lives over the course of the coming year.
Laura Pearson elevates what could have been a melodramatic, tawdry tale about infidelity, betrayal, and obsession into a complex, spellbinding examination of the relationship between the sisters and the far-reaching consequences that can result from acting upon attraction and passion.
Nobody's Wife is a character study crafted with precision, believability, and emotional authenticity. Although her characters make ill-advised decisions there are no villains in this story. Rather, Pearson examines their motivations, desires, and actions with sensitivity. As a result, the characters are empathetic -- even relatable -- and Pearson challenges her readers to contemplate what they would do if they found themselves in the same unenviable situation.
One unforgivable betrayal compels the story forward and forces each character to evaluate what matters mot to him/her -- family, loyalty, and doing the right thing vs. fulfillment of desires, surrender to romantic feelings, and respite from feeling unfulfilled.
The prologue reveals that by the end of the book only three of the four will remain and there will be "no going backwards from there." Through Pearson's restrained writing style, she takes readers on her characters' journey to that tragic point sans judgment. Rather, events transpire in a logical manner as the consequences of their choices are revealed.
The result is a compelling drama at the core of which is the complex, multi-layered relationship of Emily and Josephine, and the question of whether they can ever reach a point of forgiveness and resolution.
Nobody's Wife a worthy successor to Pearson's stunning debut work, Missing Pieces.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
But change is inevitable. As the story opens, Emily has a perfect wedding to Michael. He's older than Emily, but adores and is committed to her. He's solid and safe, if not exciting. His first novel was a success, but he's been struggling to complete his second book, writing travel articles and book reviews in the interim.
Josephine finds the perfect man. Jack works in the local bookstore and writes short stories, He lives in a shabby apartment. His feelings for Josephine are genuine, but not as strong as her feelings for him.
Emily and Josephine are utterly unprepared for what happens after Josephine brings Jack to dinner at Emily and Michael's home. Jack realizes that Michael is the writer whose work he admires, and the two men strike up a friendship. Michael agrees to read Jack's work.
But something else happens on that fateful night. Something is set in motion that will change all of their lives over the course of the coming year.
Laura Pearson elevates what could have been a melodramatic, tawdry tale about infidelity, betrayal, and obsession into a complex, spellbinding examination of the relationship between the sisters and the far-reaching consequences that can result from acting upon attraction and passion.
Nobody's Wife is a character study crafted with precision, believability, and emotional authenticity. Although her characters make ill-advised decisions there are no villains in this story. Rather, Pearson examines their motivations, desires, and actions with sensitivity. As a result, the characters are empathetic -- even relatable -- and Pearson challenges her readers to contemplate what they would do if they found themselves in the same unenviable situation.
One unforgivable betrayal compels the story forward and forces each character to evaluate what matters mot to him/her -- family, loyalty, and doing the right thing vs. fulfillment of desires, surrender to romantic feelings, and respite from feeling unfulfilled.
The prologue reveals that by the end of the book only three of the four will remain and there will be "no going backwards from there." Through Pearson's restrained writing style, she takes readers on her characters' journey to that tragic point sans judgment. Rather, events transpire in a logical manner as the consequences of their choices are revealed.
The result is a compelling drama at the core of which is the complex, multi-layered relationship of Emily and Josephine, and the question of whether they can ever reach a point of forgiveness and resolution.
Nobody's Wife a worthy successor to Pearson's stunning debut work, Missing Pieces.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.