Review: Realities - a Wonderful Book
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 7, 2012
The most interesting thing about this novel was that it had no chapters, but was an ongoing series of letters written by a woman, Jenny, to her dead husband. I had never seen this before, and if someone had described it, I would have thought it didn't sound like something which would appeal to me but in fact, it was very effective.This is a well-told story, of a woman who is struggling to come to terms with the death of her husband. The reason for this (and I apologize if this is construed as a spoiler, but the fact is important to the rest of this review) is that the husband elected to kill himself. Jenny is left with two small children, and a whole bunch of people who won't have anything to do with her any longer, so she runs away to make a new life in California for herself and her children.It's a wonderful back story, of her relationship with her husband, her parents, her old "friends" back in Eagles Landing woven in seamlessly with the events of the day. Jenny uses the letters as therapy, to reconcile herself to what has happened, to become less bitter about the way her husband chose to get out of his financial problems, to heal herself.Jenny talks to her dead husband and each segment is a separate letter where she relates what happened to her that day, or since she last wrote. It flows well. At first I assumed Jenny was blameless, but as the letters continue, it is apparent that Jenny isn't quite as innocent as we first might believe, that she is a deep character, with short-comings and faults, insecurities and regrets. The only criticism I had was the end seemed to just end. As if the author needed to resolve all the issues because it was time to end it. Jenny writes of a decision she makes, before we knew the event that occurred which caused the decision to be made. Maybe I just wanted the book to go on and on, but it seemed to end abruptly.This was a comforting book. I don't know how else to say it. I relished the times when I could come back to it. There wasn't one part that was boring. I would recommend this to all lovers of women's fiction. It's enjoyable from cover to cover (or from 1 to 100%) and hard to put down. I gave this four stars, but I debated about giving it five.Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a digital copy of this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."