Saturday, April 14, 2018

Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen


A special thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tension permeates a close-knit neighbourhood and happy marriage after an unexpected violent act.

Nora and Charlie Nolan seem to have it all.  They live on a dead end street in a lovely home in a New York City neighbourhood.  Their twins are away at college and all is well.  Nora has always loved the city and Charlie loves it even more now that he has secured a highly coveted parking spot.  One morning, Nora returns home from her run only to discover a terribly tragedy has occurred that has shaken her once tight community.  Cracks start to appear in her seemingly charmed life, not only on the block, but at her job, and her marriage.

In Anna Quindlen's latest book, she explores motherhood, being a wife, and a woman in the stages of unravelling.      

Quindlen is a fantastic writer, and this book is no exception.  However, it took me a long time to get into the book and by time the story really started to develop (after the "incident"), I had checked out.

I liked the parallel between Charlie and Nora's dead-end marriage with them living on a dead-end street.  But, the parking space and a mundane marriage seem to eclipse the rest of story.  Or maybe because the first part of the book is so drawn out that the reader is just not as vested in any of the issues.  Maybe it's because I live in the burbs, but I couldn't relate to the parking issue and felt that it had too much presence in the story.  Perhaps because NYC was so integral, the city was almost a character in itself, that Qindlen dedicated so much to the parking space.

Unfortunately for me, this one is a pass.  It was just okay.



No comments:

Post a Comment