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Description
When Belinda discovers her husband is having an affair, her world is turned upside down; she’s furious, hurt, and bent on evening the score. But Belinda isn’t the only one in her affluent suburban neighborhood suffering the indignities and disappointments of middle life. Instead of resting comfortably in the glow of earlier goo...
When Belinda discovers her husband is having an affair, her world is turned upside down; she’s furious, hurt, and bent on evening the score. But Belinda isn’t the only one in her affluent suburban neighborhood suffering the indignities and disappointments of middle life. Instead of resting comfortably in the glow of earlier good decisions, she and her neighbors have just as much angst as they did in their twenties, even if the drama is buried under accreting layers of everyday life.
One of Belinda’s friends fears her own husband is having an affair. But when she finds out there’s no other woman—that he’s found God instead—this, to her, is the biggest betrayal. A renowned artist, near death, is convinced that his entire life has been a waste. And a schoolteacher, upon achieving his dream of
selling a screenplay to Hollywood, finds himself buffeted by the maddening whims of the studio execs (who are no longer looking for a serious drama, but a low-brow comedy about a talking dog).
And as the grownups in this searching, beautifully told story try to claw back the happiness that has slipped away, two college kids who believed they’d never find love discover a glimmer of hope.
Media
“Nicholson has a knack for crystallizing his themes in pivotal moments and deserves credit for not clouting the reader over the head with his affirmative message about the viability of two rapidly fading instituitions: long-term marriage and English country life.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A bittersweet update of Love Actually… Nicholson adds flashes of intensity and wisdom to the cozy mix.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Screenwriter (Gladiator) and novelist Nicholson follows up The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life with this sharp ensemble tale of suburban English drama, missed connections, intersecting fates, and good old-fashioned miscommunication… It's a busy story with buckets of desire, unrequited love, disillusionment, growing pains, and strained friendships—and Nicholson juggles all of it with ease, cracking wise and counterbalancing the raw emotion with smart, crisp insight and lacerating wit, giving this the feel of a Nick Hornby novel with a little more teeth.”