Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin

Heart of the Matter
by Emily Giffin
Pub. Date: May 2010
Genre: Fiction
368 pp

Synopsis from BN.com:
Tessa Russo is the mother of two young children and the wife of a renowned pediatric surgeon. Despite her own mother's warnings, Tessa has recently given up her career to focus on her family and the pursuit of domestic happiness. From the outside, she seems destined to live a charmed life. Valerie Anderson is an attorney and single mother to six-year-old Charlie--a boy who has never known his father. After too many disappointments, she has given up on romance--and even to some degree, friendships--believing that it is always safer not to expect too much. Although both women live in the same Boston suburb, the two have relatively little in common aside from a fierce love for their children. But one night, a tragic accident causes their lives to converge in ways no one could have imagined. In alternating, pitch-perfect points of view, Emily Giffin creates a moving, luminous story of good people caught in untenable circumstances. Each being tested in ways they never thought possible. Each questioning everything they once believed. And each ultimately discovering what truly matters most.

Why I Picked It:
Needed a new audiobook to "fall asleep" to when Craig makes me turn out the light and stop reading.

My Review:
Emily Giffin is a perfect summer "read". Light, easy to listen to. Well developed characters. Giffin has real gift for genuine, realistic story lines and believable, sympathetic characters, which is why every book becomes a best seller.

I usually don't do this, but I'm going to discuss the plot line. You sort of see it coming right from the start. In the case you want to know absolutely nothing about this book, I suggest you stop reading this post now.

The book is told in alternating perspectives - Tessa and Valerie. To see how both sides of the affair/betrayal take place made me almost feel sympathetic to both sides. This is an issue that gets me ruffled so I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to feel sympathetic to the adulteress. While I ended up being irritated that she allowed it go as far as it did, she's the one character that I really wanted to win (not Nick, didn't want to see Tessa's marriage fall apart by any means, but I wanted Valerie to find another available man so she could win... Hmmm, maybe a future novel?) Anyway, from my own experience being a single parent, I understand how even though you don't need anyone to rescue you, you desire to have someone to share your life, be your partner. Valerie is the most innocent party in this mess, simply hoping for a possibility, believing in someone.

I found that I was more upset with Tessa, Nick's wife. She's seeing all the signs, having all the doubts, getting her ear chewed by her mother about how susceptible her marriage will be to an affair now that she's given up her career to be a stay at home mom, and yet she just makes excuses and whines about everything. She's somewhat dissatisfied with her own choices and it's taken a lot of the natural spark out of her marriage. Nick simply wants her to be happy, and yet she's not. As a stay at home mom I can relate to this scenario as well... sort of. We want to raise our children, know it's the right thing, and yet, lose ourselves sometimes, at least a moment here or there in the anonymity of the job (have I posted somewhere before about feeling mute and invisible?), which I know is frustrating to our husbands.

On both sides of the coin, Emily Giffin nails it. She captures the intimate details of each woman. I also loved the cameo visits from Rachel and Dex, characters I feel like I know and love from Giffin's earlier novels. No big surprise that I liked this one. I haven't found an Emily Giffin book that I didn't plow straight through and thoroughly enjoy.

2010 Challenge: 16 Read, 34 to go!