Husband and Wife

Husband and Wife is an honest and often funny look at what can (and often does) happen in a marriage when passion and ambition are worn down by the realities of everyday life. I found this novel incredibly moving, and appreciated that Stewart's writing is smart and sharp without taking away from the story itself.

In this compelling family drama, we meet Sarah Price and her husband, Nathan. She has given up her dreams of creativity for a steady job that supports them, while her husband devotes himself to his fiction and their two small children. Then, out of the blue, while they are getting ready to attend the wedding of friends, he announces that he has cheated on her. Is this confession a way of escaping the life they have created? And what does it mean for the future? In the pages that follow, we experience, almost as if it has happened to us, the rage, the fear, the insecurities that characterize Sarah's life. When she thought she knew him and understood the life they had fashioned for themselves, had she been wrong? Now what? Husband and Wife: A Novel is not your typical story about a life coming apart. It's more about how the characters look back upon who they were and try to rediscover those selves. It's also about how the day-in-and-day-out ordinary stuff of life can sometimes steal the essence of our being. I loved the parts of this story that delved into the everyday grittiness. The parts that showed us how completely imperfect a life can be. The author granted us a peek into the humorous aspects of parenting, like when the baby has diarrhea during a stopover at McDonald's and how a mother matter-of-factly deals with that. In the end, the partners have to decide whether or not they can put their lives back together, amidst any other options that might be available. A complete page turner, I could not wait to see what would happen next--which was why I gave this book five stars.

If you're looking for a great book to add to your shelves, buy this. I borrowed it from a friend, passed it on to another friend and have just finished The Myth of You and Me, another Stewart. I love it when I discover a writer who seems to have the same thoughts as I have. Even better when I laugh out loud & can't put it down! Keep writing and I'll keep reading...

When I read Leah Stewart's wonderful previous book, "The Myth of You and Me," I thought she had somehow gotten inside my head and channelled to the page all my deepest thoughts about female friendship. Now she has done it again, only this time she writes about the sometimes difficult relationship between a 30-something couple with very young children. How does she manage to articulate so beautifully so many things I myself have felt, at one time or another? I am not sure whether a man reading Leah Stewart would have the same feeling, but I know many of my female book group friends felt the same way about "The Myth of You and Me." And, man or woman, you will certainly appreciate the gorgeous sentences and well-plotted story. I highly recommend this book, especially if you love stories about relationships that ring true.

Feeling some guilt, novelist Nathan Bennett confesses to his wife Sarah Price that he slept with another woman. She is stunned by his confession, which changes her priorities from which dress to wear at a wedding would make her look less fat to what to do about her relationship with Nathan; factoring in their two young children, Mattie and Binx. Whereas Nathan feels remorse, Sarah feels anger. She considers her options by looking at her past through a decision analysis of what could have been her life if she chose a different path. She ponders leaving her spouse and taking the kids with her of course while her anger grows as she gave up poetry writing and wants to be known as a poetess again. Then there is to consider her friend Rajiv, who has loved her forever. This is an interesting family drama in which an extramarital one night stand has shattered the trust between Husband and Wife. The lead couple feels genuine especially their emotions. However, it is the tense intriguing look back by Sarah who deeply examines lost opportunities when she made pivotal choices who makes the story line profound. Although the ending seems off kilter as a throwback to Austen's Regency era, fans will still appreciate this deep character study of one major indiscretion which has incredible relational costs. Harriet Klausner