Sometimes Mine

In Columbus, Ohio, cardiologist Dr. Genie Toledo and married Turkman State basketball coach Mick Crabbe have been seeing each other for two hours every Thursday for the past dozen years. Outside of Mick, her patients are Genie's life. As the fifty something Mick's team gains national prominence, Genie becomes involved with his wife and one of his adult children. Mick's twenty-something daughter single mom Claudia has a coronary disease so at her father's prodding becomes Genie's patient. This turn leads to his wife Karn "consulting" with Genie about their mutual interests in her family. Meanwhile Mick's 1999-2000 squad had high expectations but is not coming together as a unit at a time he learns he has a fatal form of prostrate cancer. This is an entertaining character study that focuses on the life of a mistress who has no one else but her lover yet must conceal her fears that if he dies she is alone unable to even share her grief overtly with anyone. The cast is solid as Mick and his family seems genuine especially as his health deteriorates while Genie holds the story line together. Although the ending appears off kilter in its Madame Mitterrand demeanor, readers will relish the aptly titled Sometimes Mine. Harriet Klausner

I really enjoyed reading Sometimes Mine. Sure, the main character's morals were questionable, but I believe that was part of what I enjoyed. She was REAL. The story was well written (as are all of Martha Moody's books) and I couldn't put it down.

For me, one of the great pleasures of good writing--fiction or non--is briefly immersing myself in someone else's world. When it's working, I'm not tempted to judge ("would anyone really do this for 11 years?"), it just flows. Sometimes Mine works that way for me. The detailed description of the main character's life as a cardiologist is a solid infrastructure, and also stands in contrast to the rest of her life, which is not so rich. Genie Toledo isn't perfect--but if she were, there'd be no story. I recommend this novel, and I've gone one to go back and discover Best Friends, her first book, as well.

I have read all three of Moody's books. I love the way she portrays her characters. They are not at all cookie cutter. Moody show us that real life is complicated and that most people aren't all good or bad. Moody's portrayal of a long term affair between two people who genuinely care about each other is both believable and interesting. Their arrangement would not be tenable for most, but it works for them. Ultimately, the circumstances of their lives force each of them to grow and to make choices and decisions they never expected to face. For me, the outcomes are a testament to the power of love and the strength of the human sprit. I also enjoyed the way Moody intertwined medicine and basketball in this love story. Those back stories give the book lots of interest and substance. It's a great read!! I highly recommend it.

Martha Moody came out of nowhere eight years ago with BEST FRIENDS. That book really struck a chord with readers. It has sold over half a million copies. Not bad for a debut novel by a virtual unknown. Moody is no longer unknown. This third novel shows her development as a writer over these intervening years. SOMETIMES MINE is the story of an Ohio cardiologist, a single mom, a divorcee, who is having a long-running affair with a married college basketball coach in West Virginia. The title no doubt alludes to the fact that the doctor (and narrator) can only consider her lover to be "sometimes mine." They meet every week for a few hours of passion. Over the years their relationship is altered by circumstance. Moody does a fabulous job of depicting the emotions of the lovers, their bond, their obvious frustration with the situation. Then she throws in a bit of a twist; we get to know the coach's long-suffering wife. That brings a whole new dimension to this story. The three of them become an odd and touching trio as the story winds down to an astonishing close. This is Moody's best book yet. And now Moody has imitators; did you notice that Jennifer Weiner's latest book is called BEST FRIENDS FOREVER? Stick with the real thing. Check out SOMETIMES MINE. You'll be glad you did.