Single Wife

For most people, marriage is a partnership that evolves over time. For Grace Brookman, the main character in THE SINGLE WIFE by Nina Solomon, the union is more like a game of smoke and mirrors. But the object of the illusion is not only her elusive husband but herself as well.In her new novel Solomon addresses a question that partners of both sexes will recognize: How does a person hold on to her or his identity after finding a mate and joining two lives?Grace is a woman who defines herself through her roles as daughter, wife and friend. But when Laz, her journalist husband, disappears for more than a month, it sets her on her own course of self-discovery. And after five months of lying to friends and family about the whereabouts of her Pulitzer Prize-winning husband, Grace begins to question not only his presence in her life but the shape of her life on its own. Early on in their marriage she shelved her ambitions as a book restorer and artist, accepted Laz's decision to not have children, and busied herself with errands and volunteer work. Yet Laz made none of those compromises. A man who freezes a key to his own apartment (which he keeps on the other side of town), disappears for weeks at a time and maintains a full and separate social schedule, Laz has always had a life of his own. But as weeks stretch into months, and a birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas pass without a word from Laz, Grace realizes how little she knows of that life.A character with whom readers feel at ease and at home, Grace volunteers her time, pacifies a difficult mother-in-law, and dresses to please her self-consumed husband. When she finally sheds her pink cashmere princess coat for a faux fur hand-me-down, the reflection in the mirror is one that Grace recognizes and can call her own. What leads her to that point is an entertaining tale that volleys heavy issues at readers with a lighthearted swing.It is a simple story of a woman who covers up her husband's disappearance in an attempt to allow him his freedom and subconsciously protect a fragile marriage. As she protects that bubble more, buffering it from the realities of her own life with fibs, Grace begins to realize how little her closest friends and family know her husband and require his presence in their lives. With several twists and turns, Solomon leads readers on an entertaining and compelling goose chase to find out where Laz has gone and whether he will ever return. She weaves elements of mystery, love story and comedy into this hodgepodge of a novel, the author's first, that prompts readers to stop and think: Would a few tossed socks, a rumpled bed sheet, and some well-planned excuses substitute for a spouse over a five-month span? And if so, how eager would you be for his or her return?SINGLE WIFE is a fun book that will leave readers hoping for a sequel. --- Reviewed by Heather Grimshaw

When her journalist husband of five years disappears without a word or a note, Manhattanite Grace Brookman doesn't panic or call the police. She'd already been that route - years ago - and got no thanks for it. Instead, she tells the cleaning lady he'll be back on Sunday and when he isn't, she eats the custard Marisol left him, blasting one of his favorite cds."It began with these small things. Monday, she left a knife with peanut butter and an empty orange juice glass by the sink. Tuesday, his unedited manuscript on the coffee table. Wednesday, a bouquet of sweet peas on the windowsill behind the baby grand, some loose change on the hall table. Thursday, a cigarette butt in a seashell from their honeymoon in Belize, his rumpled tuxedo shirt over the side of an armchair." `It's so nice to have him home again - the house is filled with joy,' Marisol commented, as she swept the remains of the ashes with a soft rag."Soon she's setting her alarm to bring coffee to the doorman as was Laz's habit. She sets out two wet umbrellas on rainy days, leaves up the toilet seat (this one's harder to remember), puts his clothes in the laundry hamper, becomes increasingly inventive with the excuses she gives her quietly zany parents at their weekly dinner and scrabble. She orders in his usual cake and champagne for his birthday and has a dozen roses sent to her at their big anniversary dinner. There are occasional blips in this routine - duplicate coffees for the doorman, a "guest" on Laz's computer, an extra dozen roses at the anniversary dinner, an unaccounted-for delivery of special light bulbs - but Grace rationalizes these with growing ease.Somewhat more disturbing is the discovery of his wedding ring behind the detritus in the bathroom medicine cabinet and an unfamiliar lipstick in the pocket of his leather jacket. And, reluctantly, Grace becomes aware that Laz is caught in a controversy over his last book - his personal account of a six week pose as a mute Muslim prisoner in a Kosovo prison camp. She begins to avoid newspapers and TV. "Laz's troubles may now involve a national scandal, but in her home everything would be preserved, even Laz's reputation."Her vigilance becomes its own reward. "Until recently Grace had been unaware of how simple it was to deceive. Not to be deceived - she's always known that it was easy to let oneself be fooled. That was a personal choice people made. Grace was not gullible. Rather, she chose - and this was a great distinction for her - to have faith. Deception was her new hobby. What she found most disconcerting was how much she liked it."It seems, though, that her newfound talent has taken away her faith. Almost against her will, Grace delves into the hidden corners of Laz's life, and as his secrets emerge, her insistent focus on the status-quo relaxes. She's free to act out of character occasionally. There's to be an epiphany - we're in no doubt about that - but Solomon keeps us - and Grace - guessing until the last page.T

Grace Brookman has become accustomed to her husband Laz disappearing for days, even a week. His latest disappearance happens right after an evening of tenderness and passion, and as always, Grace covers up for Laz by lying and avoiding their families and friends. Grace even strews her husband's belongings around their NYC apartment so that their maid will not realize he is gone.The reader slowly begins to realize that Grace is coming to terms with Laz's abandonment through her attempts to live both their lives. Instead of dealing with the issue head on, she probes it gently in her mind and only absorbs as much as she can handle at one time. Grace begins to test her independence as her resentment builds at Laz for leaving her alone to handle several personal misfortunes. At the same time, Laz's career is very publicly falling apart, a situation Grace and her family seem to think will go away if the do not talk about it.Single Wife is charming and poignant. Grace is funny and vulnerable, and appeals to the reader's empathy and patience as she finds strength in her own way. This is definitely a very fine first novel, pieces of which will stay with the reader long after finishing. I hope to see more writing from Nina Solomon in the future.

This is a great read, the kind that as you are reading it, you slow yourself down, to savor the writing, and to be able to spend more time with the characters that you are going on the journey with. I knew as soon as I finished it, it would be one of those books that I put on my "special shelf" to be read again at a later date. I don't want to give to much away, but when I first picked it up, I sort of thought there would be a mystery, "where is her husband?"Then of course, I realised that wasn't the mystery at all. The mystery was, did the wife want him to come back? I picked this book up because it was a backup for my vacation book which I left at home. I was thrilled when I started reading it and found so much more to the stories and characters than I was expecting. Ms. Solomon is a beautiful and witty writer. Well worth the time spent with this book.

sure to be a hit. witty and wise, poignant and touching, a coming of age tale for a young married woman who rediscovers herself when her husband seems to have disappeared.