Whispers: A Novel

Robert and Lynn Ferguson live in a lovely home in an exclusive Connecticut community. Robert is very succesful and on the outside this couple and their children appear to be the "perfect family" with no problems. Even their best friends, Bruce and Josie Lehman don't know of Lynn's shame, but after a few incidents begin to suspect that all is not well in the Ferguson household.......Bruises appear on Lynn frequently and Josie who is a social worker questions her friend, but Lynn always makes excuses and explains away her bruises as"accidents". In addition to this, the Ferguson children begin to show disturbing behavior.....The wall that Lynn has built cannot come down until she face the truth of her husband's anger and abuse toward her......The very serious subject of this well written story opens our eyes to the fact that not only poor people exerience abuse, but also the rich people are not immune to this behavior. This is something that people only whisper about.

This was a brillant look into a battered woman's life. It showed that not all women are beaten everyday and every night by drunken husbands, but some are beaten irregularly and abused mentally as well, but its all the same. They are all battered women. This story got to the very heart of the matter and even had the reader feeling sorry for the husband and seeing through the wife's eyes how at times she couldn't help but love him madly and forgives him so many times you have to wonder what will happen.~Robert and Lynn Ferguson are the 'perfect' couple in everyone's eyes, except Lynn's best friend, Josie, a social worker and her husband, Bruce Lehman. They suspect and know the awful truth that the couple keeps hidden.Robert is a very accomplished businessman with the world at his feet and wants the best for his family. His two daughters strive for perfection, but cannot seem to live up to the demanding standards. Lynn tries to keep the peace in the family and has given up her life to please his unreasonable demands because she is convinced she is in love with him and he is just overworked and stressed, he doesn't mean to hit her off and on or push her around when he is feeling irritable. Don't all husbands get stressed? She can deal with it...she thinks. Until one night things get out of control and Lynn must make a heartwrenching decision that will affect her life and the lives of her daughters.Unbelieveable story of love and heartbreak. I loved this story and how real it was. Ms. Plain got right under the skin of the characters and made you see them for who they really are. So much so that you feel sorrow for Robert and wish he could work his rage out so they're 20 year marriage can be saved. A definate worthwhile read and not what I expected. It opened my eyes to a different world. Very educational.Tracy Talley~@

I loved this book. The characters were very believable. Robert Sr., the husband of the protagonist is a spouse batterer. He also verbally abuses their daughter because of her weight problem. The protagonist unfortunately and unwisely stays with this verbally, physically and mentally cruel man because she sees no other options for herself. The daughter wisely runs away after her father has belittled her one too many times. She travels out of state, which makes her a more affluent and resourceful runaway than many. I loved Bruce and despite what another reviewer has written, was glad the protagonist found a loving man instead of settling for that beast Robert, Sr. I was sorry she did not protect her children sooner and I also wish she had not named their son after his cruel father. I wouldn't have named a donkey after him!Belva Plain's books are a treat for me. Unlike another reviewer notes, I am glad she steers clear from tired, cliche bedroom scenes replete with graphic descriptions of physical intimacy. Hers is the gentle allusion to physical contact and her books are, in my estimation, entertaining, thought provoking and extremely well written.

An excellent novel that I very much enjoyed, but the ending did not agree with me. I don't understand what it is with authors like Belva Plain that feel that their novels always have to follow the same course: there's a bit of adversity, everyone feels sorry for the main character,they find true love in the end... blah, blah, blah. Life isn't always like that. Everything doesn't always end happily, look at ROMEO AND JULIET.

I happened to read this novel during a "Brush Up your English Language" course and I spent a whole weekend "eating" it. May be because it sounds real, everyday story, I don't know. What I do know is that I will recommend this book to my best friends. It is worth reading. Bye !