November Reads

Yes, I know the title says November and today is officially December – I had meant to get this post out yesterday but ended up staying late at work so it never happened!

This month, the book I read was called The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty. I had meant to read this book on the beach while I was in Hawaii, but I was too busy enjoying the scenery and gazing off into the water every time we went to the beach. Instead, I read most of it on the plane ride back home. This is a much less serious book than the ones I’ve read in the past two months – it’s chick lit, but it was also a page-turner.

The book toggles between the lives of three Australian women whose secrets will eventually lead them to cross paths. First, there is Cecelia, an super organized woman with a handsome husband named John-Paul, three young daughters, and a seemingly perfect life in Sydney. One day in the attic, she finds a letter written by John-Paul and addressed to her, to be opened in the event of his death. After agonizing about whether she should take a peek, she opens the letter, and the secrets inside change her life forever.

Tess is a lady who grows up attached to the hip with her cousin Felicity, and even as adults, they do everything together even though Tess is now married. One evening, Tess’ husband and Felicity sit Tess down and tell her that the two of them have fallen in love, and Tess’ life comes crashing down. She moves to Sydney with her son, both to get away from the situation, as well as to take care of her ailing mother.

Then there is Rachel, a lady whose 17 year old daughter Janie was murdered in 1986. Rachel has never gotten over Janie’s death, which has been left unsolved. Her husband has since died, and the only light in her life is her young grandson Jacob. However, Rachel’s remaining son and daughter-in-law have plans to take Jacob away to live in New York, and she knows that her life will feel empty and bleak once again.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s no epic literature, but it made for a very entertaining read. I love reading books about people with secrets, and how those secrets destroy their lives as they are unraveled (does that make me sound evil?) I liked all three of the protagonists – they were likable women, but Moriarty also wrote their characters with enough flaws to make them seem real. The ending was a bit predictable, which I was fine with as this was a fluffy novel anyways.

One thing that made me think was, “How would I act in these women’s shoes?” Would I become as hateful a person as Rachel is after losing her daughter, or would I learn to forgive and let go? Would I forgive my husband for cheating on me with the women I am closest to? Would I divulge my husband’s secret at the risk of losing everything? It’s easy to judge when we’re not in those shoes.

Have any of you read this book? What do you think?