By Amazon Customer on March 5, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Anne is a piece of work.
I related to her - at first. She's a woman preoccupied with always finding the perfect word for a situation, observation, emotion. I get that.
When her husband runs screaming out of their fabulously appointed closet, her wordsmithing helps her make the adjustment from seemingly happy mother and wife, to middle aged divorcee. It also helps distance her from the pain and embarrassment of her circumstances. I get that, too. Middle age can be tough enough without the added slap of a busted-up marriage.
Ultimately, however, Anne's ability to separate pain from experience leaves her in a strange, hollow place. One lacking empathy, and wallowing in an overabundance of rationalization.
Anne, we discover, is dangerous.
Defined By Others is a deceptively dark book. That's what I liked so much about it. On the surface it's about life changes, reconnecting with friends, making sense of the past and taking the first shaky steps in planning a future after a devastating blow.
But it's also about casual cruelty, revenge, wasted lives, and wasted love. When I finished the book, I needed a drink.
I related to her - at first. She's a woman preoccupied with always finding the perfect word for a situation, observation, emotion. I get that.
When her husband runs screaming out of their fabulously appointed closet, her wordsmithing helps her make the adjustment from seemingly happy mother and wife, to middle aged divorcee. It also helps distance her from the pain and embarrassment of her circumstances. I get that, too. Middle age can be tough enough without the added slap of a busted-up marriage.
Ultimately, however, Anne's ability to separate pain from experience leaves her in a strange, hollow place. One lacking empathy, and wallowing in an overabundance of rationalization.
Anne, we discover, is dangerous.
Defined By Others is a deceptively dark book. That's what I liked so much about it. On the surface it's about life changes, reconnecting with friends, making sense of the past and taking the first shaky steps in planning a future after a devastating blow.
But it's also about casual cruelty, revenge, wasted lives, and wasted love. When I finished the book, I needed a drink.
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