Husband and Wife ~ Book Review

Husband and Wife, a novel written by Leah Stewart, was an odd read for me. I had high hopes for the story of Sarah (sad, that I literally finished this novel a few hours ago and I didn't remember the main character's name) and hoped to see her recapture the supposed spirit she had when she was younger.

As a mom, and one who is not working, I had empathy for Sarah for giving up her dreams to become a mother and support her family. My story is a bit reversed, though I'm not doing what I want to do when it comes to working, either. See, for me, I'm not working at all outside my home. For Sarah, she was working in a field that just about bored her to tears.

I felt the search she was on for herself. For her younger self, for the person she had become, I felt all of that and think that those scenes were the strongest of Ms. Stewart's writing. But I never felt FOR Sarah. I never felt like I knew her. Maybe I wasn't supposed to, as she really didn't know herself throughout this story, but I knew her husband, Nathan. I remember his name. I remember her friend, Helen, and even her husband Daniel - who was more of a name than a character at all. I can conjure up an imagine of the two men we watch her interact with who are not her husband. Smith [boy - he was pretty yummy. Can we get a book completely about Smith, please?] and R. So why is it I can't really feel Sarah?

I think that somewhere at the mid-point of this book I tuned out some of what she had to say. And because of that I'd have to add that I think some of it could have been left out. As I fumbled through the pages with her, as she reassessed her relationship and looked at herself a bit, I did, too, and while I'm not sure what it was, I felt like something was missing.
And yet, to somewhat contradict myself, after those sections I decided to skim through, the story picked up again. I started getting into it. I had hope -- however brief it was.

On the back cover of the book the last line of the description states:

"an eye-opening journey that leads Sarah hundreds of miles away from her marriage and back to herself."
Sadly, I didn't feel it. I don't think she found enough of herself for this book to end as it did.

But I'll say that I don't think every book is for every reader, so if you find the info on her website intriguing enough - then go for it. It just might be the right read for you.

** I was not compensated in any way for this review. I was given a copy of the book to facilitate my review and all expressed opinions are completely my own.**

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