Serial Monogamy

There's a lot going on in this book, too much really. There are four narrative voices, which are all puportedly written by our protagonist, a writer named Sharon who is dying of cancer. The premise itself I quite liked but the execution left me less impressed; the pacing seems uneven and I never really got into the story emotionally. Sharon comes across as whiny, constantly obsessing about the grad student her husband has left her for and any tiny shred of sympathy was destroyed by the revelation that Sharon was her husband's mistress before thier marriage. (You don't get to be surprised that your husband is cheating on you when you knew he was a cheater right from the beginning.) The chapters about Nelly Terman and Charles Dickens are not nearly as factual as I would have liked, although I certainly enjoyed that plotline the most. Overall, not an unpleasant read but not really my thing, as I cannot bear characters who think their love can reform another human.

Thank you to Penguin Random House who were kind enough to award me this advance reading copy.