Sweet Ruin

complicated, never as black and white as we wish. A great vacation book. Both likeable and entertaining.

I was a bit saddened and then a bit defensive. As a suburban SAHM in her 30's with a young daugher and an overworked husband - I got this story. It spoke to me of the frustrations, temptations and feelings often buried so deeply that they are even hard to acknowledge yourself. I thought it was beautifully written and even though she didn't spell out all of Elayna's pain you could see it there under the surface and how she chose more often than not to push it down and plod on rather than wallow in it like her sister. I'm not meaning to undermine everyone else's opinions because they are all valid - but merely point out a different viewpoint. I didn't find Elayna a spoiled brat of a wife or mother. I found her a very real woman with faults just like everyone else. She did have a wonderful life - a great husband - a wonderful kid - but something was missing. Some 'vitality' that she needed to regain. She chose a path that was destructive to do so - but it only makes her that much more human. Instead of burying herself in selfless acts of motherhood and a martyrdom of a marriage - she allowed herself to 'feel' again. Yes, her selfish choices did almost ruin her marriage and harm her daughter, but they were mistakes that people make. She regretted them and she worked to fix them. I felt that Cathi Hanauer DOES understand how a woman thinks and feels. It might not be the thoughts and feelings of ALL women - but I think there are a lot of us out there that get where she is coming from and that she is spot on.

Great Book!!! Great condition when I received it. I have recomended to many of my friends.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Given the melodramatic title and literary opening, I thought it might be pretentious...but it quickly morphed into a highly readable, almost Judy Blume-esque (think "Wifey") account of a subtly failing marriage and the wife's growing attraction to a neighbor boy. His age is never specified, but he's presumably in his twenties, while Elayna, the discontent wife, is 35. Elayna is starting to feel that passion is lacking in her life. Her infant son died about a year ago, and she's just starting to come out of her depression. However, her husband, Paul, is still immersed in his round-the-clock work as a death-row lawyer. Elayna's daughter, feisty, orange-haired Hazel, keeps her hands full much of the time, but Elayna can't help noticing the slim, artsy boy who walks his grey Weimaraner in the neighborhood. I thought the dialogue and characters in this book were great. Even the supporting characters, like Elayna's college roommate, Celeste, are well-drawn. Pansy, the woman who runs Hazel's daycare, is a little cartoonish, but displays greater depth toward the end of the book. I also thought the book was not mired down in depression. Despite her son's death, Elayna is a vital, passionate woman who finds something missing in her life. Although some of the reviewers here found her unsympathetic, I found her very human. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Judy Blume or good dialogue. And parts of the book are very funny, though others are more serious. It's quite erotic as well.

In New York Times best-selling author Cathi Hanauer's latest novel she takes readers into the mind of a thrity-something, wife and stay at home Mom, just coming back from a devastating tragedy. It has been two years since the death of Elayna Leopold-Slade's infant son Oliver, and only now is the fog of deep depression starting to lift. As winter turns to spring Elayna feels herself start to come alive again and is enjoying this newfound sense of freedom. As she begins to take focus on her work as a poetry editor, her 6 year old daughter Hazel is finding more independence and her loving but sometimes distant husband is working long hours, Elayna begins to use her time to refocus on herself. However, she soon finds this new Zen for life taking her down a road she never imagined, when she meets her young, handsome and very intriguing neighbor, Kevin. As she and Kevin form a friendship, she finds herself feeling things she thought died along with Oliver and finds him hard to resist. 'SWEET RUIN' is well written, thought-provoking and gives us great insight into the mind of a wife and mother trying to reconnect with pieces of herself that were pushed aside to take care of her family. As a wife and mother myself, I could completely relate to much of Elayna's thoughts about motherhood and marriage and how one can loose themselves in the chaos of it all. Hanauer has provided a very honest look at life and does not sugar coat the effects Elayna's actions have on her or her family. This book should be on everyone's must read list for this summer!