The Folded World
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Book Overview
When Charlie Shade and Alice Bussard find each other, neither is prepared for the powerful, aching feeling of love that unites them. After falling for the cheerful and empathetic young man, Alice asks God: "Please, leave us alone. Leave us just like this." But as their relationship evolves, and their family grows with the addition of twin girls, so too does Charlie's career as a social worker. Drawn to people in crisis, Charlie struggles to remain neutral when dealing with the troubled souls he meets. But as boundaries begin to blur and temptations arise at work and at home, Charlie and Alice head toward an emotional collision that will challenge their marriage in ways they never thought possible.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0812978544
ISBN13:9780812978544
Release Date:February 2009
Publisher:Random House Group
Length:320 Pages
Weight:0.04 lbs.
Dimensions:0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"
Customer Reviews
5 ratings
lush prose, engaging story
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
Some novels are richly written on the word and sentence level, and they are best read slowly with care paid to the precise language. Many more novels are well-constructed with compelling characters and are easy to read. To me, the best novels are both, and The Folded World fits into this category. If you're not a particularly careful reader (you just want a "good read"), you can fly through this book--getting to know the complex characters, seeing their conflicts through, and disappearing into the "folds" of their world. You may or may not realize that it's beautiful, precise writing that makes it such a satisfying read, but you'll be satisfied. If you like to read with more attention to the diction, imagery, and techniques of the author, you're sure to see the poetry in Gaige's writing. The first five or ten pages are among the most well-crafted I've ever read. And the rest of the book is lovely, too.
Worker gets too social
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
Alice and Charlie are a naïve and handsome young couple who have an idyllic marriage with twin daughters. Alice has given up on college and career to look after her mother, Marlene, and Charlie is a dedicated idealistic social worker, dealing with psychotic patients. A serpent enters paradise as Charlie become a workaholic, overly involved with one of his clients, Opal, and Alice gets slightly entangled with another one, Hal. I was a little put off by the ethereal sentimentality at the beginning, describing Alice and Charlie's childhoods, but that may be just me. I tend to like dry wit and harsh satire. I thought Alice and Charlie were a little to good to be true. It's different strokes for different folks. I thought the parts describing the illnesses of Opal and Hal were very good, but it's precisely those that the New York Times critic disliked. Gaige seem to know what working with chronic psychotic patients is like. I'd recommend this to anyone contemplating a career in social work.
A Common Plot
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
The book has a common plot of boy meets girl and then life happens. The book is wonderfullly written and like life has love, anger, anxiety, disappointment etc. Life is a journey fraught with the unexpected. Gaige's prose has a poetic quality and her characters are real. The book is excellent.
A love story with wit and grace.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
Alice and Charlie come from very different worlds. How they meet, how they delight in one another, and how they live together in the midst of their very profound differences is part of the magic of this love story. It is a love story that opens to embrace the light and shadow of two human beings with wit and grace.
Excellent Sophomore Effort!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
This book was engaging from the start, drawing the reader deeper into the lives of the two main characters with the turning of each page. I found myself thinking about the novel while at work, eager to get home and keep reading. The writing is lucid, gracefully capricious, and its unfixedness is both surprising and refreshing. I highly recommend this book to anyone.
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