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66 Laps
I slipped off my clothes and dove into the pool. We are 96 percent liquid. There is nothing more sensuous than a good splash against naked the initial rush of cold, the smooth acquiescence of inner fluid to the outer mantle of wet.
Thirty-two-year-old Audrey Hastings swims a mile each day in her backyard sixty-six laps. These meticulously counted crossings are the balm for her frustrations as a new mother, and her hedge against the insecurity she feels upon discovering her first gray hair. But the smooth waters through which she so assiduously glides grow cloudy when it becomes crystal clear that her good-looking, easy-going husband has begun an affair with a comely co-worker named Kim--who resembles Audrey, ten years younger.
Audrey rages and stews and swims while contemplating this threat to her very existence. A fan-tasy of revenge--taking a younger lover of her own--becomes real when Audrey catches the eye of a sexy grad student at the park where she takes her two-year-old, Gina, to play.
Audrey hesitates, resists, succumbs. And Au-drey learns that the consequences of jealousy, suspicion, and adultery can be more disastrous than she ever imagined.
Precise, intelligent, and intense, 66 Laps is an altogether irresistible novel written with scalpel-like precision.
From the Hardcover edition.
Thirty-two-year-old Audrey Hastings swims a mile each day in her backyard sixty-six laps. These meticulously counted crossings are the balm for her frustrations as a new mother, and her hedge against the insecurity she feels upon discovering her first gray hair. But the smooth waters through which she so assiduously glides grow cloudy when it becomes crystal clear that her good-looking, easy-going husband has begun an affair with a comely co-worker named Kim--who resembles Audrey, ten years younger.
Audrey rages and stews and swims while contemplating this threat to her very existence. A fan-tasy of revenge--taking a younger lover of her own--becomes real when Audrey catches the eye of a sexy grad student at the park where she takes her two-year-old, Gina, to play.
Audrey hesitates, resists, succumbs. And Au-drey learns that the consequences of jealousy, suspicion, and adultery can be more disastrous than she ever imagined.
Precise, intelligent, and intense, 66 Laps is an altogether irresistible novel written with scalpel-like precision.
From the Hardcover edition.
- GenresFiction
224 pages, Paperback
First published March 7, 2000
9 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Leslie Lehr
6 books144 followersPreorder A Boob's Life in paperback for Mother's Day! New material adds to the the pop culture memoir that Good Morning America and Glamour Magazine call a Must-read, People lists it in Best New Books, Katie Couric's book curator, Zibby Owens (host of the Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books podcast), names it as one of the books that got her through quarantine... and Salma Hayek is making it into a comedy series for HBOMax!
Leslie, called "a bold new voice for Modern Feminism," also wrote the Target Recommended thriller What A Mother Knows, the book club hit, Wife Goes On, and her prize-winning debut, 66 Laps. She's written three humorous nonfiction books, the film for "Heartless," and "Club Divorce" for Lifetime. Her essays are featured in The New York Times Modern Love column, Huffington Post, and anthologies including Mommy Wars, The Honeymoon's Over, and On Becoming Fearless.
Sign up for news and download a Book Club Guide at www.Leslielehr.com. Join the community at facebook/authorleslielehr and follow @leslielehr_author on IG.
Aside from being a bookworm and prize-winning author, Leslie is the Novel Consultant for Truby Writers Studio, does private mentoring, and speaking at conferences around the country.
Love your boobs!
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 20, 2015
I thank the author for the free review copy in exchange for an honest review. This is the 2nd book by Ms. Lehr that I've read. This is a fairly short book, but a tautly written, slightly dark story of what can happen to a seemingly happily, married couple. Audrey enjoys her time in the pool. While she swims her 66 laps (one mile) she gets a chance to think, takes a break from her duties as a stay-at-home mom, and considers if she's getting old, as evidenced by the new gray hairs, and wonders if her husband Jim is having an affair with his coworker. Self doubt eats away at Audrey and she lashes out at Jim who denies an affair. One day at the park Audrey catches the eye of a young grad student. It seems so nice to have someone find her attractive. She just wants to make Jim jealous, but soon she heads down a very slippery slope. Sometimes we go too far and ruin the good thing we have. Very soon Audrey wishes she could turn back time. Go back to a happier period, but the world must get darker before it can be light again, under the cool ripples of the pool.
February 5, 2011
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was the writers first book and I felt she did an amazing job. I loved her writing. It was easy to read but very good and "smart". The main character Audrey was terrific. Her feelings were real. Her husband was great in all aspects that a husband can be. Throw in a young co-worker and what's a housewife/mother to do other than think he is cheating? The ending...threw me off. So sad. I still cannot believe that is how it ended. So good. So sad.
December 12, 2023
Years ago I read this book and thought it was really good. Now I'm not so sure. I did not like the main character AT ALL! She was way too insecure and vindictive. Because she thought her husband cheated, she felt like she was entitled to a free romp with a stranger???? She seemed entitled and vain and while there were some good points about the differences between men and women and the expectations we all live with, overall I felt zero sympathy for her. SHE is the one who destroyed their marriage. And her daughter paid the consequences.
December 8, 2025
Two wrongs don’t make it right especially when one wrong is “perceived” to be adultery and the other wrong changes the course of a once happy family.
January 3, 2016
This book had me wondering if I knew what the outcome would be, I thought I knew. Audrey a stay at home mom whose handsome husband is in the movie industry, and its easy to sympathize with Audrey who feels totally insecure in her ability to stay young looking when she imagines Jim's exciting career meeting all those lovely women. She reacts rather boldly slapping her friend in the face when this friend tells her she sees a grey hair on Audrey's head! Her love of taking laps in her swimming pool take on an obsessive need to keep her trim, while she counts the 66 laps each time. There is cause for real concern and jealousy when a co-worker of her husband leaves a pair of sunglasses on a patio chair near the pool. This sets Audrey on a dark path, as she thinks about an affair. Events collide, a unspeakable event happens, and all is upside down. Does Audrey stay in her marriage, does she leave, how does she survive the pains of the past? An ending I didn't imagine, as I held my breath, is what made this book so readable. I was lucky to have received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
January 25, 2017
I enjoyed this book. I liked the flow of the story and how the characters develop. The concept of 66 laps was very inventive. I liked the conflict and ways that Audrey grows and reacts to events in her life. Controversy and turmoil abound. She makes all the wrong choices for all the wrong reasons. She sees things wrong. By the time she figures it out it is almost too late. It makes you think about how we all overreact or think about change and changes in life and choices we make. How we live with the consequences. Highly recommend this book. Received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
October 26, 2015
I was given a copy of 66 Laps in return for an honest review.
This book is set deep in the mind of Audrey, who is going through a midlife crisis and who thinks way too hard. Some of the chapters were tricky to get through. The end came abruptly and smacked you right in the face. I was left a bit aghast. But then I wanted more. I got so involved with the characters that I wanted to keep reading about them.
This book is set deep in the mind of Audrey, who is going through a midlife crisis and who thinks way too hard. Some of the chapters were tricky to get through. The end came abruptly and smacked you right in the face. I was left a bit aghast. But then I wanted more. I got so involved with the characters that I wanted to keep reading about them.
November 6, 2013
Such weird reviews on this book. I found the writing to be really great. If you do read this book, do not read any description for it. The one on goodreads pretty much spoils the whole thing and I think I enjoyed it a lot more not knowing anything going in. It's a story that sticks with you though & it's quick enough that I'd probably recommend it to most folks I know who read.
November 3, 2015
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. The book was interesting at first, but I just don't connect with books involving marital affairs and lies/deception. This just wasn't my cup of tea.
January 12, 2009
Horribel. Quick read about marriagem parenthood divorce death. Picked up on a whim at the library. Not even worth one star!
November 3, 2016
A stunning debut.
June 19, 2009
The book was fine and an easy/quick read.
January 27, 2013
I was hooked with the first sentence when she slapped Colleen! Just a record of a humdrum life with a big mistake and the consequences.
This is a quick, light read.
This is a quick, light read.
June 2, 2013
Not impressed! Somewhat boring at times!
June 18, 2013
It was trite, with an overly melodramatic ending.
June 30, 2014
very upsetting ending...very.
December 6, 2016
A stunning debut.
December 6, 2016
A stunning debut.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews