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State of the Union
Hannah Buchan leads an orderly life in a small town in Maine — a schoolteacher, married to a doctor, with two grown up children. However, her past conceals a dark secret. Thirty years ago she had a brief, dangerous fling with Tobias Judson, a high profile student activist, which she had reconciled to that internal, off-limits attic room marked “Ancient History.” But when Tobias suddenly pops up out of nowhere with a book about his radical years, her life goes into free-fall. And before she knows it, Hannah discovers that a long-ago transgression is never really forgotten.
Set amid two wildly contrasting periods of recent American life — the militant 60s and 70s, and the new-found conservatism of today — State of the Union is a remarkable portrait of one woman’s attempts to find her own way in the shifting political currents of her time. But it is also an intriguing portrait of the complexities of a long marriage, the ongoing guilt of parenthood, the perpetual tension between familial responsibility and personal freedom, and the divisive debate between liberal and conservative values that so engulfs the United States today.
Set amid two wildly contrasting periods of recent American life — the militant 60s and 70s, and the new-found conservatism of today — State of the Union is a remarkable portrait of one woman’s attempts to find her own way in the shifting political currents of her time. But it is also an intriguing portrait of the complexities of a long marriage, the ongoing guilt of parenthood, the perpetual tension between familial responsibility and personal freedom, and the divisive debate between liberal and conservative values that so engulfs the United States today.
608 pages, Paperback
First published November 22, 2005
83 people are currently reading
1129 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Kennedy
132 books1,186 followersDouglas Kennedy was born in Manhattan in 1955. He studied at Bowdoin College, Maine and Trinity College, Dublin, returning to Dublin in 1977 with just a trenchcoat, backpack and $300. He co-founded a theatre company and sold his first play, Shakespeare on Five Dollars a Day, to Radio 4 in 1980. In 1988 he moved to London and published a travel book, Beyond the Pyramids. His debut novel The Dead Heart was published in 1994.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 265 reviews
August 28, 2007
I loved this book!
Kennedy writes with such a smooth style after around the first 50 pages when the story is set in my head I found this impossible to put down.
His writing as a woman in the first person is masterfully done.
An artist of his time.
Kennedy writes with such a smooth style after around the first 50 pages when the story is set in my head I found this impossible to put down.
His writing as a woman in the first person is masterfully done.
An artist of his time.
September 12, 2014
But what's wrong with doubt? How can anyone hold a black-and-white view of things when, in the end, most human interaction is so profoundly grey? Those closest to us do things that are baffling. We, in turn, do things we don't totally comprehend. Because we never really understand others, let alone ourselves.
3.5 stars. This was my first Douglas Kennedy and I really enjoyed it. Although I found the plot entertaining and interesting, what hooked me was his insightful descriptions of the complex nature of the relationships in a family. I could identify with so much of what he wrote, and it's a reminder that relationships are never perfect, even with those you love most. Mortality, change and ambiguity are other themes that feature throughout the novel .
My only problem with the State of the union is that Hannah reacted quite out of character towards the end of the book. That said, I'd still recommend this to anyone looking for a thought provoking easy read.
The story: Hannah Buchan leads an orderly life in a small town in Maine - a schoolteacher, married to a doctor, with two grown up children. However, her past conceals a dark secret. Thirty years ago she had a brief, dangerous fling with Tobias Judson, a high profile student activist. But when Tobias suddenly pops up out of nowhere with a book about his radical years, her life goes into free-fall. And before she knows it, Hannah discovers that a long-ago transgression is never really forgotten.
May 25, 2023
Douglas Kennedy es mi nueva obsesión. Me gustó muchísimo "Isabelle por la tarde", mi debut con este autor, pero nada comparable a esta novela.
No voy a mentir: esta es una lectura rara. Me dio la sensación, por momentos, de que eran dos novelas diferentes (divididas aproximadamente al 50%). Y quizá fue ese el impacto que recibí: que cuando creía que estaba leyendo una historia íntima sobre una mujer y sus frustraciones vitales, de repente, zas... un giro de guion que, a ratos, me pareció un poco exagerado, pero que me mantuvo atrapada a sus páginas hasta que llegué a la última página. ¿Lo mejor? La sensación de tangibilidad de la desesperación de la protagonista en el último tercio del libro. Pone los pelos de punta.
No voy a mentir: esta es una lectura rara. Me dio la sensación, por momentos, de que eran dos novelas diferentes (divididas aproximadamente al 50%). Y quizá fue ese el impacto que recibí: que cuando creía que estaba leyendo una historia íntima sobre una mujer y sus frustraciones vitales, de repente, zas... un giro de guion que, a ratos, me pareció un poco exagerado, pero que me mantuvo atrapada a sus páginas hasta que llegué a la última página. ¿Lo mejor? La sensación de tangibilidad de la desesperación de la protagonista en el último tercio del libro. Pone los pelos de punta.
December 6, 2010
Although not as compelling as some of his other novels, State of the Union is nonetheless a good airplane read. The easy writing style makes it a breeze to tune out the high pitched whine of the safety instructions and to ignore your neighbour's plump elbow embedded between your fourth and fifth ribs.
The plot falls neatly into two divisions. The first comprises Hannah, the main character's university years and her decision not to take a gap year in Paris, but, instead, to stay at home to safeguard her relationship with her solid, conservative aspiring doctor boyfriend. Naturally (this being Douglas Kennedy), Hannah has issues with her artist mother, who is probably a little over the top unlikeable, but dotes on her cheating professor father who happens to be a charismatic but aging radical. Hannah's subsequent marriage to the somewhat dull, but salt of the earth Dan sets the tone for the tepid, safe and risk free life she is attracted to. Her life continues in a predictably dull fashion except for one small error of judgement that happens in the early days of her marriage, but which she manages to keep secret and subsequently put out of her mind entirely.
The second half of the plot takes place thirty years later when the repercussions of her lapse suddenly strike home. The timing couldn't be worse as she is already struggling to deal with a critical situation within her family. A really hard lesson hits her with the weight of a Greek Tragedy as she realises that no matter how hard you try to play it safe in life, you can't control the actions of your loved ones, and if they don't play it safe, you too get injured when the resulting emotional bomb explodes.
On the positive side, Douglas Kennedy is realistic about certain aspects of family relationships. Mothers might love their children, but they don't always like them, especially when their personalities clash discordantly with their own. On the negative side, some of his characters are really unrealistic. Hannah's mother and her best friend Margy, for example, seem too independent and and brash-mouthed for the early 70's. Yes, there were independent and outspoken women then, but it seems too much of a set-up to have the dull Hannah framed by two of them.
This book is perfect for anyone who needs a bit of light relief, but, at the horrifying risk of sounding sexist, I can't see it appealing to a wide male audience. (Well maybe if you move in a circle of sensitive, new age guys connected with their feminine side.) But that is not surprising as the author is primarily concerned with the inner life of women and their responses to complex family relationships. It is probably best to space Kennedy's novels out as there are only so many dysfunction families one can deal with in a short space of time, especially if one includes one's own!
The plot falls neatly into two divisions. The first comprises Hannah, the main character's university years and her decision not to take a gap year in Paris, but, instead, to stay at home to safeguard her relationship with her solid, conservative aspiring doctor boyfriend. Naturally (this being Douglas Kennedy), Hannah has issues with her artist mother, who is probably a little over the top unlikeable, but dotes on her cheating professor father who happens to be a charismatic but aging radical. Hannah's subsequent marriage to the somewhat dull, but salt of the earth Dan sets the tone for the tepid, safe and risk free life she is attracted to. Her life continues in a predictably dull fashion except for one small error of judgement that happens in the early days of her marriage, but which she manages to keep secret and subsequently put out of her mind entirely.
The second half of the plot takes place thirty years later when the repercussions of her lapse suddenly strike home. The timing couldn't be worse as she is already struggling to deal with a critical situation within her family. A really hard lesson hits her with the weight of a Greek Tragedy as she realises that no matter how hard you try to play it safe in life, you can't control the actions of your loved ones, and if they don't play it safe, you too get injured when the resulting emotional bomb explodes.
On the positive side, Douglas Kennedy is realistic about certain aspects of family relationships. Mothers might love their children, but they don't always like them, especially when their personalities clash discordantly with their own. On the negative side, some of his characters are really unrealistic. Hannah's mother and her best friend Margy, for example, seem too independent and and brash-mouthed for the early 70's. Yes, there were independent and outspoken women then, but it seems too much of a set-up to have the dull Hannah framed by two of them.
This book is perfect for anyone who needs a bit of light relief, but, at the horrifying risk of sounding sexist, I can't see it appealing to a wide male audience. (Well maybe if you move in a circle of sensitive, new age guys connected with their feminine side.) But that is not surprising as the author is primarily concerned with the inner life of women and their responses to complex family relationships. It is probably best to space Kennedy's novels out as there are only so many dysfunction families one can deal with in a short space of time, especially if one includes one's own!
September 23, 2018
Ingen tantromantik här trots att den hemska svenska titeln pekar åt det hållet. Mycket medryckande och insiktsfullt i stället, och Douglas Kennedy är väldigt bra på att beskriva hur kvinnor tänker och känner.
June 1, 2021
Excellently written characters that feel real, and the story flows smoothly in a way where you seemingly live and see every scene in clear images in front of you as they happen. Douglas Kennedy seems to write women in a way that reminded me of that Jack Nicholson -character in the movie As Good as it Gets... now what was that quote... :)
Now, I personally found the main character Hannah to be annoying as her own choices & lack of emotional control mostly caused all the drama in the story... also the people are very materialistic and seem to think a lot about where you have graduated from and what famous persons you can quote, as if that means anything. Still, there is plenty wry humor and interesting observations of life scattered here and there even if you don't sympathize with the characters. Also towards the end the drama comes together very nicely in a tense finish.
If family drama drenched in white privileged Americana is what you'd like to read (possibly leading a similar life yourself) then this is certainly a dose of high quality escapism worth your time.
Now, I personally found the main character Hannah to be annoying as her own choices & lack of emotional control mostly caused all the drama in the story... also the people are very materialistic and seem to think a lot about where you have graduated from and what famous persons you can quote, as if that means anything. Still, there is plenty wry humor and interesting observations of life scattered here and there even if you don't sympathize with the characters. Also towards the end the drama comes together very nicely in a tense finish.
If family drama drenched in white privileged Americana is what you'd like to read (possibly leading a similar life yourself) then this is certainly a dose of high quality escapism worth your time.
March 25, 2020
review to follow
January 9, 2025
Un libro más que leo de el autor y que disfruto muchísimo.
October 22, 2016
Douglas Kennedy never disappoints. This wasn't my favorite of his novels; in fact, if you want to get to know his work, I'd start with just about any other. But the pages always turn fast, the characters are consistently strong, and he's the perfect mix between literary and commercial fiction, leaning toward literary (which I like). It says something significant when I still give my least favorite novel of his five stars.
One big disappointment: it gets so tiring to read portrayals of conservative Christians as hypocritical, soul-less monsters. Why don't writers understand that this has been so over-done that it's tantamount to ending the novel with "And they lived happily ever after"? And those of us who know Christians as some of the most impressive people we've ever met get so weary of writers describing Christian monsters we've never run across in real life--but which account for 99% of Christian portrayals in novels, movies, and television shows. Douglas Kennedy, you're better than this! You are so gifted in creating characters--why slip into conventional cliché?
One big disappointment: it gets so tiring to read portrayals of conservative Christians as hypocritical, soul-less monsters. Why don't writers understand that this has been so over-done that it's tantamount to ending the novel with "And they lived happily ever after"? And those of us who know Christians as some of the most impressive people we've ever met get so weary of writers describing Christian monsters we've never run across in real life--but which account for 99% of Christian portrayals in novels, movies, and television shows. Douglas Kennedy, you're better than this! You are so gifted in creating characters--why slip into conventional cliché?
May 18, 2009
Finally! After all that c*** I've been reading, a book I really enjoyed. Although once again, the cover blurb is highly misleading: it makes it sound like the entire book revolves around one particular incident and that it also has something to do with the terror attacks on 9/11. Well, it doesn't. But that's fine by me, because the actual point of the book is much more interesting, I think. It's about a woman who struggles with the legacies of her parents, both personally and professionally, and with trying to find a balance between self-realization, fitting in with society, and doing what she feels is right. I know, it sounds really cheesy and dumb, but it's a good story and I actually tried to find time to read it. The supporting characters are all well-rounded and engaging, and there was no part where I felt things were dragging or that I wanted to skip over.
November 4, 2009
I was a bit torn between giving this 3 or 4 stars. I really wanted to give it 3.5 and, as I really enjoyed the second half of the book, I generously upped it to 4.
The first half of this book is set in the late Sixties, early Seventies and the second half is set in the early part of this century. I have to admit, I found the first half a little slow going and I wasn't really that bothered about the characters. As soon as the story changed to the early 2000s, I started enjoying it a lot more and found it hard to put it down, so I ended up finishing it over a weekend. Not sure whether I would be too bothered searching out anything else by this author, but it was a reasonable read and worth persevering to find out how everything turned out in the end.
The first half of this book is set in the late Sixties, early Seventies and the second half is set in the early part of this century. I have to admit, I found the first half a little slow going and I wasn't really that bothered about the characters. As soon as the story changed to the early 2000s, I started enjoying it a lot more and found it hard to put it down, so I ended up finishing it over a weekend. Not sure whether I would be too bothered searching out anything else by this author, but it was a reasonable read and worth persevering to find out how everything turned out in the end.
November 20, 2015
The heroine is a dreadful narcissist and I was unable to feel any sympathy for her. A great example of a male author being unable to write in the female first person.
February 21, 2017
Hannah es hija de un catedrático que lucha por los derechos civiles y de una artista que se codea con los grandes pintores de Nueva York. Pero, en lugar de aprovechar esa circunstancia, decide llevar una anodina vida de mujer casada con un médico rural, a pesar de haber hecho ella misma una carrera. Su marido, Dan, es un tipo poco expresivo, enamorado de su profesión, que la lleva a vivir a un pueblo de mala muerte cercano a la frontera de Canadá, donde habitan una casa pequeña junto con su hijo Jeff, de apenas unos meses. Corren los años 60 y las luchas por los derechos civiles se han radicalizado en algunos lugares.
Pero un acontecimiento viene a turbar toda esa paz y ese sosiego (y ese aburrimiento) de la vida conyugal de Hannah. Y ese acontecimiento retorna cuarenta años después para poner patas arriba toda la vida de Hannah, de Dan y de sus hijos.
Me ha parecido feroz la forma en que en Estados Unidos se juzga en todos los ámbitos a una persona por un hecho que solamente atañe a su vida personal. Esa moralina horrible de los yankis que juran encima de la biblia cuando tienen que declarar en un juzgado; o que no puedas manifestar libremente que estás a favor del aborto sin que se te echen encima hordas de providas. Aunque no hay más que recordar cómo se vivió en Estados Unidos la mamada que le hizo Monica Lewinski a Bill Clinton y cómo vivimos en España la (supuesta) infidelidad del rey Juan Carlos con Corina.
Os dejo un par de párrafos que señalé, que a mi juicio definen perfectamente el "discreto encanto" de la vida conyugal.
Pero un acontecimiento viene a turbar toda esa paz y ese sosiego (y ese aburrimiento) de la vida conyugal de Hannah. Y ese acontecimiento retorna cuarenta años después para poner patas arriba toda la vida de Hannah, de Dan y de sus hijos.
Me ha parecido feroz la forma en que en Estados Unidos se juzga en todos los ámbitos a una persona por un hecho que solamente atañe a su vida personal. Esa moralina horrible de los yankis que juran encima de la biblia cuando tienen que declarar en un juzgado; o que no puedas manifestar libremente que estás a favor del aborto sin que se te echen encima hordas de providas. Aunque no hay más que recordar cómo se vivió en Estados Unidos la mamada que le hizo Monica Lewinski a Bill Clinton y cómo vivimos en España la (supuesta) infidelidad del rey Juan Carlos con Corina.
Os dejo un par de párrafos que señalé, que a mi juicio definen perfectamente el "discreto encanto" de la vida conyugal.
En cuanto esas palabras salieron de mi boca, me arrepentí. Pero eso es lo que tienen las peleas, sobre todo con la persona más íntima, y con la que nunca te peleas: cuando algo se suelta, cuando, sin más ni más, todo explota de repente, salen toda clase de cosas horribles.
(...) nadie excepto los dos participantes principales pueden entender realmente la compleja geografía interna de un matrimonio.
June 11, 2017
After the "Big Picture" I vote this the second best by Douglas Kennedy.
There are some curious similarities here to the themes from one of my most favorite books ever : "The Company You Keep" by Neil Gordon. I just looked up the publishing dates and Kennedy's was published just a short while after Gordon's (2005 vs. 2004). The similarities are the buried secrets in the main characters' lives, which both connect them to the rebellious 60's and the Weathermen, albeit in very different ways. And in both cases the long forgotten history breaks through 30+ years later and shatters lives once again.
It is really fun how Douglas Kennedy captures the 60's/early 70's spirit of the times. Once the story enters the early 2000's and the past breaks back through completely unexpectedly and as a nightmare, the book becomes thriller-like gripping. The past arrives with earthquake strength and questions everything in Hannah's, the main character's, life. Wonderfully the counter-culture events get replayed against the backdrop of a set of hypocritical Bush-ite evangelicals, just like the culture wars were then and still are. The Vietnam wound will never heal and the clash of social freedom with right-wing self-rightuousness has no end in sight.
Clearly the author is taking sides here (not with left wing criminals, mind you) and is not just standing neutral in the background. That makes the book honest and captivating - and, no wonder, an irritant to conservatives. Good fun !
There are some curious similarities here to the themes from one of my most favorite books ever : "The Company You Keep" by Neil Gordon. I just looked up the publishing dates and Kennedy's was published just a short while after Gordon's (2005 vs. 2004). The similarities are the buried secrets in the main characters' lives, which both connect them to the rebellious 60's and the Weathermen, albeit in very different ways. And in both cases the long forgotten history breaks through 30+ years later and shatters lives once again.
It is really fun how Douglas Kennedy captures the 60's/early 70's spirit of the times. Once the story enters the early 2000's and the past breaks back through completely unexpectedly and as a nightmare, the book becomes thriller-like gripping. The past arrives with earthquake strength and questions everything in Hannah's, the main character's, life. Wonderfully the counter-culture events get replayed against the backdrop of a set of hypocritical Bush-ite evangelicals, just like the culture wars were then and still are. The Vietnam wound will never heal and the clash of social freedom with right-wing self-rightuousness has no end in sight.
Clearly the author is taking sides here (not with left wing criminals, mind you) and is not just standing neutral in the background. That makes the book honest and captivating - and, no wonder, an irritant to conservatives. Good fun !
October 2, 2018
Luckily the German title of the book totally missleads!
I expected it to be another boring romantic novel like one of these Nicholas Sparks books. My reason to read it though was that I wanted to get it off my bookshelf and later on distribute it among one of those free libraries - and aside of all that you DO want to read a weak book from time to time, don't you?
But I was taken by surprise - the romantic aspect was quickly resolved and I learned it was much more a description of todays (well not today - but some ten years ago. A time that nowadays may even seem as some "good old days") Amercian society. I learned that the original title is "State of the Union" which hits the topic far better than the German "In a single night" - so at least one star goes because of the bad management of the German publisher seeking for marketing rather than for a proper translation!
The book itself? Well it did find its way in one of those libraries - I enjoyed reading it and it was the right book at the right time - but not something I would truely recommend or see as a favourite. Well written for the mass market and a fair three star book.
Simple as that!
I expected it to be another boring romantic novel like one of these Nicholas Sparks books. My reason to read it though was that I wanted to get it off my bookshelf and later on distribute it among one of those free libraries - and aside of all that you DO want to read a weak book from time to time, don't you?
But I was taken by surprise - the romantic aspect was quickly resolved and I learned it was much more a description of todays (well not today - but some ten years ago. A time that nowadays may even seem as some "good old days") Amercian society. I learned that the original title is "State of the Union" which hits the topic far better than the German "In a single night" - so at least one star goes because of the bad management of the German publisher seeking for marketing rather than for a proper translation!
The book itself? Well it did find its way in one of those libraries - I enjoyed reading it and it was the right book at the right time - but not something I would truely recommend or see as a favourite. Well written for the mass market and a fair three star book.
Simple as that!
December 3, 2009
I have some ambivalence about this book. I was very engaged in the the set-up: conservative, conventional daughter of liberal, hippy parents who marries a family doc and settles down in small town America. And I loved that part of the story. I enjoyed seeing political idealogies emerge through and I loved the young Tobey character.
This book also got me thinking about my own life, and just how cautious and future oriented I should be vs. living in the moment. This bumps it's score up big time. Also, I couldn't put it down. You can chalk that up to the easy to read, formulaic, set-the-pins-up-and-knock-em-down writing style, but it was fun for me to be so exited to pick up a book and stick with it. Tougher, more complex works are easier to set back down. So, for what it is, a popular drama, I very much enjoyed this book.
This book also got me thinking about my own life, and just how cautious and future oriented I should be vs. living in the moment. This bumps it's score up big time. Also, I couldn't put it down. You can chalk that up to the easy to read, formulaic, set-the-pins-up-and-knock-em-down writing style, but it was fun for me to be so exited to pick up a book and stick with it. Tougher, more complex works are easier to set back down. So, for what it is, a popular drama, I very much enjoyed this book.
December 12, 2011
Interesting insight into American politics in the '60s and '70s against the interplay of family and marital relationships. The main character is typical of the 'good' girl doing the right thing being led astray and how this comes back to haunt her 30 years on.
Douglas Kennedy again shows great insight into the feminine psyche.
Douglas Kennedy again shows great insight into the feminine psyche.
July 7, 2008
It was an amazing book! I really enjoyed it and recommend it to everyone!!! So well written - kept me reading until 3am! Lovely! READ IT!
July 19, 2014
All the men in this novel are assholes..
I cried a lot..
Truly amazing and realistic one.
I cried a lot..
Truly amazing and realistic one.
May 14, 2023
"But what's wrong with doubt? How can anyone hold a black-and-white view of things when, in the end, most human interaction is so profoundly grey? Those closest to us do things that are blaffling. We, in turn, do things we don't totally comprehend. Because we never really understand others, let alone ourselves.
- my strengh is made perfect in weakness."
Pas forcément conquise au début, j'ai finalement lu les 598 pages aussi vite que possible (mais en dégustant lentement les dernières pages).
- my strengh is made perfect in weakness."
Pas forcément conquise au début, j'ai finalement lu les 598 pages aussi vite que possible (mais en dégustant lentement les dernières pages).
March 17, 2019
На удивление мне очень нравится КАК пишет Дуглас Кеннеди, потому что каждый раз, а это моя третья книга, я дочитываю его произведения до конца. Но что касается сюжетов, удачным или скорее очень увлекательным для меня был только один в книге МОМЕНТ.
Однозначно буду читать еще этого автора, он легкий, не пошлый и позволяющий голове отдыхать!
Однозначно буду читать еще этого автора, он легкий, не пошлый и позволяющий голове отдыхать!
April 9, 2014
"A vida não é apenas aleatoriamente cruel. É também absurda."
É incrivelmente curioso como este título não faz justiça ao seu conteúdo. Normalmente, um título enganoso pinta de tons mais vistosos uma história um pouco cinzenta. Porém, eis que me deparo com um título que faz parecer pequena, uma história grande. "O Charme Discreto da Vida Conjugal" não se foca numa relação entre duas pessoas casadas, foca-se em várias relações, de diferentes naturezas: entre marido e mulher, pais e filhos, amigos e amantes, conhecidos e pessoas de passagem.
"Não há provas de que a verdade quando e se alguma vez for revelada, seja muito interessante."
Conhecemos Hannah em 1966 e é com paixão, dúvida, tristeza, confiança, euforia e desapontamento que acompanhamos a sua vida até 2004. Os seus sentimentos são os nossos e a viagem não podia ser mais atribulada.
"A culpa é para as freiras."
Douglas Kennedy cria um conjunto de personagens que não podiam ser mais susceptível às fraquezas e tentações humanas. E para o acompanhar descreve um contexto onde as convenções sociais são questionadas, enquanto os conservadores e os liberais se confrontam numa eterna luta de ideias opostas.
"A mente é o seu próprio lugar e, em si mesma, pode construiu um céu infernal, um inferno celestial."
Todas as vidas são aborrecidas e previsíveis para quem as vive, mas na verdade o fascínio existe para quem as observa com atenção. O gesto mais comum e a palavras mais repetida têm sempre impacto em alguém. A vida de Hannah não é maravilhosa ou de invejar, mas prendeu a minha atenção até à última página.
"Não podemos escapar às nossas acções, mais do que escapamos a nós próprios. Há um preço a pagar por tudo."
Uma mulher não se resume às sua atitudes certas e erradas, nem às duas relações mais intensas e superficiais. Uma mulher é a soma de todos os pequenos detalhes de si própria, da sua vida e daqueles com quem se relacionada. Deduzo que o mesmo se aplique para os homens, mas nesta história o sexo masculino está em segundo plano. O herói não tem de ser, necessariamente, um homem. Douglas Kennedy escolheu uma mulher, com tantas fraquezas como virtudes, com tantas vitórias como fracassos. Uma mulher que podia ser qualquer uma de nós, leitoras.
"Por mais que desejemos manter as coisas simples e sem sobressaltos, não podemos evitar colidir com a confusão. É o nosso destino, porque a confusão, o drama que criamos para nós próprios é uma parte intrínseca de estarmos vivos."
É incrivelmente curioso como este título não faz justiça ao seu conteúdo. Normalmente, um título enganoso pinta de tons mais vistosos uma história um pouco cinzenta. Porém, eis que me deparo com um título que faz parecer pequena, uma história grande. "O Charme Discreto da Vida Conjugal" não se foca numa relação entre duas pessoas casadas, foca-se em várias relações, de diferentes naturezas: entre marido e mulher, pais e filhos, amigos e amantes, conhecidos e pessoas de passagem.
"Não há provas de que a verdade quando e se alguma vez for revelada, seja muito interessante."
Conhecemos Hannah em 1966 e é com paixão, dúvida, tristeza, confiança, euforia e desapontamento que acompanhamos a sua vida até 2004. Os seus sentimentos são os nossos e a viagem não podia ser mais atribulada.
"A culpa é para as freiras."
Douglas Kennedy cria um conjunto de personagens que não podiam ser mais susceptível às fraquezas e tentações humanas. E para o acompanhar descreve um contexto onde as convenções sociais são questionadas, enquanto os conservadores e os liberais se confrontam numa eterna luta de ideias opostas.
"A mente é o seu próprio lugar e, em si mesma, pode construiu um céu infernal, um inferno celestial."
Todas as vidas são aborrecidas e previsíveis para quem as vive, mas na verdade o fascínio existe para quem as observa com atenção. O gesto mais comum e a palavras mais repetida têm sempre impacto em alguém. A vida de Hannah não é maravilhosa ou de invejar, mas prendeu a minha atenção até à última página.
"Não podemos escapar às nossas acções, mais do que escapamos a nós próprios. Há um preço a pagar por tudo."
Uma mulher não se resume às sua atitudes certas e erradas, nem às duas relações mais intensas e superficiais. Uma mulher é a soma de todos os pequenos detalhes de si própria, da sua vida e daqueles com quem se relacionada. Deduzo que o mesmo se aplique para os homens, mas nesta história o sexo masculino está em segundo plano. O herói não tem de ser, necessariamente, um homem. Douglas Kennedy escolheu uma mulher, com tantas fraquezas como virtudes, com tantas vitórias como fracassos. Uma mulher que podia ser qualquer uma de nós, leitoras.
"Por mais que desejemos manter as coisas simples e sem sobressaltos, não podemos evitar colidir com a confusão. É o nosso destino, porque a confusão, o drama que criamos para nós próprios é uma parte intrínseca de estarmos vivos."
February 5, 2019
This book kept me company on a night I couldn't sleep. It's a brick of a book, and could do with cutting (I don't need to know every thought that passes through Hannah's mind, really, I don't) and lightening up - it's all so serious, a life with no fun in it ever. But is it quite a complelling read. Luckily large chunks of introspection can quite safely be skipped, so I didn't actually read all this book, I speed read large parts until I came across something happening again.
This book is about a woman who did something stupid as a young mum and suffers the consequences 30 years later at exactly at the same time as her life was turning inside out for other non related reasons. Although all the bad things happening to Hannah at the same time were just too conincidental, I know from experience as someone whose own life turned inside out recently, that people who purport to love you really can jump in to kick you when you are down.
The second part of the book was much better than the first. I liked the thinking on marriage, that a long stable marriage was worth having, even if the first fizzle of passionate love had drizzled out when the kids and responsibilities came along.
Of course this book ended with too many people apologising to Hannah for their actions during her crisis and making attempts to rebuild their relationships. My experience is that people often don't admit that what they did was wrong, they just brush it under the carpet and pretend that it did't happen, and the relationship ends, or limps along as best as a relationship can once the underlying trust that this person would be in your corner in a your hour of need is broken.
Huh. Now I know that I am getting old. I have just read to page 174 of this book without recognising that I read the book before. Hannah was driving me crazy though, every action she takes being blamed on her circumstances instead, there is no sparkle of naughtiness in her. Thanks for the review younger me, with your comments, I can safely stop reading and move on to something more fun. I am docking a star though, I must have been more generous in my rating when I was younger!
This book is about a woman who did something stupid as a young mum and suffers the consequences 30 years later at exactly at the same time as her life was turning inside out for other non related reasons. Although all the bad things happening to Hannah at the same time were just too conincidental, I know from experience as someone whose own life turned inside out recently, that people who purport to love you really can jump in to kick you when you are down.
The second part of the book was much better than the first. I liked the thinking on marriage, that a long stable marriage was worth having, even if the first fizzle of passionate love had drizzled out when the kids and responsibilities came along.
Of course this book ended with too many people apologising to Hannah for their actions during her crisis and making attempts to rebuild their relationships. My experience is that people often don't admit that what they did was wrong, they just brush it under the carpet and pretend that it did't happen, and the relationship ends, or limps along as best as a relationship can once the underlying trust that this person would be in your corner in a your hour of need is broken.
Huh. Now I know that I am getting old. I have just read to page 174 of this book without recognising that I read the book before. Hannah was driving me crazy though, every action she takes being blamed on her circumstances instead, there is no sparkle of naughtiness in her. Thanks for the review younger me, with your comments, I can safely stop reading and move on to something more fun. I am docking a star though, I must have been more generous in my rating when I was younger!
July 28, 2013
i've been on a douglas kennedy reading jag of late. this is my fourth in as many weeks. it was the fastest read for me, mostly because i couldn't put it down. i think it moved me the most as well, i was actually in tears at the end. kennedy can really get inside the head of a woman (tho' he did put some strange and seemingly out-of-character behavior in Hannah during her ordeal). and he is a master at painting characters who are full of doubts and regrets for the choices they've made and fears that they've lived the wrong life. i guess i relate to this, mostly because i almost lived the wrong life, but then, before it was too late, changed it.
the other thing about kennedy's writing is that it awakens my own stories and inspires me to write as well. and since writing helps me figure out what it is i think of things and well, the world, that's a good thing. i've already moved onto my next kennedy and i'm sure it won't be the last.
since i use my goodreads as a place to store quotes which i wish to remember:
"In Mom's universe, nobody interesting was normal or decent. Those virtues were for the terminally boring."
"My point is that you've got to stop looking at your parents as parents and start seeing them as typically fucked-up adults....which is what we're going to become eventually."
"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven." (quoting Milton.)
"No one except the two central participants can ever really understand the complex internal geography of a marriage."
"But what's wrong with doubt? HJow can anyone hold a black-and-white view of things when, in the end, most human interaction is so profoundly grey? Those closest to us do things that are baffling. We, in turn, do things we don't totally comprehend. Because we never really understand others, let alone ourselves."
the other thing about kennedy's writing is that it awakens my own stories and inspires me to write as well. and since writing helps me figure out what it is i think of things and well, the world, that's a good thing. i've already moved onto my next kennedy and i'm sure it won't be the last.
since i use my goodreads as a place to store quotes which i wish to remember:
"In Mom's universe, nobody interesting was normal or decent. Those virtues were for the terminally boring."
"My point is that you've got to stop looking at your parents as parents and start seeing them as typically fucked-up adults....which is what we're going to become eventually."
"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven." (quoting Milton.)
"No one except the two central participants can ever really understand the complex internal geography of a marriage."
"But what's wrong with doubt? HJow can anyone hold a black-and-white view of things when, in the end, most human interaction is so profoundly grey? Those closest to us do things that are baffling. We, in turn, do things we don't totally comprehend. Because we never really understand others, let alone ourselves."
March 15, 2009
J'ai bien aime, se lit facilement, on s'accroche a l'histoire et aux personnages, quelques gouttes de sarcasme sur la societe americaine ne sont pas sans me deplaire. Certains passages m'ont parle.
Je n'avais jamais rien lu de Douglas Kennedy, j'ai bien apprecie ce livre et vais en lire d'autres de cet auteur.
Je n'avais jamais rien lu de Douglas Kennedy, j'ai bien apprecie ce livre et vais en lire d'autres de cet auteur.
August 13, 2009
Un livre captivant qui suit le destin d'une femme de la Nouvelle-Angleterre, Hannah, partagée entre son goût pour un conformisme rassurant et des désirs de liberté. Des événements dramatiques l'amèneront à remettre en question sa vie bien rangée, et à faire face aux éléments ultra-conservateurs d'une Amérique encore traumatisée par les attentats du 11 septembre 2001.
February 14, 2009
Once again the author writes extremely well from the perspective of the main character who is female. I didn't enjoy this quite as much as The Pursuit of Happiness or A Special Relationship - probably because it was slightly political in places. But a good read nevertheless.
April 27, 2007
Excellent read, wasn't expecting to enjoy it anything like as much as I did. Nik, you will love it. nearly voted it 5 stars.
September 16, 2007
Very good, like Kennedy's writing, despite the very cheesy covers which are very unrepresentative of his novels.
July 8, 2008
A good read, but at first I couldn't bear it because the main character was a heavy smoker; I felt like I was in the room with her and the only way to leave was to close the book.
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