An Actual Life

by Abigail Thomas

In 1960, two young people, Buddy and Virginia, who married because of an unexpected pregnancy, struggle to cope with financial strain, parenthood, and their own relationship during the second summer after their wedding

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Adult

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the first 46 pages. Thomas writes terrific memoirs-in-essays, so I was intrigued to try her fiction. Nineteen-year-old Virginia got pregnant the first time she slept with Buddy, and now she’s married to him and a stay-at-home mother to Madeline. Buddy gets to go out to attend summer school and paint houses for some extra cash, and he also seems to see plenty of his high school girlfriend, Irene, who’s now married to Chick.

This reads like a cheap knockoff of Anne Tyler, and the shortage of punctuation is maddening. With its quirky, matter-of-fact characters in dysfunctional situations, it’s what I’ve always expected Anne Lamott’s novels would be like – and indeed, she gives a cover blurb. I’ve been wary of trying Lamott’s fiction because I doubt it can live up to her memoirs, and unfortunately that is true of Thomas’s.

Favorite line: “I am sure if I look in the freezer I will find the piece of wedding cake I wrapped in tinfoil to eat on our first anniversary when I thought we were going to have a different kind of marriage.”

[Mallory · Rating 2 out of 5]

The protagonist of this book drives me insane. Part of me can relate to her, and part of me thinks she's an idiot. Part of me thought the book was incredibly simplistic, and part of me thinks there is poignant, hidden meaning on every page. I hate Buddy, and I want to strangle Virginia for staying with him. However, I'm not buying the end.

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every page of this book except the final one. I can forgive an ending that is a little too convenient and predictable though, because the writing was so lovely throughout.

[Amanda Bynum · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think that Abigail Thomas had just finished Where The Heart Is and Diary of a Mad Housewife when she started writing An Actual Life. It just didn't have that spark of originality, that newness that makes me think "wow, I've never read anything like this before." An Actual Life tells the story of Virginia, a young married woman completely unprepared for marriage and motherhood. Her husband is still in love with his high school girlfriend and her parents are soulless and uncaring. So no, not a feel-good tale, but that would be forgivable if it were a compelling read. It's not.

An Actual Life - C-

[Keri Murcray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that this book continued characters from several of her short stories in Getting Over Tom. Since those were some of my favorite stories, I liked getting to know more of their story. It's a sad story and doesn't go the way you might hope, but it's very real and honest in ways that make you feel like someone is finally capturing something you've always believed you were the only one to think that way.

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just loved this little book!! Such a quirky mix of characters and testament to what the heart wants.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Abigail Thomas is a better writer than this book would have you think. The prose is choppy - the whole book made me the feeling of an unfinished thought until the last 2 paragraphs. Maybe she meant it to be that way but the writing style made me think Virginia was vapid and not too intelligent. Actually, none of the characters were appealing except for Chick and Madeline. Perhaps the book would have been better if it had been longer to allow for more character development. The ending was predictable, too. It was a quick read - thank goodness for that.

[Careyleah · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are few books that I appreciate re-reading, especially when I don't realize I've read them until 20 pages in. Set in the early '60s, this young woman's life resonated with a life I was just beginning during that same period. The setting, the mores, the manners, the expectations were all hauntingly familiar. And the protagonist wasn't always that likable. I liked that.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story dealt with a few months in the life of a young couple, parents of a one-year-old conceived during a one-night stand in the 1960s. At times this seemed dull and it times it seemed insightful (perhaps given current events and threats to reproductive rights?) It was...fine, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Read it because:
Picked it up at a used book sale forever ago.

[Dianne J. Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different

I chose four instead of five because I liked it but it was so different which makes me think maybe it deserved the five. Imaginative but ordinary life. Strange but familiar. Maybe the author will understand.

[Michael Giuliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Actual Life was thoroughly engrossing, if depressing, from start to finish. Though it was written in the tradition of classic melodrama, it focused much more on interiority than plot. The main character, Virginia, was painfully well rendered. This was an excellent read.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was interesting but the ending was predictable. It's a fast read although sometimes you want to smack on of the characters for being stupid.

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a surprise - beginning to end. I don't know what I expected but it was a sad and hopeful story. I felt for the characters and I thought the writing was good.

[amie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. Funny flawed narrator. Interesting time period. Very weird storyline and is pretty different than anything else I’ve read. No idea where this book came from or how long I’ve had it.

[BarbC]

Bittersweet. Good ending. Made perfect sense.

[Mary Manseau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok

[Connie Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I so wanted to love this book. Recommended by a good friend. Did not like any of the characters except for Virginia's father. Depressing.

[Wendilin99 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was beautifully written. I think she captured the mind of a very young wife and mother so well. Although not sure of the end, I do love that there was hope for better.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is written from the perspective of a young wife, Virginia, who had to marry early after becoming pregnant. I enjoyed the way it was written - tracing Virginia’s thoughts as she moves from husband’s house, to her parent’s house, and back to her husband’s place. Not much happens, but it’s a story that shows a slow development of her character and strength through the interactions with others.
It’s an enjoyable read - both moving and funny - if you like books that are character rather than plot driven.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somehow or another, this book ended up on my Kindle (probably one of those ebook offerings that cost me 99 cents or something). So I started reading it and didn't know much about it -- no back cover to explore, ya know. The time setting wasn't made particularly clear initially, so it took me a minute to fix the time in the late '50s, and then I just looked it up and it's set in 1960! (yikes) Buddy and Virginia 'had to get married,' and it turns out that wasn't the best idea they could have had, given the fact that they hardly know one another and barely like each other, much less share a love that could sustain the challenges of being 19 and 20 with minimal job prospects and a baby girl. And that's the story, really. The way life happens, and what we choose to do with the decisions we make. Virginia is impossible not to like, and Buddy, well... he's a bit harder to care for. This makes all the sense in the world when the story comes at you from Virginia's POV. And that's the best thing about this little novel -- the first person narration. Virginia tells her own story, and her unflagging honesty gives the telling a reliability that demands that you like her. It's a quick read, with a nostalgic look at a very different USA. See what you think!

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Abigail Thomas' moving memoir "A Three Dog Life", I was curious to read her fictionalized semi-autobiographical "An Actual Life." In the early 60's, Virginia, a minister's daughter from the Northeast, is plunged into a shotgun marriage and early motherhood (and expelled from her college) due to an unplanned pregnancy. She is struggling to maintain her identity and this leads to marital strife as she yearns to regain the approval of cold and distant parents and to maintain the familiar customs, accents, and superstitions of her childhood which was really not long past. Meanwhile, Buddy, her husband, is chafing at losing his freedom and his first love. It was a good reminder of mores and expectations in middle America before the sexual revolution of the late 60's. This is when many of our parents came of age and it was clearly a different time. The story is told in the first person from Virginia's point of view and, though spare, the writing perfectly evokes the psychology of the know-it-all late teen thrown into waters too deep.

[S.leeds]

An Actual Life is about a nineteen year old girl in the 6os, Virginia, who had gotten pregnant byt her boyfriend, Buddy. She was kicked out of school and her parents arranged for her to get married Buddy. The story is set to the summer after their baby girl was born. The couple moved in with Buddy's favorite aunt, Dot. Virginia and Buddy have problems with their marrige due to the fact that Buddy still loves his ex girlfriend. This book may not sound as good as described but they narrator has a very funny point of view about things and fun word choice. Even if you've never been in that situation, you can't help but symphysis Virgina. She also mentions things you always knew but you never had thought of. It was a bit suprising how it ended, like dancer in the dark suprising, but inevidable.

[Christi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a quick read. I read it in 3 days and I'm a slow reader!

It was sort of dissappointing and predictable, but I did like the writer's language usage to describe things and feelings. The main character annoyed me a little though. It could be that I didn't like the book as much because I didnt' like the main character much!

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hadn't read a novel in a while, so I took my Mom's recommendation to get into this one. It's light and a quick read, but it had some of those great moments where an author says something you've always known, but didn't know that you knew until you read it. It also made me laugh a lot in recognition.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because I really liked "A Three Dog Life." and I've read essays by Abigail Thomas as well. I think she got into the mind of this young wife and mother. Not exactly a pleasant place to be, but I felt I was there. The characters were complicated. And the ending felt utterly true to the story. Not sure how to rate these books. I feel as though I "really like" everything.

[Shiloh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story of a young mother who completely hates her husband. I was completely caught up in the hatred with her and considered her someone who's next in line to speak to Dr. Laura. But her narration is funny! She's just soooo irriatated! Is she crazy? Is she creating the scandal in her life? It was hard to root for her, but I think you'd like this read.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written, but oh, how very heart-rending. I know that in the 60's this story was probably not a rare occurrence, and I spent the entire book hoping for things to get better between Virginia and Buddy. The ambiguous ending threw me a little, but I choose to hold on to the hope that Virginia eventually obtained her actual life.

[Natalie Seaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. The way the author captured every character's personality and quirks was amazing.
I also enjoyed the way the book was written, in a way that made you feel like you were right there with Virginia.
There were many times that I wanted to smack her husband for being so horribly rude.
Virginia is very likable and friendly.
: ) Easy summer read!

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this book much. It was like half a book, or a third. You don't know why Virginia is the way she is. I wanted to know more about her, her family, her mom (bi-polar?), if she's gorgeous, not very smart, what? I think if it had had multiple points of view it could have been a much richer novel.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the sympathetic but non-sentimental story of Virginia and Bobby, who got married when Virginia discovered she was pregnant. Sad but realistic, this is a good introduction to the underrated Abigail Thomas.