Stray

by Sheri Joseph

Thirty-year-old Kent McKutcheon has come to Atlanta with little ambition beyond his earnest desire to grow up and be a good person. But after a year of contented, stable existence with his Mennonite wife, Maggie, a defense attorney with a passion for social justice, Kent cannot quiet his longing for Paul, the lover who abandoned him three years before. When an accidental meeting revives their affair, the infatuation they ve kept private soon threatens to destroy the public persona each man has created.
In a single night that slips out of control, the volatile mix of emotions leads to murder, and all three characters are suddenly more involved with each other s lives than they could have foreseen. And none can hope to escape unscathed."

Genres: Fiction

444 pages, Paperback

First published February 9, 2007

About the author

Sheri Joseph’s fourth book, ANGELS AT THE GATE, has just been released. A literary novel with elements of mystery and thriller, ANGELS AT THE GATE follows the story of Leah, a student at a small, remote university in the late 1980s who becomes fixated on the unexplained death of a classmate.

Sheri Joseph is the author of three previous books of fiction. Her novel WHERE YOU CAN FIND ME was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship. STRAY, another novel, won the Grub Street National Book Prize. BEAR ME SAFELY OVER, a cycle of stories, was a Book Sense 76 selection in both hardcover and paperback.

A resident of Atlanta, she teaches in the creative writing program at Georgia State University.

Connect via her author page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sheri-... or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sherijos/ or check out her website: www.sherijoseph.com

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so long. But! I forgive it because it is so beautifully written. Which is even more impressive because I ended up not caring about any of the characters. It is hard for me to have empathy toward people who commit adultery (even though I am fascinated with novels that have this plotline! I have never had such a strong reaction to a book than when I read Mercy by Jodi Picoult.) I actually liked that the ending was ambiguous because I got to imagine my own conclusions. (The insufferable men drowned and/or were eaten by a shark.)

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm coming to this novel rather late; it's been on the shelf for a while but I remember reading about it and being interested. Not much happens in the slow, first half of the novel. Joseph spends a lot of time setting up the three major characters, with chapters alternating between three narrators' points of view, but I never fully bought their backgrounds and motivations. They seemed thin and perhaps stereotypical. Then something wild happens at the mid-point and there's no going back. Some of the earlier setup pays off but the action finally kicks in. It's not quite a mystery, a love-triangle romance, a thriller, or a procedural, but I became more invested in the characters and enjoyed the suspense about what was going to happen to all three - and a few of their friends.

The writing seems sharper in the second half of the novel, too, including the following apt observation: "Before Maggie had fully considered what she was doing, they were on [her sister's] front porch admiring the hydrangeas. Cemetery pollen from their clothes would drift into the garden, breed a new strain of flowers. Would what grew be stronger for that brush with death?" And then a little later, which again fits perfectly with the story: "Maggie recalled an article she'd read just that morning about dogs, which had argued they were not furry bundles of unconditional love but social parasites, intricately evolved to manipulate their human hosts with feigned emotions."

The ending of the novel is not a surprise, and also perhaps too open-ended for me. I lack the imagination to write a satisfying ending (endings are hard!) but wish I felt more resolution about what happens next.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across Stray while I reading Sheri Joseph's first novel Bear Me Safely Over (a book I'm having a harder time trying to finish, but I digress). Stray hooked me from the first chapter. The relationships between Paul, Kent, and Maggie were fascinating. The delicate dance between Paul and Kent as they attempted to hide their collusion from Maggie certainly helped to make Stray a page turner. Joseph does a good job of showing three distinct personalities here. I had minor quibbles with the book mainly that Maggie just seemed too good to be true and that Paul was far too often described as an "angel" I guess because of his blond hair and blue eyes. (Is that how angels look? Apparently.) Kent was a fascinating guy who seemed to be two different people at times and I found him the most interesting character of the three. The murder plot seemed less important to me than the love triangle. Joseph probably could have cut about 75-100 pages without harming anything in the novel.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Sheri Joseph writes fascinating characters, but like... for what? There was tension and drama and I mostly enjoyed it? But I do not like an ambiguous ending. With a book this long I want some sort of conclusion.

[n* Dalal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a very good book. An exploration of complicated relationships between a young gay actor (Paul), his former boyfriend (Kent), and Kent's new wife (Maggie).

If you like lots of drama, without a lot of pesky insight, you'll enjoy this one.

The characters are so self-indulgently obsessed with their romantic/sex lives, they ignore very real problems. For example, Maggie is a public defender with a client who is about to get the chair, but she pretty actively leaves his case to rot because she's kind of falling for Paul. Who is gay.

Or, take the example of Paul: when accused of murder, he is more concerned with bedding Kent than with the fact that his life might be completely ruined.

The book is listed as a mystery, but by the way the characters act, we can tell the whole way through that the innocent guy is never going to get the ax. I mean, if Paul's not worried about getting stuck in jail for a murder he didn't commit, why should we be?

[Amyh2o · Rating 3 out of 5]

About half way in to this book, I'm curious and enjoying it. Although, I can't seem to connect with Kent, one of the main characters. I need more development on him in order for him to be more real. I can also relive my Atlanta days based on the book setting.

[MD · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was ready to give this book 4 stars. I had a hard time getting into it (bit too graphic sex scenes for my taste) and then I couldn't put it down. While I'll admit it was very well written, the ending killed it for me. This was a book about an impossible situation. I wanted some resolution.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is her first novel and a promising new favorite author! She writes really well - so vividly. I look forward to more from Sheri Joseph!

[Christopher Castellani · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cool and smart and suspenseful book this is.

[Christianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was no real ending! Otherwise I really enjoyed this book.