What do you think?
Rate this book
Red/Black
Sarah Hughes. Wife, mother, secret gambler. Her life is one of stability and security. Settled in Cheltenham, married for over twenty years, lovely children… but her inner trauma of losing a child in a car accident in which she was driving is reopened when her husband accepts a full-time posting to a military camp in Germany. Upon arriving in Germany, her underlying depression returns and she starts gambling online. The isolated posting and pressures of army life exacerbates her struggle and exposes the frailties of her marriage. The stakes rise as her gambling escalates and she starts to realise her husband is not all she believed... Red/Black is a carefully constructed story that deals with very modern themes of mental health and gambling.
349 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 11, 2020
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 3, 2020
Sarah Hughes is a wife, a mother... and secret gambler. Living in Cheltenham for over 20 years, she has become settled but inner trauma from losing her beloved son rushes to the surface when her husband accepts a full-time military posting to Germany. Not long after arriving, Sarah’s underlying depression returns and the isolation and pressures of army life lead her down a dark path that exposes the power her addiction holds, her failing mental health and fragile marriage...
This book held many strong and poignant moments for me however overall it didn’t absolutely captivate me unfortunately. While I enjoyed the fact that it is jam packed full of detail, I felt that it was a tad slow in places and it took a while for the story to really get going for me.
When the plot did open up, there were some crucially relevant and modern takes on a very real problem in the world as we know it which I found interesting but I found the moments inbetween not as intriguing as I’d hoped. With that in mind, the ending did genuinely shock me and the subtle twists interspersed with Sarah’s story throughout the book were cleverly done. I definitely appreciate that it’s a deep and moving story.
Thank you to @annecater13 at #randomthingstours for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book held many strong and poignant moments for me however overall it didn’t absolutely captivate me unfortunately. While I enjoyed the fact that it is jam packed full of detail, I felt that it was a tad slow in places and it took a while for the story to really get going for me.
When the plot did open up, there were some crucially relevant and modern takes on a very real problem in the world as we know it which I found interesting but I found the moments inbetween not as intriguing as I’d hoped. With that in mind, the ending did genuinely shock me and the subtle twists interspersed with Sarah’s story throughout the book were cleverly done. I definitely appreciate that it’s a deep and moving story.
Thank you to @annecater13 at #randomthingstours for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
December 10, 2020
I know this book will have mixed reviews. First of all, you might want to sit down in a cosy corner when you start reading this book because you don’t know what you are getting into.
Red/Black is the story of a woman dealing with grief and questioning her life decisions that changed her life overnight.
The book starts off on a mellow note establishing Graeme and Sarah as characters and their life in a small town of Cheltenham in the United Kingdom.
The book soon takes us back to when Sarah goes back to how they started building a family and the 20 years of marriage between kids and time has passed by.
Then we are taken into Sarah’s head and the way her son’s death affected her emotionally and mentally and this is where her husband comes in who has been taking care of her for the past 15 years.
40 pages in the book, you certainly start seeing Graeme who he truly is. The author writes the narrative through an eagle’s eye meaning that every detail is captured as Sarah goes through it and then slowly as you get used to the narrative you realise why it is so.
The author handles some of the mental illnesses and doesn’t stop building one till the very last moment.
There are the minute things that we see going through Sarah’s head and some mental health problems sometimes don’t even have a name.
The narrative takes us through Sarah’s life inside her head and attaches herself to everytime around her and then shows her detached and how she is in that detached space.
Graeme I think you would not like but I wouldn’t give out why, Sarah will do a better job of it.
Apart from the things we already know about Sarah the author unfolds some of the moments in her life which got where she is.
Red/Black is symbolic of the gamble her life offers her and her story takes out the unpredictability of the black and the red in gambling.
The book is long, it’s heavy and I should remind a tad bit emotionally draining too but Sarah and her story makes you understand just when you think you have it all together,life gambles away.
Red/Black is the story of a woman dealing with grief and questioning her life decisions that changed her life overnight.
The book starts off on a mellow note establishing Graeme and Sarah as characters and their life in a small town of Cheltenham in the United Kingdom.
The book soon takes us back to when Sarah goes back to how they started building a family and the 20 years of marriage between kids and time has passed by.
Then we are taken into Sarah’s head and the way her son’s death affected her emotionally and mentally and this is where her husband comes in who has been taking care of her for the past 15 years.
40 pages in the book, you certainly start seeing Graeme who he truly is. The author writes the narrative through an eagle’s eye meaning that every detail is captured as Sarah goes through it and then slowly as you get used to the narrative you realise why it is so.
The author handles some of the mental illnesses and doesn’t stop building one till the very last moment.
There are the minute things that we see going through Sarah’s head and some mental health problems sometimes don’t even have a name.
The narrative takes us through Sarah’s life inside her head and attaches herself to everytime around her and then shows her detached and how she is in that detached space.
Graeme I think you would not like but I wouldn’t give out why, Sarah will do a better job of it.
Apart from the things we already know about Sarah the author unfolds some of the moments in her life which got where she is.
Red/Black is symbolic of the gamble her life offers her and her story takes out the unpredictability of the black and the red in gambling.
The book is long, it’s heavy and I should remind a tad bit emotionally draining too but Sarah and her story makes you understand just when you think you have it all together,life gambles away.
December 6, 2020
Red/Black by Rachel Atherton Charvat is a book unlike most others that I have read. It deals with the sensitive themes of mental health and gambling and I must say, they are dealt with in a sensitive manner by the author.
Sarah Hughes has a life most would envy. A great relationship, beautiful children and a husband who is in the armed forces, so a stable job too. Then her husband accepts a fulltime post in Germany, so they move there, all is great. Then things begin to fall apart for Sarah as she falls apart. The move has made the traumatic loss of a child and her grief bubble to the surface. Then she starts gambling online a little until it's more than she thought.
I really liked the front cover of this book, it struck the right note to make me want to read it along with the synopsis also. I enjoyed the way the author has managed to create a story that really made me want to see how Sarah fared throughout the book. I really felt for her, when we discover her child passed away in a car accident I was as upset as she was. The emotions actually touched me throughout. The grief on top of the move to a strange place with noone to help. The move alone is a big enough thing but add to that the trauma of a child passing the majority of her issues were understandable.
A story that had me thinking after I had finished it. The sign of a good book!
Thank you to Random Things Tours and the author for the book to give you my thoughts today.
Sarah Hughes has a life most would envy. A great relationship, beautiful children and a husband who is in the armed forces, so a stable job too. Then her husband accepts a fulltime post in Germany, so they move there, all is great. Then things begin to fall apart for Sarah as she falls apart. The move has made the traumatic loss of a child and her grief bubble to the surface. Then she starts gambling online a little until it's more than she thought.
I really liked the front cover of this book, it struck the right note to make me want to read it along with the synopsis also. I enjoyed the way the author has managed to create a story that really made me want to see how Sarah fared throughout the book. I really felt for her, when we discover her child passed away in a car accident I was as upset as she was. The emotions actually touched me throughout. The grief on top of the move to a strange place with noone to help. The move alone is a big enough thing but add to that the trauma of a child passing the majority of her issues were understandable.
A story that had me thinking after I had finished it. The sign of a good book!
Thank you to Random Things Tours and the author for the book to give you my thoughts today.
October 13, 2020
This vivid and intelligently crafted book is centred around Sarah as it deals with her underlying mental health issues and addiction while she tries to live an outwardly happy life. Her husband a psychiatrist, Graeme, is controlling and narcissistic.
As she moves to Germany and an army camp due to Graeme’s job, a tragic event triggers a reoccurrence of her inner trauma and she turns to gambling as a coping mechanism. Meanwhile, she begins to discover Graeme isn’t who she thought he was.
Deep characters and an ever twisting story, this brilliantly written book is moving in its portrayal of Sarah’s depression. It is a stunning story with a genuinely shocking end. I strongly recommend, a must read.
As she moves to Germany and an army camp due to Graeme’s job, a tragic event triggers a reoccurrence of her inner trauma and she turns to gambling as a coping mechanism. Meanwhile, she begins to discover Graeme isn’t who she thought he was.
Deep characters and an ever twisting story, this brilliantly written book is moving in its portrayal of Sarah’s depression. It is a stunning story with a genuinely shocking end. I strongly recommend, a must read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews