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Happiness Sold Separately
A darkly funny and messy love story about the struggle to live happily ever after after the after, by the New York Times bestselling author of Good Grief . Elinor Mackey has always done the right thing-college, law school, career, marriage-but now everything's gone wrong. In her late thirties, Elinor has discovered that she can't have children; all the doctors can tell her is that it's because of her age. She withdraws from her podiatrist husband, Ted, into an interior world of heartbreak. Her closest companion? The tree in her backyard. But since everything in her life is going from bad to worse, soon, despite the best efforts of the tree doctor, her tree must be cut down.
Ted Mackey has always done the right thing, too. He started going to the gym and lost weight, got on track, got in The Zone. But when he uncharacteristically has an affair with his personal trainer ? who has an odd-ball son who latches on to Ted like a barnacle -- he has to figure out how to make everything right (even if he's not sure what right even means anymore).
In a complicated dance of partners, lovers and admirers, Happiness Sold Seperately delightfully shows that sometimes love with the wrong person is sometimes right.
Ted Mackey has always done the right thing, too. He started going to the gym and lost weight, got on track, got in The Zone. But when he uncharacteristically has an affair with his personal trainer ? who has an odd-ball son who latches on to Ted like a barnacle -- he has to figure out how to make everything right (even if he's not sure what right even means anymore).
In a complicated dance of partners, lovers and admirers, Happiness Sold Seperately delightfully shows that sometimes love with the wrong person is sometimes right.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
89 people are currently reading
2760 people want to read
About the author
Lolly Winston
7 books354 followersBorn and raised in the glamorous insurance capital of Hartford, Conn., Lolly Winston holds an MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College, where she wrote a collection of short stories as her thesis.
Her first novel, Good Grief, published in 2004, was a New York Times best-seller, a #1 Book Sense pick, and was translated into 15 languages. The film rights have been optioned by Universal Studios. Her second novel, Happiness Sold Separately, also hit the New York Times best seller list upon its publication in August 2006. Her short stories have appeared in The Sun, The Southeast Review, The Third Berkshire Anthology, Girls' Night Out and others. She's contributed essays to the anthologies Kiss Tomorrow Hello (Doubleday, 2006), and the forthcoming book Bad Girls.
Over the years, Lolly has floundered at a number of English major jobs, including: waitress (cork in your wine, anyone?), house cleaner, corporate copywriter, and corporate public relations manager. She's not proud of the fact that she flunked the math on the Kelly Girl test.
In the early eighties she went to Hawaii for eight days and stayed for eight years, boogie boarding and working as the public affairs officer at a local trauma hospital. She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1993, where she finally quit the corporate world to become a freelance journalist, starting out as a stringer for Automotive News. She went on to write for the San Jose Mercury News Sunday magazine, New Woman, Redbook, Glamour, Family Circle, Working Mother, Sunset, Lifetime and others. She teaches writing classes in fiction, feature stories and the art of the personal essay.
A groupie at heart, her favorite authors include: Flannery O'Connor, Vladimir Nabokov, Tom Perrotta, Nick Hornby, Kate Atkinson, Walker Percy, Jeffrey Eugenides, Andrew Sean Greer, Mary Karr, George Saunders, Aimee Bender, Jane Austen, Dave Barry, David Sedaris, Andre Dubus III, Sylvia Plath, Raymond Carver, Ethan Canin, ZZ Packer, Jennifer Haigh, Edith Wharton, Jonathan Tropper, Amy Bloom, Christie Hodgen, Ellen Sussman, Jonathan Lethem, J.D. Salinger, Tobias Wolff, and Donald Barthelme.
She lives with her husband in Northern California.
Her first novel, Good Grief, published in 2004, was a New York Times best-seller, a #1 Book Sense pick, and was translated into 15 languages. The film rights have been optioned by Universal Studios. Her second novel, Happiness Sold Separately, also hit the New York Times best seller list upon its publication in August 2006. Her short stories have appeared in The Sun, The Southeast Review, The Third Berkshire Anthology, Girls' Night Out and others. She's contributed essays to the anthologies Kiss Tomorrow Hello (Doubleday, 2006), and the forthcoming book Bad Girls.
Over the years, Lolly has floundered at a number of English major jobs, including: waitress (cork in your wine, anyone?), house cleaner, corporate copywriter, and corporate public relations manager. She's not proud of the fact that she flunked the math on the Kelly Girl test.
In the early eighties she went to Hawaii for eight days and stayed for eight years, boogie boarding and working as the public affairs officer at a local trauma hospital. She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1993, where she finally quit the corporate world to become a freelance journalist, starting out as a stringer for Automotive News. She went on to write for the San Jose Mercury News Sunday magazine, New Woman, Redbook, Glamour, Family Circle, Working Mother, Sunset, Lifetime and others. She teaches writing classes in fiction, feature stories and the art of the personal essay.
A groupie at heart, her favorite authors include: Flannery O'Connor, Vladimir Nabokov, Tom Perrotta, Nick Hornby, Kate Atkinson, Walker Percy, Jeffrey Eugenides, Andrew Sean Greer, Mary Karr, George Saunders, Aimee Bender, Jane Austen, Dave Barry, David Sedaris, Andre Dubus III, Sylvia Plath, Raymond Carver, Ethan Canin, ZZ Packer, Jennifer Haigh, Edith Wharton, Jonathan Tropper, Amy Bloom, Christie Hodgen, Ellen Sussman, Jonathan Lethem, J.D. Salinger, Tobias Wolff, and Donald Barthelme.
She lives with her husband in Northern California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 741 reviews
August 18, 2008
I enjoyed "Good Grief" very much, so I was hoping I'd like this book, too. Unfortunately, I didn't. I kept wondering if I should quit reading it because the characters were really making me mad. I don't know why I continued, and even though I finished it, I don't really know how it ends...
This is another book about infertility and the stresses it puts on a marriage (much like "Waiting for Daisy" except this is fiction). However, within a span of like 8 weeks, each of the three major characters have multiple sex partners (keep in mind that two of them are married to each other!) and make such poor decisions that I can't even begin to feel sorry for them. There's a jerk-of-a-man who wants the comforts of his wife and home along with the excitement of his affair. There's his slut mistress with a kid she keeps a secret. And then there's the career-minded woman who can't get pregnant (which upsets her way more than her husband's affair.) All three are incredibly selfish.
I hate books like this because the reader is left to believe that the almighty quest to have a child is more important than the marriage itself (or saving what's become of it). The characters inevitably believe that everything will be ok if only there could be a baby... unfortunately, nothing could be farther from the truth!
This is another book about infertility and the stresses it puts on a marriage (much like "Waiting for Daisy" except this is fiction). However, within a span of like 8 weeks, each of the three major characters have multiple sex partners (keep in mind that two of them are married to each other!) and make such poor decisions that I can't even begin to feel sorry for them. There's a jerk-of-a-man who wants the comforts of his wife and home along with the excitement of his affair. There's his slut mistress with a kid she keeps a secret. And then there's the career-minded woman who can't get pregnant (which upsets her way more than her husband's affair.) All three are incredibly selfish.
I hate books like this because the reader is left to believe that the almighty quest to have a child is more important than the marriage itself (or saving what's become of it). The characters inevitably believe that everything will be ok if only there could be a baby... unfortunately, nothing could be farther from the truth!
August 6, 2007
I was disappointed with this book. After reading the first few chapters of "Good Grief" (before it mysteriously disappeared), I thought I would read all of Lolly Winston's work and she could become a new favorite author.
After reading "Happiness Sold Separately", I came to the following conclusions. One, unless an author really understands both the male and female psyche, at least enough to write from the vantage point of both men and woman, he/she just shouldn't do it. Otherwise, it sounds like one character who has multiple personalities speaking. And it gets really annoying. (I had the same problem with Brendan Halpin's "Catastrophe Waitress".)
Two, sometimes every single emotion and feeling does NOT need to be explained to the reader. If we're reading your book, chances are that we can figure out what the characters are feeling when they perform certain actions or are acting certain ways. If a character yawns, for instance, we probably don't need a road map into how tired he/she is.
Three, although some books are great with an open-ended question as the ending, some books NEED that close. And this book did. After spending the entire book in three or four characters' viewpoints, the last chapter or so is entirely in one person's POV. And while I might have an idea where the book is going, I still deserve, after reading the book, to have it confirmed in more than one voice.
I'm still going to give "Good Grief" a go. But I wouldn't say that I'll re-read this one anytime soon.
After reading "Happiness Sold Separately", I came to the following conclusions. One, unless an author really understands both the male and female psyche, at least enough to write from the vantage point of both men and woman, he/she just shouldn't do it. Otherwise, it sounds like one character who has multiple personalities speaking. And it gets really annoying. (I had the same problem with Brendan Halpin's "Catastrophe Waitress".)
Two, sometimes every single emotion and feeling does NOT need to be explained to the reader. If we're reading your book, chances are that we can figure out what the characters are feeling when they perform certain actions or are acting certain ways. If a character yawns, for instance, we probably don't need a road map into how tired he/she is.
Three, although some books are great with an open-ended question as the ending, some books NEED that close. And this book did. After spending the entire book in three or four characters' viewpoints, the last chapter or so is entirely in one person's POV. And while I might have an idea where the book is going, I still deserve, after reading the book, to have it confirmed in more than one voice.
I'm still going to give "Good Grief" a go. But I wouldn't say that I'll re-read this one anytime soon.
July 24, 2008
Oh no, where to start? I truly enjoyed Lolly Winston's debut novel, Good Grief, and was excited to read this one. Alas, my excitement was doused with a large splash of bitterness as I struggled to find some honesty in this book. The only character I actually liked was Kat, the understanding best friend and neighbor. Elinor and Ted's love for one another is unconvincing from the start. At times I wished they would just say, "Ok let's just forget it. We tried, nice knowing you," and move on. Not to say that I wanted Ted to choose Gina--I hated that woman. She made my skin crawl and I felt no sympathy for her messed-up life. But I didn't exactly care for Elinor either...self-pitying, critical, humorless. I couldn't even muster up any love for Toby, the angry and misguided son. In the end I wished I could edit, revise, and rewrite most of the story. Dont' get me wrong, I can handle a difficult struggle in a book--just not a ridiculous one. A little soap opera-ish for me.
August 7, 2007
This book has to have one of the most annoying child characters in the history of literature. As well as no likable characters.
August 17, 2012
With her signature mix of the dark and the funny, Lolly Winston poignantly captures the struggles of infertility and how it creeps into every aspect of your life. Ditto for infidelity, which she explores from every angle. I have to admit that I hated the end, but it had to go one way or the other. My friend read it at the same time as I, and she loved the ending. I'd say it comes down to whether you want a happy ending or not, but what constitutes a "happy" ending to infertility/infidelity? I guess it depends on who you ask! As for reviewers who complain that the book wasn't cheery enough - um, did you read the title? Or the description? Or happen to notice the person hung out to dry on the cover? Anyway, I highly recommend this for anyone who likes books that delve into the complicated emotions of marriage and family. Great for book club discussions! Though things might get personal.
March 11, 2021
So many spoilers ahead.
This book was tough on my heart. First of all, I didn't really like any of the characters. To me, that is a testament to Winston's exceptional writing. I don't think they are supposed to be particularly likable, just very real, warts and all.
Eleanor was angry, bitter, and exhausted by years of infertility. Overloaded with fertility-treatment hormones, frustration, and anger at her situation, she lashed out at poor hapless husband Ted, who eventually turned to a kinder, younger, fitter woman for company and comfort. Eleanor learns of the affair by accident. Somewhere along the way, he fell in love with the OW Gina, who happened to have a son who was drawn immediately to Ted. There was a separation, some geometry tutoring, lots of working out, and continual failure to resist Gina. Single mom OW Gina is a personal trainer and nutritionist at the club who dates and beds many men, much to Ted's chagrin. Eleanor gets pregnant, she and Ted get back together, then she miscarries. Eleanor realizes she can't go back to being Ellie and Ted. Ted realizes he loves two women, but that he's truly happy only with Gina and Toby, not Eleanor. Eleanor absorbs this knowledge and sets him free. As other reviewers have mentioned, the ending is abrupt, but simultaneously, NOT abrubt. I could picture Eleanor's day just moving on as planned. Infertility and infidelity can do that to lives - wreck them, while the world keeps spinning. Eleanor realizes she needs to move forward and to do that, she needs to cut Ted loose.
I don't know if I will choose to read or listen to this again because it is heavy, but it is worthy of a reread. The book is great. Just a bit of an ordeal!
This book was tough on my heart. First of all, I didn't really like any of the characters. To me, that is a testament to Winston's exceptional writing. I don't think they are supposed to be particularly likable, just very real, warts and all.
Eleanor was angry, bitter, and exhausted by years of infertility. Overloaded with fertility-treatment hormones, frustration, and anger at her situation, she lashed out at poor hapless husband Ted, who eventually turned to a kinder, younger, fitter woman for company and comfort. Eleanor learns of the affair by accident. Somewhere along the way, he fell in love with the OW Gina, who happened to have a son who was drawn immediately to Ted. There was a separation, some geometry tutoring, lots of working out, and continual failure to resist Gina. Single mom OW Gina is a personal trainer and nutritionist at the club who dates and beds many men, much to Ted's chagrin. Eleanor gets pregnant, she and Ted get back together, then she miscarries. Eleanor realizes she can't go back to being Ellie and Ted. Ted realizes he loves two women, but that he's truly happy only with Gina and Toby, not Eleanor. Eleanor absorbs this knowledge and sets him free. As other reviewers have mentioned, the ending is abrupt, but simultaneously, NOT abrubt. I could picture Eleanor's day just moving on as planned. Infertility and infidelity can do that to lives - wreck them, while the world keeps spinning. Eleanor realizes she needs to move forward and to do that, she needs to cut Ted loose.
I don't know if I will choose to read or listen to this again because it is heavy, but it is worthy of a reread. The book is great. Just a bit of an ordeal!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2007
Like many others, I read "Good Grief" and loved it. However this book was just plain depressing. It was somewhat refreshing to have a book about infertility that didn't end up with the couple taking a vacation and suddenly getting pregnant and having a baby and living happily ever after. It also portrayed some of the realities of infertility very well. I also thought the plot showed the really sticky messes we can get in to and the disturbing realities of life. However, I would like to have seen something besides the same old story--the husband leaves the older wife for a younger woman. To add salt to the wound, he leaves the older wife who can't have children for the younger woman who can. How about a story in which the couple works it out together no matter what difficulties they face. That would truly be a surprise ending in this day and age.
March 3, 2008
I bought this book on a whim with my mad money. Then I got mad at Lolly's obvious disregard for morals and ethics. It was like she was making a statement and I completely disagree with her perspective. I finished this book just out of curiosity, to see if any of the characters redeemed themselves. Nope, I was out of luck. Each character was self-absorbed and didn't give a rat's you-know-what that they were ruining a kid's life in the process. Hate this book something awful.
October 31, 2016
Firstly, my idea of a HEA in books on infidelity is when the wife goes on to make a life of her own, successfully, and eventually finds happiness. If wife gets back with cheating husband, no matter how much remorse and regret he shows, it leaves me feeling unsettled. In this book, the wife has made the decision to let the husband go, which is courageous of her. But it is never clearly shown why the husband found the ow so attractive, apart from her sleek teenager body. The husband is a doctor and has nothing in common on an intellectual level with a gym trainer, even the son keeps calling his Mom dumb, the ow seems to have boyfriends aplenty and has a history of making bad choices, does pot because "it's not as bad as alcohol"! In spite of knowing the man is married, she deliberately reaches out to trap the husband. Ant then the author tries to make her out to be a sweet single mother who has had a tough life! Rubbish. How are we supposed to believe a doctor could fall in love with this bimbo? Not credible. She has nothing going for her except for her son. The husband appreciates his wife's dark wit, yet he thinks he's going to be happy with this dumb blonde? I would like to see a massive rewrite or a sequel where the wife goes on to adopt a beautiful child, bring her up happily, maybe find a good faithful man, and have the cheating husband connect with the bimbo only to find a year down the line that connecting physically is just not enough, intellectual and mental stimulation keeps a relationship going when the physical urges fade. Then cheating husband hates himself for breaking up with wife.
February 10, 2021
This starts with a bang, a well done confrontation with the husband and the OW; but then it starts to meander too much.
April 22, 2014
RE-READ April 19, 2014
Well, I liked this book better the second time around.
Life is complicated. Humans are messy and complex creatures.
Elinor and Ted are married. They have been going through infertility treatments, and Eli has had a miscarriage. Now she's angry, sad and isolating herself. No matter what Ted tries to do to reach her, she's shoving him away.
Ted goes to the gym to work out his angst. There he meets a hot physical trainer named Gina. After a few months, she hits on him, and they start an affair.
Gina is a nice woman. She tries very hard to be healthy, and is a bit of a diet-strict person, but she genuinely cares about people. She has a 10-year-old son (by way of a one-night-stand) who is filled with rage at her. He wants to live with his father, but his father's newly married and doesn't want the kid around. That's why the kid (Toby) is living with Gina now.
Toby is mad that no one understands him. He's bullied at school and thinks his mom is annoying and lame. He latches onto Ted like a life raft. Ted comes over and helps him with his homework and becomes a father-figure in Toby's life, a father-figure he desperately needs.
But what will happen when Elinor finds out about the affair?
In this book, everyone is human. They all do stupid stuff. But they all are nice, loving people. This book would probably be labeled as "Chick Lit", a label I dislike because I think it leads men to avoid this type of book and some of the books under this label are great.
It's not like this book is light and fluffy. It's humorous, but it's got a real dark edge to it.
These are some of the questions that I thought about while reading it:
Are you ever justified in cheating on your spouse?
If your spouse cheats on you, are you justified in taking a lover in "revenge?"
What if you have kids, does that change the above answers?
If two people want kids, but can't have them as a couple, and so are wretchedly miserable, should they break up? Or just accept a "child-free" life?
Do marriages just kind of fizzle out? Are humans meant to be with just one person for life?
If you are a mom who is a crunchy granola health nut and your kid is an obese gamer who never goes outside to play, what should you do? Try to change him? Accept him how he is?
When you find out your husband or wife is cheating on you, should you divorce them or try to work it out by going to marriage counseling?
I personally think Toby, the kid in this book, should see a counselor. Because he is so angry and lashing out in rage about his parent situation and his bad school situation. *shrug But that's just my opinion.
Well, I liked this book better the second time around.
Life is complicated. Humans are messy and complex creatures.
Elinor and Ted are married. They have been going through infertility treatments, and Eli has had a miscarriage. Now she's angry, sad and isolating herself. No matter what Ted tries to do to reach her, she's shoving him away.
Ted goes to the gym to work out his angst. There he meets a hot physical trainer named Gina. After a few months, she hits on him, and they start an affair.
Gina is a nice woman. She tries very hard to be healthy, and is a bit of a diet-strict person, but she genuinely cares about people. She has a 10-year-old son (by way of a one-night-stand) who is filled with rage at her. He wants to live with his father, but his father's newly married and doesn't want the kid around. That's why the kid (Toby) is living with Gina now.
Toby is mad that no one understands him. He's bullied at school and thinks his mom is annoying and lame. He latches onto Ted like a life raft. Ted comes over and helps him with his homework and becomes a father-figure in Toby's life, a father-figure he desperately needs.
But what will happen when Elinor finds out about the affair?
In this book, everyone is human. They all do stupid stuff. But they all are nice, loving people. This book would probably be labeled as "Chick Lit", a label I dislike because I think it leads men to avoid this type of book and some of the books under this label are great.
It's not like this book is light and fluffy. It's humorous, but it's got a real dark edge to it.
These are some of the questions that I thought about while reading it:
Are you ever justified in cheating on your spouse?
If your spouse cheats on you, are you justified in taking a lover in "revenge?"
What if you have kids, does that change the above answers?
If two people want kids, but can't have them as a couple, and so are wretchedly miserable, should they break up? Or just accept a "child-free" life?
Do marriages just kind of fizzle out? Are humans meant to be with just one person for life?
If you are a mom who is a crunchy granola health nut and your kid is an obese gamer who never goes outside to play, what should you do? Try to change him? Accept him how he is?
When you find out your husband or wife is cheating on you, should you divorce them or try to work it out by going to marriage counseling?
I personally think Toby, the kid in this book, should see a counselor. Because he is so angry and lashing out in rage about his parent situation and his bad school situation. *shrug But that's just my opinion.
January 2, 2008
Eleanor and Ted's marriage is pushed to a straining point when Eleanor finds out that Ted has been having an affair with his personal assistant Gina. The feelings between the characters are complicated. Eleanor and Ted have been struggling with infertility for years. Gina is a single mother whose son Toby has just come to live with her and who hates her guts. Although Ted breaks off his affair with Gina when Eleanor finally becomes pregnant, he can't turn his back on the boy, and when Eleanor miscarries and Ted is involved in a serious accident, things resolve themselves for the betterment of all involved.
I thought this was a really great chick lit type book. I felt for all the characters, even though they each had moments when they were wholly unlikeable. In spite of not usually being in favor of things ending the way they did in this book, I was happy with the way the story resolved itself, and I am now looking forward to reading my second Lolly Winston, Good Grief, which I have on my "to be read" pile.
I thought this was a really great chick lit type book. I felt for all the characters, even though they each had moments when they were wholly unlikeable. In spite of not usually being in favor of things ending the way they did in this book, I was happy with the way the story resolved itself, and I am now looking forward to reading my second Lolly Winston, Good Grief, which I have on my "to be read" pile.
September 28, 2007
The characters in this book were amazing. I could empathize with all three of the main characters, even though at times they were at odds with each other. I admired Elinor's boldness and humor and related to her anger upon discovering her husband's affair. I felt bad for Ted, who felt helpless while watching his wife go through the trauma of miscarriage and realizing she wouldn't be able to have children. I also empathized with Gina, who was frustrated with Ted's inability to commit to her even though come on, what are the odds? But the fact that I could understand and relate to each character is a testimony to the writer. Some books I breeze through and honestly couldn't care less about the people in the story. This book was very deep and it was a very good story. The jacket says that Ted is having an affair, but I didn't expect Elinor's realization of it to happen so quickly. And I won't spoil the surprise, but the way she handled it had me laughing out loud!
June 12, 2017
This book read like every day life. The story was tangible and real. We love, we hurt, we heal, we deny ourselves and we're beautifully broken. I wish the author would have allowed us to witness Ted's, Toby's, Gina's and Elinor's happy ending, it's not something I want to imagine, reading about it ensures that it actually took place (in fiction land, lol). I'm looking forward to reading more books by Lolly Winston...she has a great handle on this thing called 'life'.
October 30, 2019
I am not really sure who even enjoy this book. The characters make you angry and there's no real ending.
August 30, 2011
This book was passed to me by a friend. I breezed through this in a few sittings. I always enjoy when a writer tells a story from multiple characters' viewpoints. I appreciated that this story moved along quickly - the reader literally witnesses the wife learn of her husband's affair on the first page. So, this story starts cranking!
I will credit the author for writing something so honest with regards to marriage, friendship, self-centeredness and infertility; however, as a woman, I think the women's viewpoints (Elinor and Gina) were written much more credibly than Ted's perspective. He just felt like a weak character - lumbering along between these two women. Perhaps that is just who Winston intended him to be.
In the end, it is both sad and sweet to realize that Elinor truly does love Ted. While Ted's emotions waver between these two women, it is obvious that Elinor first abandoned Ted inside their marriage; otherwise, he wouldn't have sparked to Gina's enthusiasm, optimism and encouragement in the first place. It is satisfying on some level to watch Elinor come to terms with her own responsibility for the failure of her marriage, but mostly it is just sad and very real.
I will credit the author for writing something so honest with regards to marriage, friendship, self-centeredness and infertility; however, as a woman, I think the women's viewpoints (Elinor and Gina) were written much more credibly than Ted's perspective. He just felt like a weak character - lumbering along between these two women. Perhaps that is just who Winston intended him to be.
In the end, it is both sad and sweet to realize that Elinor truly does love Ted. While Ted's emotions waver between these two women, it is obvious that Elinor first abandoned Ted inside their marriage; otherwise, he wouldn't have sparked to Gina's enthusiasm, optimism and encouragement in the first place. It is satisfying on some level to watch Elinor come to terms with her own responsibility for the failure of her marriage, but mostly it is just sad and very real.
July 12, 2008
Elinor Mackey and her husband, Ted, are having a rough time. Their inability to conceive has put a strain on their marriage; a strain that almost becomes unbearable when Elinor discovers that Ted is having an affair. The book follows the stories of Elinor, Ted, and Gina, Ted;s mistress. Ted waivers back and forth between Elinor and Gina--two women he loves, but in different ways. Elinor herself in conflicted when she realizes to her surprise that things might be working out the way they are supposed to.
I liked this one for the most part. Sometimes it felt like it dragged, but for the most part it was interesting. An interesting look at infidelity by a good man--and the struggle that he undergoes. All of the characters (with the exception of Gina) are very human, flawed and real. Gina is just obnoxious--a dumb gym trainer with little else to her credit. Aside from her, I liked the characters very much.
I liked this one for the most part. Sometimes it felt like it dragged, but for the most part it was interesting. An interesting look at infidelity by a good man--and the struggle that he undergoes. All of the characters (with the exception of Gina) are very human, flawed and real. Gina is just obnoxious--a dumb gym trainer with little else to her credit. Aside from her, I liked the characters very much.
April 16, 2020
Que confusão de livro e que personagens mais estranhas, o trio principal da história tem tido ele grande pancada na cabeça, aquilo que começa por ser interessante torna-se uma nulidade. Uma mulher que quer engravidar a qualquer custo e passa pelo drama da infertilidade, o marido que não aguenta a pressão e tem um caso com a PT do ginásio que por sua vez tem um filho de dez anos complicado e que tem dois ou três namorados ao mesmo tempo? Confuso? Também eu! Ted é um egoista do pior que quer manter as duas mulheres na sua vida, Elinor quer um bebé mesmo que isso implique manter um casamento de fachada e um emprego de sonho como advogada e Gina toda fit mas que escolhe sempre os homens errados e não sabe lidar com o filho...no final confuso também! Não gostei nada!
June 27, 2011
This was such a chick lit book that I was able to tell my doctor to stop my estrogen replacement therapy--I was awash in the stuff. The three main characters were so self-absorbed that I almost expected them to be on their Twitter accounts throughout the book. While the themes were timely--an affair in a troubled marriage, infertility, single mothers, careers, etc., I never really came to like or respect any of the characters. In the end, I simply didn't care what choices they made or how their conflicts were resolved.
March 17, 2019
I loved this book. I think the characters were very distinct and different from one another, each with a unique voice and reaction to the difficult, painful scenarios they found themselves in. For Elinor the need for a baby, for Gina, her desire for a ‘good man’ but seemingly unattainable whilst raising her son. The relationship between Gina’s son and Tex was heartbreaking, yet so real to life. Then there is Ted and his feelings towards both women which I found poignant and tender. I think the author captured the nuances and emotions of these difficult subjects perfectly via these characters.
August 23, 2021
I have to only give this 1 star. I’m not a fan. This was a very sad and depressing story. No likable characters and a very spoiled rotten ten year old kid. The author fails miserably in trying to make the OW a poor soul that has made mistakes with men. Yes seducing a married man when you learn of his trouble with his marriage is a mistake. Ugh hated this book.
November 23, 2021
Trata-se de um livro um pouco maluco onde os personagens principais se revelam imprevisíveis e incoerentes, o que leva a situações tão rídiculas que o livro acaba por ser divertido.
Paralelamente a esta característica de comédia romântica surgem várias passagens muito sensatas que gostei especialmente.
Paralelamente a esta característica de comédia romântica surgem várias passagens muito sensatas que gostei especialmente.
February 17, 2022
I have to say I am really disappointed that this book has such low reviews. As someone who has been going through infertility for many years, I found this book so heart breaking and real and refreshing. Lolly perfectly articulates the complex emotions and ripple effects in life that comes with fertility struggles and relationships. Of course some of the characters are going to be infuriating - marriage in itself is so complicated and tough as it is, but add in the fertility journey and you have another layer of the complicated emotions that come with that life. I resonate so much with Elinor in this book and how in isolating herself in her struggle with her fertility she alienated herself from her husband. And I LOVE how Lolly wrote from the husbands perspective because to be honest, I connected with how bitter Elinor felt towards her husband with the enitre fertility journey, and how much as women we are poked, prodded and man handled. It never (selfishly) occured to me how hard it could be for the husband to feel so helpless watching someone he loves go through that. In all, going through fertility sturggles and going to fertility clinics is such a difficult experience and unless you have experienced or are experiencing it yourself, you will never truly appreciate how it effects your entire life and your relationships. I always say - I am tired of hearing peoples happy endings. I want a story where you don't get pregnant, your dream doesn't come true and you learn to live with it, because that is so many peoples reality. This book gave me that. Of course the ending is happy but she got what she wanted in a different way that didn't involve having a miracle baby. I am so greatful for this book and will always love it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2018
I shelved this book to-read a decade ago and I've been trying to make a point to get to some of these books that have been languishing on this shelf as there always seems to be new books being added faster than I can read them. I don't honestly know how this book ever caught my eye. In fact, it made me wonder what else was lurking out there, waiting to devour my precious reading minutes and I ended up culling my to-read shelf and questioning who hacked my account and added some of these books, because surely it couldn't have been me. Does that give you any indication of how I felt about this book?
I felt like "Happiness Sold Separately" kept trying really hard to be meaningful and real. It didn't succeed. The only character I liked as all was Elinor's best friend, Kat. I spent the rest of the book thinking that the rest of these characters were all various sorts of train wreck and not even in a very interesting way. The ending wasn't what I'd call satisfying, but it did feel appropriate to the story and the characters, I suppose.
The only thing that saved this book from being one star was that it wasn't unreadable. In fact, it was a very fast read, although in part, at least, I think I read quickly just to be through with it and see how it ended. Overall, I just never felt like I connected with the characters or the story or anything. It was merely a way to pass time and that seems like a waste with so many other books out there. I can say it doesn't really motivate me to check out anything else this author has written.
I felt like "Happiness Sold Separately" kept trying really hard to be meaningful and real. It didn't succeed. The only character I liked as all was Elinor's best friend, Kat. I spent the rest of the book thinking that the rest of these characters were all various sorts of train wreck and not even in a very interesting way. The ending wasn't what I'd call satisfying, but it did feel appropriate to the story and the characters, I suppose.
The only thing that saved this book from being one star was that it wasn't unreadable. In fact, it was a very fast read, although in part, at least, I think I read quickly just to be through with it and see how it ended. Overall, I just never felt like I connected with the characters or the story or anything. It was merely a way to pass time and that seems like a waste with so many other books out there. I can say it doesn't really motivate me to check out anything else this author has written.
May 15, 2009
This book tells the story of a lawyer whose marriage begins to crumble amidst infertility and infidelity. When Elinor discovers that her husband Ted is having an affair, she is hurt, but not entirely surprised, given everything they've been through lately. This is the first of many unusual (for chick lit), but very honest reactions that Elinor has to her changing life, and I think it's what sets this book apart from most of the pink-covered paperbacks infesting our bookstores.
These characters are intelligent. Never once does Elinor go shoe shopping to console herself. She and Ted still stumble; they make stupid choices, they interfere with their own happiness... but in the end they are human and honest with each other in a way that I hadn't entirely expected. I also like that this book allowed us to get to know the other woman rather than simply demonize her from a distance. Gina, Ted's lover, is as fallible, human, and ultimately likable as Elinor is. You're not necessarily rooting for either one of them, you're just watching their painful story unfold.
This is not a frothy, escapist book. But it's clearly much better than most of the other work in this genre.
These characters are intelligent. Never once does Elinor go shoe shopping to console herself. She and Ted still stumble; they make stupid choices, they interfere with their own happiness... but in the end they are human and honest with each other in a way that I hadn't entirely expected. I also like that this book allowed us to get to know the other woman rather than simply demonize her from a distance. Gina, Ted's lover, is as fallible, human, and ultimately likable as Elinor is. You're not necessarily rooting for either one of them, you're just watching their painful story unfold.
This is not a frothy, escapist book. But it's clearly much better than most of the other work in this genre.
February 5, 2014
Yes, this is a duplicate of the review I wrote for Winston's debut novel: Good Grief... You can't go wrong with either of these reads...
It's been years since I read Good Grief (and Happiness Sold Separately), but Winston's truer than fiction portrayal of grief and bereavement keeps me wanting more from her. Honestly, I periodically search to see if she's released anything after her (THIS) second book, Happiness Sold Separately.
As someone who's life's work is dedicated to healing, I can honestly say that Winston's character development is nothing shy of brilliance.
I must admit I was disappointed with the "Walk out into everyday life" sort of ending for both books, where there wasn't really a clear and concise resolution, BUT, it wasn't until after I read her second work--and felt the same sense of frustration and being cheated out of the 'happily-everafter-ending'--that I realized the sheer genius behind her stories: They are indicative of a life that is fluid, one that is full of surprises and micro moments that are the joyful fairytales existing in-between life's other, more dramatic memories...
It's been years since I read Good Grief (and Happiness Sold Separately), but Winston's truer than fiction portrayal of grief and bereavement keeps me wanting more from her. Honestly, I periodically search to see if she's released anything after her (THIS) second book, Happiness Sold Separately.
As someone who's life's work is dedicated to healing, I can honestly say that Winston's character development is nothing shy of brilliance.
I must admit I was disappointed with the "Walk out into everyday life" sort of ending for both books, where there wasn't really a clear and concise resolution, BUT, it wasn't until after I read her second work--and felt the same sense of frustration and being cheated out of the 'happily-everafter-ending'--that I realized the sheer genius behind her stories: They are indicative of a life that is fluid, one that is full of surprises and micro moments that are the joyful fairytales existing in-between life's other, more dramatic memories...
August 28, 2013
Happiness Sold Separately is not about happiness. A couple of married professionals who are struggling with infertility are also struggling to save their marriage.
As a person who also dealt with infertility issues in my life and in my marriage, I found that the author did an extremely good job with the emotional side of the story. I related to Elinor and Ted. I understood why they behaved the way they did.
I didn't really like the character of Gina much, but I think that was because I saw her through Elinor's eyes and not through Ted's eyes. Even in the points in the story when the author clearly wanted the reader to see Gina through Teds eyes, I couldn't get past Elinor's feelings.
The character i liked the most was Toby. Even when he was horrible, I liked poor Toby.
I found myself fully engaged in this book and I had a preference for how it should end. I didn't get what I wanted. But isn't that what the book was all about? How should we react when we don't get what we want in life?
As a person who also dealt with infertility issues in my life and in my marriage, I found that the author did an extremely good job with the emotional side of the story. I related to Elinor and Ted. I understood why they behaved the way they did.
I didn't really like the character of Gina much, but I think that was because I saw her through Elinor's eyes and not through Ted's eyes. Even in the points in the story when the author clearly wanted the reader to see Gina through Teds eyes, I couldn't get past Elinor's feelings.
The character i liked the most was Toby. Even when he was horrible, I liked poor Toby.
I found myself fully engaged in this book and I had a preference for how it should end. I didn't get what I wanted. But isn't that what the book was all about? How should we react when we don't get what we want in life?
July 25, 2012
I thought this book was well written in the sense that it got my emotions invested thoroughly. The problem I had with it, however, was that one of the main characters in this novel made me so angry and upset to the point that I wanted to scream and throw the book across the room. I always found myself in a bad mood after I read it.
Now I am not saying that I just can't read sad, upsetting, frustrating books but because I didn't feel there was anything beautifully tragic about the things that happened (as I felt about Anna Karnina) I didn't feel like the book was worth the bad moods that went along with reading it.
But, as I said, it does a good job drawing you into the emotions of the characters.
Now I am not saying that I just can't read sad, upsetting, frustrating books but because I didn't feel there was anything beautifully tragic about the things that happened (as I felt about Anna Karnina) I didn't feel like the book was worth the bad moods that went along with reading it.
But, as I said, it does a good job drawing you into the emotions of the characters.
November 30, 2008
I love the way that Lolly Winston writes. Her characters are so real. I cannot give a better rating to this book because I did not enjoy reading it. The characters were extremely selfish. Not only did I find all the characters to have moral flaws, I did not like the treatment of the young boy in the story. I hope Lolly Winston writes a story with characters that I can care about and feel good about like her first book "Good Grief".
April 1, 2014
2.5 stars. I was disappointed in the (non)ending and would have liked a bit more closure. I did find myself drawn into the story and read the last half of the book in one sitting. I felt it difficult to connect with the characters and their poor decision making, and I was so sad for Toby. I would love to read a happy-ending epiloge, although I know real life doesn't aways have happy endings.
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