Sometimes, you only want a lightweight book that follows standard tropes, so you don’t have to tax your brain too much – particularly for reading on a train or when waiting for a doctor/dentist/whoever to attend to you. For such times, a predictable chick-lit or mystery is just the ticket.
This time, for my train travel to Chennai a couple of weeks back, I picked up The Ex-Wife’s Survival Guide by Debby Holt from the library. I had never heard of the book or the writer, but I was charmed by the book cover and book blurb – predictable but quirky, and that fit exactly the mood I was in.
Book Blurb
Right before Sarah Stagg’s teenage sons leave the nest, her husband, Andrew, the star of their local dramatic club, leaves her for his twentysomething leading lady, Hyacinth. Sarah, a freelance artist, quickly discovers that the path of a discarded wife is strewn with hazards and humiliations. Her neighbors and friends treat her like she has the plague. And her soon-to-be-ex wants to sell the house she’s spent years turning into her dream home.
Her best friend Miriam offers one concrete piece of Sarah should keep busy — and with Andrew and Hyacinth on a sabbatical from their acting group, what better distraction than the theater? To Sarah’s horror, she is promptly given the starring role intended for Hyacinth.
She wonders if she should write a survival guide for ex-wives. Her first chapter could be titled “How to Invite Utter Humiliation to Your Life in Front of an Entire Town and Watch Your Heartbreak Magically Melt Away.” Then Sarah runs into the biggest crush of her youth. Now Sarah has more — better — advice to add to the Confront your past. Revel in the present. Be open to romance. But despite her new love interest, Sarah wonders if she’s actually dealing or just having fun dreaming up sage words for women scorned. Will she ever truly understand what it means to live wisely and independently?
My Review
If I could use one word to describe this book, it would be – adorable. The main character Sarah is so much fun! A book about a woman processing the end of her decades-long marriage would expectedly be a bit grim.
But Debby Holt does a good job balancing Sarah’s heartbreak while at the same time keeping the tone lighthearted.
The supporting characters are also lovely. There is a very warm feel to this book that made it very comforting to read.
I would say the only negative would be that it’s just too predictable. I knew exactly which way the story was going, but I didn’t mind it so much.
As I said, it’s a nice heartwarming read, perfect for those times when one is stressed or in a slump.
