The Split

One of those toxic love and broken families stories. I have been speed-reading quite a few of these types of stories – none of them very memorable. It’s just that if you read one, and you kind of semi-like it, you are instantly bombarded with more of the same.

The Split by Amanda Brookfield is one of the better ones out there, and so I thought I’d feature it here.

About The Split

Two decades on from a passionate courtship and marriage, Lucas and Esther are getting divorced.

For Esther, it’s proving hard not to feel bitter watching Lucas enjoying his successful career, not to mention the attentions of his gorgeous, intelligent, and predictably younger lover. She, meanwhile, is struggling to forge a new life for herself, navigating the pitfalls of modern dating, while trying not to despair at the cost of living as a single woman of a certain age.

Then Lucas faces a shattering accusation at the same time as their children, Dylan and Lily, start to implode. When Dylan runs away, and as his father fights to save his reputation, Lucas and Esther find themselves back in each other’s lives, whether they like it or not.

Has too much water passed under the bridge, or will long-forgotten loyalties and feelings bring the family back together, just when they need each other the most?

~ Synopsis from goodreads

My Review

What I liked about the book is that it is less toxic than other books of this genre. Here, the family is already broken up; they are living separate lives, the raw pain has gone away, but there’s lingering resentment and hurt, and very little contact between Esther and Lucas. However, with two semi-adult children going through difficulties, they need to learn to work together, even if they don’t want to.

This is a book about families – people who can’t escape each other even if they want to. There are no real fireworks, and the book’s pace is gentle – there are a few surprises, but the joy of this book is in its exploration of the messiness of life. While Lucas is the one who initially seems to have everything, the foundations of his charmed life prove not to be as secure as they at first appear, and Esther shows strength and resilience when she has to live a smaller, cheaper, less comfortable life and try to be independent after years of being a mother and homemaker.

I found both their new, mature love stories a little awkward, showing just how hard it can be to find someone new in midlife. On paper, Lucas has a hot, younger girlfriend who adores him. However, when you read on, it becomes clear how much work they need to do to connect and understand each other. Whereas Lucas and Esther’s college days love story is so much easier, it feels more natural. Esther and her boyfriend aren’t that much better either. Neither of these couples look like they will last very long.

There is a certain ‘will they, won’t they’ aspect to the book. Will Lucas and Esther’s feelings revive? Will they make up? But this isn’t a hot and heavy book. It is more about generational trauma. I found it interesting how Lucas blames his father for destroying their family, and then pretty much does the same thing to his own family. I would have liked a different ending, personally, but I understand how Amanda Brookfield arrived at this conclusion. People just don’t change that easily and it’s hard to change family dynamics.

Riveting, strong, mature story, overall.