Alternate Side

by Anna Quindlen

For fans of Elizabeth Strout and Anne Tyler comes a brilliantly provocative novel from the Richard and Judy Book Club and Number One bestselling author Anna Quindlen.

'Mesmerizing. Quindlen makes her characters so richly alive, so believable, that it’s impossible not to feel every doubt and dream they harbour . . . Overwhelmingly moving’ New York Times
 
Anna Quindlen follows her highly-praised novel Miller’s Valley – ‘reads like a companion to Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge’, Elisabeth Egan – with a captivating novel about money, class and self-discovery set in the heart of New York where the tensions in a tight-knit neighbourhood—and a seemingly happy marriage—are exposed by an unexpected act of violence.
 
There are days when Nora Nolan thinks that she and her husband, Charlie, lead a charmed life—except when there’s a crisis at work, a leak in the roof at home or a problem with their twins at college. And why not? New York City was once Nora’s dream destination and her clannish dead-end block has become a safe harbour, a tranquil village amid the urban craziness. The owners watch one another’s children grow up. They use the same handyman. They trade gossip and gripes, and they manoeuvre for the ultimate status symbol: a spot in the block’s small parking lot.

Then one morning, Nora returns from her run to discover that a terrible incident has shaken the neighbourhood, and the enviable dead-end block turns into a potent symbol of a divided city. The fault lines begin to open: in their street, at Nora’s place of work in a jewellery museum and, most especially, in her marriage.
 
With an unerring and acute eye that captures beautifully the snap and crackle of modern life, Anna Quindlen explores what it means to be a mother, a wife and a woman at a moment of reckoning.
 
‘Qualities and shades of love are this writer’s strong suit, and she has the unusual talent for writing about them with so much truth and heart that one is carried away on a tidal wave of involvement and concern’  Elizabeth Jane Howard
 
'I’m a big fan of US author Anna Quindlen’s sharp writing. Her latest novel, Alternate Side, is a clear-eyed look at a long marriage, written with wit and warmth' Good Housekeeping

'A book about being a mother, a wife and a woman at a moment of reckoning, this is an acutely observed story' Stylist Books 

‘Middle age proves treacherous ground in this smart comedy of manners… Insightful, acerbic and pleasingly tinged with melancholy’ Mail on Sunday

• ISBN10: 147117574X
• ISBN13: 9781471175749
• Publish Date: 9 August 2018 (first published 20 March 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Imprint: Scribner UK
• Edition: Export/Airside
• Format: Paperback (UK Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[pagesbycyndy]

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Upper West Side NYC meets with petty neighborhood jealousy. A supposedly well educated and classy group of people squabble over a parking space and what results is a horrific act of violence. This is the premise of Anna Quindlen's  new book.

This tale is told beautifully , the author does not disappoint in her writing of this book. The story is so well written in prose that went down like a fine red wine. With that said the book was slow moving for me and while I did enjoy the book and the characters, especially Nora, it just took a while to get into. Nora was my favorite character, I would love to have her job, my dream job has always been to work in a museum and live in NYC. Would I love to be married to Charlie? No thanks ! The author examines and delves into the heart of this family and what it takes for Nora to keep it all together as a wife, mother and working woman. As Nora's life unravels her character becomes stronger and this is what I took away from this story; as women we are separate beings as well as mothers and wives.

While this book was about a tragic incident it was also a story about a woman who finds out whi she really is and what she really wants in life.This review was originally posted on My Fiction Obsession