More Than You Know

by Penny Vincenzi

It’s 1958, and Eliza Clark has it all: good looks, a privileged upbringing, and a fast-paced career as a successful magazine editor. High fashion means high life, and she’s constantly jetting to Paris and Milan to take in the latest by Chanel, Dior, and Pucci. But when she falls head over heels for Matt Snow, an edgy working-class boy, and becomes pregnant, she is expected to give up her glamorous lifestyle and get married.
 
Although their marriage is intensely passionate, it soon begins to fracture. When their divorce ends in a dramatic custody battle over their little girl, Emmie, and Summercourt, the country estate that has been in her family for generations, it leaves Eliza with a difficult decision: Love? Or money?

• ISBN10: 0385528256
• ISBN13: 9780385528252
• Publish Date: 3 April 2012
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 16 March 2017
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc
• Imprint: Bantam Doubleday Dell
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 608
• Language: English

Reviews

[ibeforem]

I love Penny Vincenzi, though I can’t tell you exactly why.

Part of it is the rich world she delivers. I know little about London in the 1960s, or about fashion magazines, or about real estate, but I was immediately drawn into Eliza and Matt’s lives. I enjoyed reading about how they flit in and out of each others’ lives before they marry. I also liked seeing the social changes happening in the world during that time period.

A larger part of it is the dialogue. Vincenzi relies heavily upon dialogue to tell her story, with some sections having no exposition at all. It can get confusing at times — there were a few sections where it took a paragraph or two before I was certain who was speaking — but her dialogue is so natural and effortless that I couldn’t summon a care.

As for the characters, there are definitely a lot. Not only are there Eliza and Matt and their respective families, but several friends, acquaintances, and coworkers. Each of them works to show a different aspect of the story; no one is superfluous. I liked both Eliza and Matt, and could see each of their points of view, but I definitely thought Matt was a bit too boorish. I understand that Vincenzi was trying to root him solidly in out-dated mid-century views, but sometimes his bull-headedness was a bit overdone. But I guess it balances out when you consider how ridiculously helpless Eliza is at times. You can see why they were attracted to each other, but you can also see that it was doomed from the start.

That all may sound like I really have a beef with the book, but I definitely did not. I loved this, from beginning to end. It was an absolute joy to read. It made me think, and it made me feel, and I’m not sure what more you can ask for.