Honesty is the best policy…except maybe when it comes to marriage in this brilliant novel about the high price of perfection from bestselling author Camille Pagán.
Wife. Mother. Breadwinner. Penelope Ruiz-Kar is doing it all—and barely keeping it together. Meanwhile, her best friend, Jenny Sweet, appears to be sailing through life. As close as the two women are, Jenny’s passionate marriage, pristine house, and ultra-polite child stand in stark contrast to Penelope’s underemployed husband, Sanjay, their unruly brood, and the daily grind she calls a career.
Then a shocking tragedy reveals that Jenny’s life is far from perfect. Reeling, Penelope vows to stop keeping the peace and finally deal with the issues in her relationship. So she and Sanjay agree to a radical proposal: both will write a list of changes they want each other to make—then commit to complete and total honesty.
What seems like a smart idea quickly spirals out of control, revealing new rifts and even deeper secrets. As Penelope stares down the possible implosion of her marriage, she must ask herself: When it comes to love, is honesty really the best policy?
Penny is a relatable character for many woman in today’s world. The stresses of being the perfect wife, mother, and successful career can be quite daunting.
I also applaud the author for addressing some current and difficult issues we see today (ie; opioid addiction).
Despite the potential this book had though, I think it lacked substance. There’s no mystery, twist, or action found anywhere in this book, so if you’re looking for that sort of thing.... look elsewhere.
Some of my irritations surfaced when Penny’s obsessive complaining continued despite things improving. I understand that life is tough, but she seemed to *want* to hate her life and found every reason why she should. Her tone was also a little preachy and judgmental at times too, especially towards Matt and her husband. For someone who’s so miserable (my own words) she sure does have a lot of opinions about how others should be.
I think the point though, is that people (in general) tend to see their own lives negatively when comparing themselves to someone else’s perceived perfection. The strongest message this book offered is that not everything is what it seems. We end up comparing ourselves to a false (and often times unrealistic) image of what we think our lives should look like, and therefore become unhappy with ourselves overall.
It was hard rating this book so I settled on a neutral 3 star review.
