Wrapping up my High Summer with a bit of well written drama

Now that we're in September, the High Summer readathon hosted by Seasons of Reading is definitely over. While I'm near the finish line with one last read from that list, I did complete a book that may have had a small page count but it reached depths more successfully than some lengthy big reads have.

Meg Wolitzer's The Wife caught my attention due to the acclaim given it's recent film adaptation(which almost gave Glenn Close an Oscar win) but this novel has plenty of merits on it's own accord.

 I do intend to see the movie at some point but trust me, this emotional portrait of a woman who truly has suffered for art is is solidly compelling in print.

The title spouse here is Joan Castleman, who has been married to Joe, a well established literary author for several decades. They met in collage, where he was the professor and she the student. He was also married to another woman at the time but despite the scandal when their relationship was revealed, Joan and Joe stayed together.

Their marriage has had it's fair share of ups and downs, some of which relate to their three children, yet Joan has never seriously thought about leaving Joe until the announcement that he's won a major international prize for his novels. That award puts their entire married life in a new perspective that has Joan considering a major change in hers as they travel to claim the prize:

She recalls their early days, when Joe introduced her to the literary world due to Joan's budding talent with words. As thrilled as she was to be praised for her efforts, it was easy to see that Joan was already seen by everyone as his girlfriend and not much more.

While she did think about becoming a writer herself, that relationship with Joe, who can talk a great game but not play it as well as others can, along with the disregard given to female authors by professionals and the public made it seem simpler to put those dreams aside:

However, did she really step away from the typewriter or did she give away her right of authorship in the name of love?

Many suspect the truth, such as would be biographer Nathaniel Bone or their own troubled son David. Joan is both angry at herself as well as Joe, who eagerly gobbles up the praise and glory given to him.

 In fact, his self centered behavior combined with the attitude that he's doing Joan a great favor just by being with her makes this whole award ceremony event more intolerable to bear. Plus, Joe still indulges his wandering eye for other women, along with other unhealthy appetites, which really test Joan's resolve to maintain the illusion of their artistic front to the wider world:

Wolitzer does more than merely present a martial melodrama; she opens up Joan's whole inner life to display the reasons behind the choices she made, the regrets that still linger and the pride that keeps her from exposing the truths of her marriage. I have no doubt that the film version does justice to the source material but I think that by reading the novel, you get a fuller sense of the character's heartfelt journey.

At the moment, I'm getting closer to the conclusion of The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams. The main portion of the plot is set during WWII as reporter Leonora "Lulu" Randolph is set to Nassau in the Bahamas in order to get some good gossip on the infamous Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

While Lulu winds up writing the "Lady of Nassau" column for a major magazine with the approval of Duchess Wallis Simpson, she also discovers a few unpleasant truths about the exiled royals and the crowd they run with.

Plus, she falls in love with Benedict Thorpe, a biologist who may also be a spy for the British. When he becomes the captive of the Germans, Lulu is determined to do everything possible and then some to win his freedom and that include spilling the considerable tea on what the Duke and Duchess are really up to in Nassau.

Lulu and Thorpe's relationship is contrasted with an earlier romance, between Thorpe's German born mother and an Englishman who had some secret doings of his own for king and country. How these story lines are going to connect, I'm not sure yet but it will be a pleasure to find out. Williams truly has a flair for historical fiction that makes you feel like you're watching a classic movie that's never been seen before:

All in all, this has been a fine summer of reading and much thanks to Michelle Miller of SOR for making this happen. Once I finish that last book, I'll be making plans for the next readathon, Fright Fall, in October. It may be hard to find something scarier than the daily headlines but I think that I can manage to gather up a handful of sinister stories worth talking about there: