such a fabulous concept, and so fun to watch it play out. quick read but with a lot of great ideas about relationships and how we interact. ( )

This book takes place only in the confines of a marriage counselor's office. Two people in a marriage on the rocks and their counselor. You may not like these people at times but you can still learn some important things. ( )

I picked this book up off of my local library's New Books shelf based on the cover art and the concept -- that this is a novel set in a marriage counselor's office and centers on a single, troubled marriage. And, as happens most of the time when I chose a book this way, the experience of reading this book was decidedly mixed.

Gretchen and Steve are separated, contemplating divorce. Steve's a high powered executive and Gretchen is a university professor. They have two kids. Steve had an affair and Gretchen feels he can't be trusted. Over an extended length of time they meet weekly with Sandy, a somewhat unconventional therapist. In the right hands, this could have been a fascinating character study and a look at what it means to move toward divorce, but the author sticks to the surfaces of his characters. Steve reforms immediately, becoming a dedicated father and thoughtful partner all at once. The entire tension of the novel rests on whether or not Gretchen can forgive Steve enough to move back in with him. They're rich and privileged, in ways that reduce the potential tension of the story -- when Gretchen worries about money, Steve hands her a check for two hundred thousand dollars, childcare is easy with Steve's parents always willing and available.

Still, it's interesting to eavesdrop on marriage therapy, even if I'm not convinced that the therapist's methods were based on any actual therapeutical practices. I did move from being very interested into wishing the sessions were less repetitive, less rehashing of familiar ground. And the writing was straight-forward, with an old-fashioned feel to it that made the novel feel like it could have been set anytime in the past fifty years. ( )

Der 2. Roman des US-amerikanischen Autors ("Zeit der
Prüfungen", 1970, damals auch erfolgreich verfilmt)
beschreibt eine Paar-Therapie und ist arrangiert wie ein
Kammerspiel. Steve und Charlotte, beide Mitte 30 und
beruflich erfolgreich, wollen nach dem offenkundigen
Scheitern ihrer Ehe einen letzten Versuch unternehmen,
wieder zusammen zu finden, schon allein der beiden Kinder
wegen. Im Verlauf der sich über Monate hinziehenden
Therapie-Sitzungen lernen sie ehrlich und offen miteinander
umzugehen und entdecken dabei gleichzeitig ihre wahren
Gefühle füreinander. Bis zum Happy End muss der Leser sich
durch ein Hin und Her wechselseitiger Vorwürfe durcharbeiten in denen man sich möglicherweise selbst
wiedererkennt. Der mit lockerer Hand geschriebene und
leicht lesbare Fall-Report ist sehr realitätsnah. Breite
Empfehlung. ( )

Why do I envision men hating this book? It's the retelling of a series of counseling sessions for a married couple in crisis. They're cisgendered, white, and wealthy, and relatively undeserving of our attention and our pity - but it's told from the PoV of their talented therapist. The writer is able to show how she a) is able to minimize her own baggage, and b)uses wisdom and common sense to help the pair get beyond their betrayals and to learn to listen to each other. Not as ground-breaking as his decades-old The Paper Chase (great movie, too), it's a relaxed and quick read.

Quote: "Marriage is something you build up over time. It's like a brick wall, you build it one brick at a time. But romantic love is like a drug, you take it, and bam, you're there, you're in it. The problem is, then it wears off." ( )