I Just Don't Get It....

(Angela)

Ok... So I was really excited to start this book. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about it, and I refused to watch the movie until I had read the book.

Now... lets note the keyword in the above sentence..'WAS'. I have been reading for almost two weeks now and I have not even passed Part One. That is unheard of for me! I usually get engrossed in a book and I can't put it down. Reading has never taken all that long. Now.... This can be because I have had a lot on my mind with my getting ready to move to Indonesia for two years. That is actually very possible, But I have to say that I really think it is just how the book is written and the main character. .

Now for everyone who loved this book, just hear me out! I am having a very hard time sympathizing with the main character. I believe for me to understand her and like her, I need to know more about where she is coming from.  In Part One *Spoiler*(if you have not read the book and don't want anything ruined don't read on), she is beside herself in grief because her husband wants to have a baby and live the dream life, and she decides that is not what she wants. She decides that she no longer wants to be married to her husband. But we were never given any real explanation to understand her reasoning. To understand why she decides to leave. We are never privy to this information. How can I say "OMG. I understand what she is going through" when the author doesn't share it with her readers. We are just left to accept her decision no matter what. Ok.. fine... and then, before she even is divorced she is in and out of a relationship with this gorgeous artist. Now I could be missing something... her compulsive relationship hopping could be the reason for her journey (Remember I have not finished the book) but at the moment all I am seeing is a woman who had a midlife crisis and left her husband for apparently no good reason.

As a compulsive relationship jumper myself, I find myself wanting to connect with the author. I want to say 'I understand completely why you decided to make your decision'. But I keep coming up way short and unable to connect. I just don't get it. 

I am going to trudge forward with this book and hopefully make a surprising discovery that it gets better, but to be honest, at the moment, my feelings about what I have read so far make me not want to pick the book up again.(This really is unheard of for me).

Here is to hoping for light at the end of the tunnel.

(Please feel free to let me know if I have totally missed something that would enable me to like this book!)