“My dear husband,
I am at the place we used to come to, when we loved one another.”
Oh boy.
I got this book as a recommendation after reading the novel “The Slap” which I thought was going to be a fun little romp through suburban Australian after the fallout from a scene of violence at a cookout. It was not, but it ended up being a good novel (that a lot of people hate, fair warning) anyway.
This novel also looks to be about the same. Four couples end up at each other’s table at a trivia night fundraiser at a local school and the night turns out badly because of the baggage and choices each brings to the table. The novel has three (four really) narrators throughout most of the book, and that’s a good thing I think. Each is one of the women from the table, with one member left out. The table includes a couple famous for swinging, a couple that has recently arrived at the public school after leaving the prestigious private school in the area, a couple working on conceiving, and another couple, the woman of which is still reeling from the death of her sister. So of course, the swinging couple’s ideas get things started. Also at the trivia night is the enemy of the woman from the private school, a seemingly vindictive woman who has recently fallen on financial troubles, hence the move the public school.
So where did this novel go wrong?
Well first of all — it’s dreadfully serious, to the point of not being fun. Think the worst of Ruth Ware: super super dreary, no fun to be had. Second, it’s oddly preachy, which is great fun for a novel. Lastly, it’s got writerly tricks all through it, and they leave their marks because of how glaring they are. Three uses of the word: enormity. I counted. Second, two MISuses of the word nonplussed.