Book Review: Heart of the Matter
Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
A powerful, provocative novel about marriage and motherhood, love and forgiveness.
Tessa Russo is a stay-at-home mother of two young children and the wife of a renowned pediatric surgeon. Valerie Anderson is an attorney and single mother to six-year-old Charlie—a boy who has never known his father. Although both women live in the same Boston suburb, they are strangers to one another and have little in common, aside from a fierce love for their children. But one night, a tragic accident causes their lives to converge in ways no one could have imagined.
This is the moving, luminous story of good people caught in untenable circumstances. Each being tested in ways they never thought possible. Each questioning everything they once believed. And each ultimately discovering what truly matters most.
Heart of the Matter was this month’s read for the book club my stay-at-home moms group just formed. This was only our second meeting and the first one I had been able to attend. Most of the other women had read some of Emily Giffin’s other books but this was my first time reading her work. I’ll admit I had my expectations set pretty low, knowing that she is considered a “chick-lit” author. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed reading this book.
The story pulled me in right in from the beginning. In the first chapter Tessa and her physician husband Nick are at their anniversary dinner when he gets called away to an emergency at the hospital. Tessa recalls that she went home that night without Nick and fell asleep not knowing that this night would be a defining moment in her life – everything in her life will now be remembered as happening either before or after this night. When I read that, I was compelled to keep reading until I had a full understanding of what grew out of the events of that night. It’s hard to say much more without spoiling it for you so I’m afraid I’ll have to leave it at that as far as the plot goes.
I do think that Ms. Giffin might have a problem with stay-at-home moms. Tessa is a former career woman who has recently become a stay-at-home mom and is struggling with her identity. I can understand that – I have met many moms who feel the same way. But every other stay-at-home mom in the book is perfect in a bitchily perfect Stepford Wives meets Heathers way. It would have been nice if Tessa’s friends had more dimension to them. Even in a private school, I can’t believe that every mother would be like the ones in this book.
This book made for a great book club discussion. We discussed the several aspects of motherhood presented in this book – homemakers, single moms, career moms. There was also a lot to discuss related to the events that transpired as a result of “that night”. I think that most women, especially moms, will find this book an enjoyable read.
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