The quiet narrative of this novel brings upon the
reader a melancholy tone, which resonates with the pain of losing a child and
the wilting of a forced marriage. After twenty-some years of marriage, Gillian,
who wed Ricky when they were young, due to an unplanned pregnancy, is
distraught when her husband wakes from a short coma. Because he cannot remember
anything after the age of fifteen, Gillian begins to plant false memories into
his mind—memories of the happy family they never had. As Ricky recovers from
the coma, he becomes a much kinder man than the husband she knew, who had
numerous affairs, ignored her wishes, and secretly took money from his income
each month and never told her where it went. Ricky’s newfound gentleness—paired
with Gillian’s newfound infidelity—leads Gillian to grow guilty for her lies.
While the plot is occasionally a bit slow, inching
toward boring, the inner world of the main character, Gillian, sustains the
story, providing the skeletal support for the framework of the plot and keeping
the reader interested in how Gillian will develop and learn from her mistakes. Much
of the novel’s tension comes from Gillian’s morality—or lack thereof—seeing how
far she can stretch the limit of her lies as revenge for the way Ricky treated
her throughout the twenty years of their marriage, even though he cannot
remember ever committing these terrible deeds.
The novel is short—perhaps too short—and because
the pacing is slow, there is little action; all of the story’s conflict resides
in the virtue of the characters. Many intriguing themes are brought up concerning
dishonesty in marriage, the resentment caused toward the spouse after the loss
of a child, and punishment and revenge versus forgiveness. Though the vague
plot may not excite readers, the inner world of the characters and the morality
of the story should spark some thought. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of
this book is the off-balance good-versus-evil virtue of the characters, caused
by years of slow breaking-down, cold silence, and financial and sexual
manipulation. While Gillian is meant to be the novel’s protagonist at the
beginning of the story, by the end, the reader sympathizes with Ricky, despite
his awful flaws, because he deserves forgiveness. The way these two characters
deal with the death of their infant son, both in uniquely destructive ways, has
slowly torn them apart.
This is a sad, thought-provoking story that will
interest fans of romance and melancholy literature.
