It’s hard to resist a book in which the author’s note says she changed names and dates “…to protect privacy, and so my husband won’t divorce me.”
Plus the title – Five Men Who Broke My Heart – immediately made me think back over previous relationships and who had broken my heart.
This relatively short memoir by Susan Shapiro will be coming on holiday with me next week (because I own a paperback and pools and Kindles don’t mix). Here’s how it begins –
“July 2000
Mr. Studrocket
I slipped on the black slingbacks I’d borrowed from my best friend, Claire. The last time I risked such high heels was at my wedding. I tried to walk without wobbling, praying that the added height hid the nine pounds he’d gained since he last saw me. In two decades as a journalist I’d never been this nervous for an interview. Yet I’d never interviewed anyone I’d been in love with before.
I hadn’t seen Brad in ten years. In ten minutes he was coming back to see me. Not to say “I’m sorry,” “I can’t forget you,” or better yet, “No woman has ever been able to replace you.” No, after a decade, Brad was finally seeking me out again – to help him get book publicity.”
It immediately reminded me of another book that’s on my TBR list – Leanne Shapton’s Was She Pretty? (I’ve read another of Shapton’s books, Swimming Studies, that combined visual art and text. I still think about that book often).
Few people can deny wondering how their lives would be different had they taken an alternative relationship path. Are you curious (about your own previous relationships and/or Shapiro’s)?
Join in First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday over at Bibliophile by the Sea.
I’m curious for more —The title immediately took me back to my younger days and of the “3 Men whose heart’s I broke”:(
Could be good, but I don’t really think this is a book for me
This might be a fun read! I’d give it a little longer before deciding.
This one sounds like fun – and a great pick for vacation! Poses some interesting questions that are probably left unanswered in many people’s cases!
Perfect vacation reading that will certainly spark personal memories and daydreams.
My Tuesday post: http://www.bookclublibrarian.com/2014/06/first-chapter-first-paragraph-66-and.html
I don’t usually enjoy memoirs, so this is probably not for me. But she DOES sounds like she has a sense of humor, so…maybe….
Today I’m featuring ‘Elizabeth is Missing’ by Emma Healey.
http://mytime2read.blogspot.com/2014/06/tuesday-memes-elizabeth-is-missing.html
Ah, yes, those relationships that, from the perspective of the present, look more appealing than they probably were. Sounds interesting! Here’s mine: “SHE CAN HIDE”
This sounds like a fun read. I like the author’s “voice”.
Enjoy your holiday!
I’m first caught by the title. Five men broke her heart? Yeah, I’d keep reading.
I love the title of that book, that alone hooks me in already.
Peggy @ The Pegster Reads