To My Ex-Husband: A Novel - Softcover

Dundon, Susan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1504032926 ISBN 13: 9781504032926

Publisher: Open Road Distribution, 2016

Synopsis

“Was fiction ever so true? . . . Here is divorce rendered by an emotional naturalist. And pass it on: She’s funny.” —Sandra Scofield
 
“Susan Dundon captures the nuances of relationships so skillfully that anyone who is—or hopes to be, or has been, or never wants to be—married will find some points of identification with Emily’s homespun wisdom.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer
 
“Rich and funny stuff.” —Ellen Goodman
 
“Full of those little moments that leave one thinking, Yes! It was exactly that way for me.” —Alain De Botton

About this title

About the Author

Susan Dundon was a columnist for more than ten years for the Philadelphia Inquirer, writing both for the style section and the Op-Ed pages. She has contributed to numerous magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times Magazine’s “Lives” column and Town & Country. She lives in Philadelphia (with her second husband) and is working on a collection of essays. Visit her website at www.susandundon.com.
 

From Kirkus Reviews

Breezy reflections on a failed marriage and the transition to a new relationship make up this first novel from a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. It's an awkward format: Five years' worth of unmailed notes from Emily Moore to ex-husband Nick that often read like diary entries, the addressee forgotten. Here's the chronology. 1984: After 20 years of married life Nick, ``a tenured professor/painter,'' separates from Emily, who stays in the family home with teenage kids Annie and Peter. There is no other woman. 1985: Correction: Not only is there another woman, but Emily discovers Nick has been involved with their friend Esther for two years. This is the pits. An unexpected reunion with first-grade sweetheart David eases the pain. 1986: Emily has been careless with David; she has an abortion. Starts dating her long-divorced dentist, Edward Ventura, also the parent of two teenagers. 1987: Nick, jealous, wants back in. No dice. Divorce proceedings begin. 1988: Edward moves kids and self into Emily's home. Divorce finalized. 1989: Emily and Edward marry. As a story it's anemic; the big scenes (Nick's departure, his confrontation with Emily over Esther) don't get written, the happy ending is no surprise (that's where Dundon begins), and Emily's heartbreak is too genteel (you'll never catch her vomiting in the street like her abandoned friend Claire). Dundon tries to win the reader by keeping the tone light, as the quintessential ``good sport'' Emily copes with new problems such as the logistics of Thanksgiving and the influx of more teenagers, but the problems are wearyingly familiar and the tone trivializes the emotional realignments. Bromide-filled debut with a fictional skin and a self-help heart. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Open Road Distribution
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1504032926
• ISBN 13: 9781504032926
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 258