The Day My Husband Left by Amy Miller
Publication Date:
21st Jan 2021
Genre: Women’s
Fictions, Family Drama
3.5 Stars
Heidi and Johnny
are a 50-something couple with two daughters, an upholstery restoration
business, and a dark secret neither of them talks about. Johnny suffers his
second heart attract a year after his first one and passes away.
The family is
grieving, trying hard to cope up with the loss when Heidi finds a picture in
Johnny’s phone. Her instincts tell her that she needs to find out about the
picture. After much hesitation, she does and finds out something that could
change her family forever.
The book starts
with Johnny’s death and continues to tell us what and how things change. Will
the family bonds survive, or will everything fall apart forever?
The cover picture
drew me in, and the premise sounded like a wonderful read. The book started out
well, and then, sigh! I just couldn’t connect with it. The characters
individually were cool. They had their identities, quirks, vulnerabilities, and
strengths. Zoe was an absolute favorite. They did well together too. So what’s
the issue?
For me, it was the
limited third-person POV that rested on Heidi’s shoulders. She was grieving,
trying to handle her present and past while keeping her business afloat. She
was supposed to have all of my attention. But she didn’t.
The story had too
much 'tell'. The setting was 'showed' to the reader, but the emotions were
told. Yes, there were a lot of gut-wrenching scenes and heartbreaking emotions.
Yet, none of them reached me. In short, it was like having a transparent screen
between me and the overwhelming experiences of the characters. The writing did
not break through this barrier and come to me.
Maybe if the
viewpoints altered between the main characters, I would have been able to see
things from their side and know them for who they are. Despite being a
third-person narration, I only see what Heidi sees. And it looked like she
couldn’t connect with any of the other characters. Sure, they shared a good
bond. It just wasn’t enough for me.
Some of the
dialogues were powerful. All of them belonged to other characters. Another
issue with the book was that too much happened in succession, and when we come
towards the end, it’s more or less sorted out. Again, without Heidi’s
involvement. She is probably the weakest character of the book. I understand
the reason to show her vulnerable side, she was grieving after all, and she had
to be real. People make mistakes. Wrong decisions are a part of our lives.
That’s always acceptable. But here, in the book, it didn’t feel real.
However, that’s
just me. I know readers who would love and devour the book. I hope they read
and enjoy it (especially the ending).
Overall, not
everyone is going to love this book, but they will remember some of the
characters.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bookouture.
#TheDayMyHusbandLeft #NetGalley
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